Reply #26: France and Japan are very much alike in that way. If you are a native citizen, upper middle class

[Monk06]

and go to the right schools your life is pretty secure.

If you are an Arab in France or a Korean in Japan you
are not considered a second class citizen. You aren't
considered a citizen at all.

In Japan Koreans cannot become Japanese citizens, nor
can any foreigner even if your family has lived in Japan
for several generations.

Compare that to the Teabaggers who want to repeal the 14th
Amendment and the Dredd Scott decision to deny citizenship
to the children of immigrants born in the US.

America is exceptional only in the same way as France and Japan
are exceptional; that is their mutual fear of losing control of
their countries to 'foreigners'. Especially poor brown ones with
funny accents.