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Shavoy
Hitch, unfortunately the computer I use doesn't allow for viewing clips at the moment--(I know I've been missing some good ones)...Without being able to view this particular one, I find it interesting that the media over there does not give much time to the SGI, considering all the controversy that follows them.
It could very well be that the tentacles of the SGI Squash-all-Slanderers machine has gotten to the media?
Or is Japan just so over the SGI that it's not worth it?
For the time being, it is basically (again) a cultural thing. Authority wields power everywhere, all the time, practically without question for the most part in Japan. The people (in general of course) have a reflexive (i.e., automatic, without thinking) deferential attitude to those in authority. The gakkai cult also has boatloads of money to curry favor, buy silence and become litigious if necessary. There are also gakkai members in key places of authority throughout society, who can be called upon to carry out various forms of pressure and influence. It's a combination of factors: money, power and (in the special case of Japan) the psychological make up of the Japanese character/mindset. That said, Japan is, ever so slowly, changing (hence, many of the clips being shared on this thread).
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For Shavoy -
Since you cannot view those earlier clips, I can explain them a little bit.
In the first one, the group of protestors is walking down the street, happens to pass a gakkai cult building that has a large soka-han dressed all in black on a cold winter's day, including a neck warmer that is pulled up all the way past his nose, covering half of his face, making him look like some kind of a sinister thief or thug. The group is not intimidated, but is in fact amused, smiling and getting a kick out of the blatant stalker. They turn the camera on him, at which point he basically eventually stops following them. The guy is pretty large by Japanese standards and towers over the much smaller protestors.
The second clip has the protest group assembled outside of Dai$aku's Shinanomachi house (right around the corner from the infamous cult HQ), where they say "Good Morning Ikeda Sensei" and read out loud a Valentine's Day protest letter facing his house from across the street. All the while, they are being filmed by gakkai MIB on one end of the street and watched over by another on the other end of the street. They finish reading their message to a very uncomfortable caretaker of the cult leader's home and then offer the letter to him, very politely requesting that he
really deliver that message to Ikeda. They then tell him that they have also made some very delicious chocolates that he is also welcome to take (which he declines). The groups then leaves. As they turn the corner, they are being intimidated by the same cult member who was watching them earlier. One of the protestors notices him, faces him holding a protest poster and says "CULT!" Their plainclothes police escort has to keep the protestors and the whacked out gakkai member (who is now egging them on with his chest thrust forward) physically apart. There the clip ends. (These protestors, btw, seem to have a special police escort for their protection during their visits to the Gakkai HQ area, to ensure their right to protest, their safety and as a precaution to keep things from getting out of hand.)
The third clip takes place at night as they are being tailed by a not so smart $oka $$-thug. They let him pass and then turn the camera on him. At first, he just keeps walking like nothing is happening. Later, he starts to abruptly change directions and walk faster to get away from the camera. Eventually, he is seen literally running away across the street while the protestors are yelling out "No $oka Gakkai in Japan."
These clips speak volumes as to how threatening the so-called religious (Peace) organization behaves in its own country. Split personality and two-faces on display for those (on the outside) who seek to further investigate the true nature of this cult. Having grown up on the inside, none of this is surprising to me, though.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2012 05:21AM by Hitch.