Kichigai

... and the world is full of them.

Seriously:

Sumo suits, the plastic novelties that can transform a skinny sports fan into a comically unstable sphere for the delight of a stadium audience, are racist and dehumanizing instruments of oppression, according to the student government of Queen's University.

They "appropriate an aspect of Japanese culture," turn a racial identity into a "costume," and "devalue an ancient and respected Japanese sport, which is rich in history and cultural tradition." They also "fail to capture the deeply embedded histories of violent and subversive oppression that a group has faced."

The Alma Mater Society yesterday published a two-page apology and cancelled a food-bank fundraiser scheduled for today, which was to feature two Sumo suits. The letter scolds the student government's own executive for "marginalizing members of the Queen's community" and failing to "critically consider the racist meaning behind [the fundraiser]."

What?

It gets better:

Letter Of Apology

The following is the letter of apology issued by the Queen's student government:

Dear AMS members and members of the Queen's community, We are writing in regards to an event that was scheduled to take place on Tuesday March 30th, organized and run by a group in the AMS. This event was planned to have students don padded suits, coloured and designed to resemble Japanese sumo wrestlers. The Facebook event created to advertise this event, entitled "SUMO Showdown," included a picture of two cartoon Japanese wrestlers grappling. We recognize racism as the systemic oppression, both intentional and unintentional, of individuals and groups based on racial or ethnic identities. Regrettably, those of us who were aware of the event did not critically consider the racist meaning behind it. Asking students to wear these suits and partake in the activity appropriates an aspect of Japanese culture. This is wrong because it turns a racial identity into a costume; the process of putting-on and taking-off a racial identity is problematic because it dehumanizes those who share that identity and fails to capture the deeply imbedded histories of violent and subversive oppression that a group has faced. The event also devalues an ancient and respected Japanese sport, which is rich in history and cultural tradition. The decision to hold this event, and the failure of many students who hold senior positions in the AMS to recognize the inherent issues of racism tied-in to the event, marginalized members of the Queen's community. As an organization and as individuals who allowed this to go on unchallenged, we are deeply sorry for having caused feelings of hurt and not being safe on-campus by planning this event. We are implicated in systems of oppression by not challenging things such as this, and perpetuating racist stereotypes. Events such as this take place at other institutions and within Queen's as well; it is imperative that we learn from this experience to ensure that we constantly work towards challenging various forms of oppression. We will also be following-up with other groups at Queen's who utilize these suits so that we can encourage them to also engage critically with issues of racism and oppression.

To which I say, fukyu 普及

Let us diffuse and spread some points of relevancy.

Political correctness has run amok (point to an incident yourselves as there are SEVERAL).

The "showdown" in question was designed as a fund-raiser.

Universities have been scenes of deplorable bigotry and censorship (RE: Israel Apartheid Week; "dead white male literature"; Ann Coulter).

If racial identity is being seen as a costume, then why did the Vancouver Olympics parade out dancers in Mountie costumes?

Who complained and how Japanese are they?

On a scale of one to ten, how juvenile and materialistic is contemporary Japanese culture? Will it ever return to its period of refinement or cruel oppression as was seen during the annexation of Korea when Koreans couldn't even speak their own language or have Korean names?

How many sumo wrestlers were offended?

How self-serving and pathetic is this apology?