In this morning’s Washington post, there is a story about a Southern Baptist agency that has copme under fire for its 2004 Vacation Bible School curriculum called “Rickshaw Rally: Race for the Son.” LifeWay, the company selling the kit, says
The accompanying illustration is pretty damning.
Despite criticism from Asian-American Baptists, LifeWay says it has no intention of discontinuing the sale of “Rickshaw Rally” materials, which include
And who says the Southern Baptists are racist?
Hmm… The illustration seems to have been taken down.
And do Baptists really want their kids to dress up as Geishas (prostitutes) or Samurai (warriors with a distinctly Buddhist/Shinto ethic)?
How did they manage to say this with a straight face?
Last time I checked, Japan wasn’t as LifeWay represented.
Robin
That may be a fault in the linking. Try this page and click on the graphic to see it in a larger size.
Geisha are NOT prostitutes! Let us not perpetuate inaccuracies. Geisha were women trained in the traditional arts of Japan and hired to be entertaining dinner companions for men in a non-sexual manner. Geisha were hired to show up at after-hours drinking parties at teahouses and restaurant, where their job was to dance, sing, make witty conversation, and help the party flow. Sex was never part of the deal of a night’s entertainment, but an enterprising geisha would make a long-time romantic liaison with a wealthy male patron, who would buy her kimono and other presents and set her up financially.
Speaking of tacky Asian stereotypes…
Here’s a useful Web aite to learn more about geisha. In any event, nowadays, it’s a nearly extinct institution, long since replaced by hostess bars, usually staffed by expat Western girls (mostly Canadians and Russians, I noticed the last time I was in Japan).
Oh, three rickshaw pile-up.
The sad thing os that so many Americans know dick about Japan, or any Asian country, and if the Baptists had put a little thought into their presentation, they could have performed a useful service.
The VBS students could have learned about the cultural sites in Japan, like the Kamakura Daibutsu, Horyuji Temple (the oldest wooden structure in the world), or Kiyomizu-dera, but of course that would mean that the Southern Baptists would have to expand their worldview to accomodate the idea that other cultures hold different religious ideas.
They could learn to prepare Japanese food, study Japanese history, or explore contemporary Japan, from the shinkansen to anime to the basics of the Japanese language.
I wonder if those hicks even know that there are no rickshaws in Japan?
Mmm…Japanese food.
Maybe the Baptists could have the Iron Chef prepare a mochi communion wafer.
Today’s theme ingredient…JESUS!
(Dramatic music plays)
NOOOOO!!! Communion wafers are CATHOLIC! You can’t do that!
Those damned Mary-Worshippers!
Guinastasia, even if you were kidding- ouch. 
An hour later and I’m still thinking about sukiyaki.
Some Geisha did take their patrons as lovers too, but this was not the case with everyone. They most often did Tea Ceremonys, conversed, danced, played instruments, and sang for their audience.
There are still Geisha in Japan, and they are held in HIGH esteem. (Think Big Rock Star status.) There is also now, a Geijin (sp?) Geisha in existence too. The cost of Kimonos is still very exhorbitant from what I understand too. They wear wigs now, which are also costly to maintain. (Used to be they’d have their hair styled, and have to preserve it for days.)
Yeah, I wish people would take the time to learn about a region before using it as a “fun” way to teach whatever dogma it is they are putting forth. These teachers should remember that it’s important to teach their students to respect others, even “outsiders”. Once that kind of attitude is learned, it’s not long before it’s possibly also focused on the teacher as well.
Hey Guin, what’s your problem with people who look up to Mary? Do you have a problem with them? Was it just a badly executed joke? I may not look up to Mary per se, (though I have no problem with Her, or Her Son etc.) but I do follow a Goddess, and a God…
WHAT??!!!
Southern Baptists are ignorant of and insulting to other cultures!?
First I find there’s gambling in Casablanca and now this! My whole world view is falling apart!
(Good point on the geishas. But even with the most “innocent” (for lack of a better term) interpretation it still seems like something tight assed SoB’s would frown on.)
Getting a little off topic, hoping the hijack does not stick. I took GUIN’s comment as what an uninformed, horribly ethnocentrist Baptist might say, much like the ones who sponsor the Rickshaw Rally. I thought it was a funny comment. Not spit all over the screen funny, but worth a chuckle.
Yes Road Rash but she didn’t seem to think it through, another poster has said “Ouch”, and I can see why it would sting. I’m not even Catholic, and I can see that. I think that’s what she was doing too, but maybe she needs to be a “tiny” bit more clear that she’s “roleplaying” and not serious?
IIRC Guin is Catholic.