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if_you_work_you_lose

"If you work, you lose"

If you work, you lose” (働いたら負け, Hataraitara make) is a quote from a self-proclaimed NEET that went viral on the Japanese internet in 2004, taken from an interview that aired in September 2004 on the former Fuji TV weekday morning variety program, Tokudane!.

Summary

The aforementioned interview showed a 24 year old NEET, who had a baby face, buzz cut, and jagged teeth, responding to “How long are you going to live like this?” (いつまでこの生活を続ける気か) with a shocking “I think if you work, you lose” (働いたら負けかなと思ってる). Later in the interview, he also proclaims “I think I'm winning now” (今の自分は勝ってると思います).1)

At the time, the man boldly refusing his societal obligation to work was a shock, turning him into an icon for NEETs as 2channel users spread text artwork of him. However, after seeing Japan's capitalist society face issues like an abundance of welfare programs meant to combat wealth inequality, death from overwork, rampant labor exploitation, and the Great Recession, some say he had a point in retrospect.

On January 22, 2011, the anonymous NEET would appear in a Niconico broadcast as “D-chan”,2) revealing that he was unaware of his online popularity as he didn't have a computer, the line was actually borrowed, and, ironically, he was job hunting at the age of 30.3)4)5) He said he would be at @dddd_chan on Twitter,6) but the account has been dormant since October 21, 2012.

Text artwork

              ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
             /": : : : : : : : \
           /-─-,,,_: : : : : : : : :\
          /     '''-,,,: : : : : : : :i
          /、      /: : : : : : : : i     ________
         r-、 ,,,,,,,,,,、 /: : : : : : : : : :i    /
         L_, ,   、 \: : : : : : : : :i   / I think if you work,
         /●) (●>   |: :__,=-、: / <       you lose.
        l イ  '-     |:/ tbノノ    \
        l ,`-=-'\     `l ι';/      \  NEET (24, Male)
        ヽトェ-ェェ-:)     -r'          ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄
         ヾ=-'     / /
     ____ヽ::::...   / ::::|
  / ̄ ::::::::::::::l `──''''   :::|

Notes

  • Before the 2011 reveal, the NEET was just nicknamed “NEET” (ニート) or “NEET-kun” (ニート君).
  • His eyes are usually solid black dots () to indicate that the NEET has soulless eyes.
  • The proper response is “you lose even if you don't work” (働かなくても、負け), suggesting that the person using this quote was already a loser in the first place.
  • Yes, it's the text on that white shirt worn by Anzu Futaba from The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls. I will provide you with one (1) text artwork of her at the bottom of this page.

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if_you_work_you_lose.txt · Last modified: 2024-09-23 00:24:07 by 127.0.0.1