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Someone please explain this to me.

The Castellan

The Castellan

Commodore
Commodore
I was at a friend's place, he was watching FOX news (Luckily he switched channels shortly), and the humanoinds there were ripping on Mr. Obama for the bow he gave the Japanese Emperor.

WHY?!

If I were a politician or just over in Japan on vaction and I should, for some reason, bump into the Emeperor....I'd bow as well, just being courtious and respectful.

I don't understand what the big deal is here. I mean...correct me if I'm wrong...but was not Dubya, when he was in Saudi Arabia, holding hands with the Shiek....like a pair of school girls, and kissing his rings and nearly lip locking? And I don't recall any of the news medias ripping on Dubya for that?
Are these news medias really got nothing importent to talk about, or am I missing something here? :vulcan:
 
Besides partisan hackery I think such criticism stems from the believe that the USA are the "greatest nation god has ever given to mankind" and as such the US president is of course the king of the world and everbody should be kissing his feet. In the eyes of people who are that nationalistic, the president being polite to other people is devaluing the USA's divine primacy on earth.
 
I hope the keep up this stuff about him bowing and stuff, it takes that much more credibility away from fox news when they try to criticize him about the Healthcare bill.

The Castellan said:
I don't understand what the big deal is here. I mean...correct me if I'm wrong...but was not Dubya, when he was in Saudi Arabia, holding hands with the Shiek....like a pair of school girls, and kissing his rings and nearly lip locking?
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BushkissestheKing.jpg
 
Roger Wilco said:
Besides partisan hackery I think such criticism stems from the believe that the USA are the "greatest nation god has ever given to mankind" and as such the US president is of course the king of the world and everbody should be kissing his feet. In the eyes of people who are that nationalistic, the president being polite to other people is devaluing the USA's divine primacy on earth.
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:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
The Castellan said:
I was at a friend's place, he was watching FOX news (Luckily he switched channels shortly), and the humanoinds there were ripping on Mr. Obama for the bow he gave the Japanese Emperor.

WHY?!

If I were a politician or just over in Japan on vaction and I should, for some reason, bump into the Emeperor....I'd bow as well, just being courtious and respectful.

I don't understand what the big deal is here. I mean...correct me if I'm wrong...but was not Dubya, when he was in Saudi Arabia, holding hands with the Shiek....like a pair of school girls, and kissing his rings and nearly lip locking? And I don't recall any of the news medias ripping on Dubya for that?
Are these news medias really got nothing importent to talk about, or am I missing something here? :vulcan:
Click to expand...

It's all part of Obama's plan to demonstrate America's subservience to the Empire of the Sun. Next thing you know, Cartoon Network will play anime at night and Gwen Stefani will parade around everywhere with Japanese backup dancers for no apparent reason. Thus begins the slippery slope to the tentacle rape of the Heartland.

But aside from all that truthiness, you summed up the answer to your titular question perfectly with two little words: "Fox News." They don't care about reporting the news so much as advancing the agenda of their owner and the Republican Party. Other cable media outlets can be biased as well, certainly (though to a lesser degree than Fox), but usually that's because the political leanings of the production staff and reporters seep in to the opinion portions of the broadcast rather than because the network itself literally serves as the propaganda arm of their chosen political party.
 
JonathonWally said:
I hope the keep up this stuff about him bowing and stuff, it takes that much more credibility away from fox news when they try to criticize him about the Healthcare bill.

The Castellan said:
I don't understand what the big deal is here. I mean...correct me if I'm wrong...but was not Dubya, when he was in Saudi Arabia, holding hands with the Shiek....like a pair of school girls, and kissing his rings and nearly lip locking?
Click to expand...

BushkissestheKing.jpg
Click to expand...
"I wish I knew how to quit you."
 
The US President and the Japanese Emperor are in theory, peers. The correct protocol for this would have been for both to shake hands and give a slight head bow.

In past times, the lower your status in the Japanese culture, the lower you would bow to those of higher station. In that light, Obama's faux pas would be making the statement that the US President is a lesser person than the Japanese Emperor.

In modern times, hopefully it simply tells the Japanese Emporer that he's dealing with a rube, and the US State Department handlers aren't doing a good job of teaching Mr Obama how to deal with foriegn dignitaries. Of course if he saw Obaba's visit to Saudi Arabia, he knew that already.

The Emperor showed incredibe restraint by not laughing his ass off at Obama, as this was almost as hilarious as the Queen Victoria / Shah of Persia finger bowl incident.
 
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html

We, as Americans, pretty much have it ingrained in our DNA to abhor nobility due to the following:
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Section 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
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Funny how people want to point and shout at how "ridiculous" Fox News is for this and take the time to comment about it. CNN or MSNBC runs something, and it's to be taken as gospel.



Seriously, get over yourselves :rolleyes:
 
There's more than one kind of bow. There are bows that indicate submission, and there are bows that are an ordinary form of greeting.

In Japan, a bow is the equivalent of a handshake, right? I mean, while a bow can signal many things, among ordinary Japanese, it's also a greeting between equals. It's difficult for foreigners to get the hang of exactly who should bow, how low and so on, so perhaps Obama shouldn't have attempted it, but the gesture itself isn't out of place.

I think this is distinctly different from the little brohahas that pop up sometimes when the American president visits England, for example. In England, bows are not an ordinary form of greeting. Bows indicate submission - that you recognize the monarch as a superior.

I don't think any independent head of state, be he the president of the United States or the prime minister of Tinycountryofyourchoice, should bow to someone just because that person is a king or queen. For that matter, people who aren't heads of state shouldn't bow to someone who isn't their sovereign, either. This isn't arrogance - it's reality. No king or queen on earth rules over me, so why should I bow to one? I can be polite without indicating fealty, surely.
 
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John Picard said:
Funny how people want to point and shout at how "ridiculous" Fox News is for this and take the time to comment about it. CNN or MSNBC runs something, and it's to be taken as gospel.

Seriously, get over yourselves :rolleyes:
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It is ridiculous, whether it's made a big deal out of by Fox News or otherwise, because it will have absolutely no impact on US/Japanese relations whatsoever. People who are actually involved in the meetings might laugh about it for a second at most and then move on to actual things of importance.
 
The thing about this is, to an American, it SHOULD be meaningless. However, to the Japanese, this was a relatively awkward and embarrassing faux pas.

I don't care what side of the political isle you're on, this can't count as a "good move". It does not, however, necessarily count as a "bad move". No treaties or foreign relations are EVER going to be damaged or jeopardized over this.
 
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