Betty has a more nuanced worldview—she does not see people purely in terms of racial groups and ideologies. But rather than accepting Betty’s more tolerant perspective, Childan slides into racist resentment. This passage touches on the idea that politics are completely inescapable in every realm of life (“it’s everywhere”). Moreover, the Japanese emphasis on authenticity now feels to Childan like theft, which again suggests that originality and creativity may be more important than authenticity and “historicity.”