“Yes and no. Having a stigma means that you have some kind of trait that serves as the basis for discrimination, negative feelings, or even attacks. This irrespective of whether the trait is intrinsically bad or not. For example, the circumstances of your birth and rearing, a birthmark on your face, a criminal record. Everything else about you is ignored. All your multifaceted complexity is reduced to that one aspect. So if you’re Zainichi, that’s all you are and nothing more.”
