Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Thomas Sowell's common sense is a priceless commodity
.... As a private citizen, Barack Obama has a right to make as big a jackass of himself as he wants to. But, as President of the United States, his actions not only denigrate a nation that other nations rely on for survival, but raise questions about how reliable our judgment and resolve are-- which in turn raises questions about whether those nations will consider themselves better off to make the best deal they can with our enemies.
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I'm a huge fan of Thomas Sowell. He's one of the clearest thinkers and writers of our time.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how often he must endure the epithets of "Uncle Tom" and "porch negra" that black conservatives are subjected to. He seems to put up with it with considerable grace.
I lived in Japan as a wife of a diplomat. This was an egregious error of protocol. The Emperor is revered as a God, and encounters are very much subject to SERIOUS protocol, even more so than encounters with the British monarchy (which his wife blew off, as well).
ReplyDeleteYou see the Japanese Emperor Akihito smiling - this is a smile of shock and probably embarrassment, not friendliness. The Japanese smile when children are doing the wrong and terrible things in public. It is also NEVER appropriate to bow and shake hands at the same time in Japan - it is soooooo naive!
I would be so embarrassed to have him as my country's leader. Clearly, neither he nor his handlers did one shred of research, thus he looks like a clumsy ox. Unfortunately also, the Japanese are (in their own language) even more xenophobic than Americans, and especially do not really respect coloured people or any of us, so looking foolish before them is another example of their superiority ... Chicago South laid back does not work in Tokyo. Someone in the US should research this.
L - you are right. Someone in his admin screwed up big time. If he wanted to show respect, fine, it was all very well to go by their customs and do a bow. I believe the bow he gave was completely wrong. He should have kept his eyes on the emperor throughout the bow ... and I believe, the eyes looking at the emperor are supposed to look humble.:} :} By keeping his eyes downcast he was actually insulting the emperor, according to some Japanese folks who were talking about it on some forum.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing would have been to do what 99.9% of non-Japanese do on meeting the emperor, just shake his hand.
I don't blame Obama, his moronic admin are the ones at fault here and in many other cases.