ajet must be stopped!

Apropos of a post over at jaime's, I concur wholly that the newbies are better off not joining ajet. Like I said over there, for the rank and file jet who can coordinate his or her own life and free time, ajet serves two purposes: they organize the leavers party and they organize the welcoming party for the newbies. And we have to pay for that entirely seperately from our dues.

They also do a couple of other things during the year, but it really only amounts to hanging out and drinking with jets... with the same jets who hang out together and drink together all the time. It's like the year abroad in college. People who you would not like at home become your best social contacts.
If you're stuck in inaka and don't really have options, I suppose this is nice. If you actually have managed to make good friends and find things to do in your own time though, the events are sort of a bad-smelling, noisy version of what you might do with your real friends.

For example, let's go skiing! At the jet ski trips, you sleep a million to a room, with smokers and drink-til-you-pukers, and almost inevitably hear a couple of people trying to quietly have sex. The slopes improve the situation somewhat, but a group of 15 or more chummy gaijin anywhere in japan almost guarantees a lot of noise, and rudeness. Lack of respect for the unrelated japanese people trying to enjoy themselves is the hallmark of all jet gatherings. That's why we are never welcomed back to facilities (the stolen yakiniku flag and the 3 am gongs are a fine example).

But maybe that's my real objection to AJET. I'm a grown up. If I want to have a party with my friends, I'll organize one.

It's my good old "jets suck" rant dolled up in new clothes.

But beyond that, the ajet membership gets you a small discount to said parties, and nothing else. It's just not worth it.

What would I like for ajet to do? Nothin'. It's about as good as it can get right now.