Japanese Mortified By Obama's Bow

Originally posted by Wormwood Squirm
reply to post by SLAYER69

 

Fox News will beat the crap out of Obama every chance they get. This is blown out of proportion IMO. The article you link has a terrible title and then quickly changes subject to Obama's health plan. I don't buy it.

Blown out of porportion? No. That would be if both men exchanged a polite "mini-bow" of equal height. Heck, If he were of a great difference in height that would be expected even.

This is subservience. He should be subservient to only one set of people.
THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

well, obama is "less than" an emperor. :-)

He shows courtesy and deep respect for other humans in power and this is an embarrassment?

I think some blow hard imperious Americans need to chill out and grow up and realize that the world is not Americas oyster.

The playing field is getting leveled and you best get some credits with the rest fo the world with Obama cause you lost a lot of credits and a lot of credibility with the rest of the world under your last little dictators regime.

America could use a little humility and a lesson or two in bowing. lol

Blown out of proportion? How naive. If you really think so then it shows you have no idea about significance of social gestures in asian society. It's a total faux pas, it is embarassing to BOTH USA and Japan.



It's inappropriate, and went beyond respect to almost MOCKING the host country's tradition because Obaka botched it, mis-did it, messed it up, used it the wrong way. Or, maybe he just merely bowing to his real masters, the Royalties of the world...

OBAKA.

Facts remain, Obama is good for US PR.

Japan has no military, but it got like 50'000 US soldiers in bases there since ww2. It's hardly a hostile nation in this day in age. The emperor is mostly symbolic with all kinds of rituals when it comes to meeting foreign leaders.

You have to remember how hated the US was during the Bush regime. I think Obama was elected partially to clean up the image of US as a bully that falsify evidence of weapons of mass destruction to invade a country (Iraq), which lead to according to some sources around 800 000 civilians dead aswell sa thousands of US troops..


I don't get it why some people are so negative to Obama. Racists I guess... *sighs*

allseriousnessaside...maybe he just wanted to prove that he wasn't wearing the judaic hat to cover dandruff while over there?

reply to post by 317258186

"OBAKA"

Is that an intentional swap of the "k" to make baka, a Japanese word? If so, then you can have some from me.

Yeesh, a lot of you have extreme problems with this. Obama bowed awkwardly. Wow. When was the last time you bowed to someone?

I mean, sure, he may be doing some really awkward stuff for the US but I don't care about that. I can't believe people are actually looking deeply into this bow. It's not a sign of weakness. If that's the case, then hell, Japanese people must have the lowest self esteem ever, what with their constant bowing to each other.

This is massively retarded.

reply to post by djusdjus



Ok, each time you meet a non-americans, YOU should bow to show a little humility. And please, do a 90degree bow, not a half bow. Practice what you preach about showing humility if you mean it.

And of course, we all know you won't, because you are a hypocrite that only justifies through words, not action.

OBAKA.

I'm no Obama fan but the problem is clearly with his choice of advisers. That is where his lack of qualifications is constantly leaving him embarrassed. That is the true issue in this case. He is a media darling swept into a position he was not qualified for, who does not have a clue how to put together a team of qualified advisers. We have a President who is not even really qualified to run a corner grocery store.

I'm no Bush fan either, but people make themselves look like irrational little children when they say "yeah but look what George did" like some Grade School child. People! Don't do that! You demean yourself by showing the emotional maturity of a child.

The only response to this subject other than being embarrassed by it is being embarassed for him because his advisers let him down again. If you have proof that bow was appropriate then say so. Otherwise people are just being hopeless Obama groupies grasping at straws for a way to pretend it never happened.

Obama needs to stop his nonstop vacation smoozing the world for his apparently needed adoration from the crowds and get to work at the job he was elected to do. There is nothing worse than person in charge who is not qualified, who believes they are qualified.

The whole country is collapsing around him while he campaigns endlessly and runs around the world rubbing elbows with people who are laughing at him. When he is not doing that he is campaigning even though he has already won. Now its time for him to stop basking in his own glory and do the damn job!

Weak leaders do not command respect, nor should they ever make it into the the office of the most powerful person on the planet earth. We have a Commander and Chief here who can not even command or make a decision. The position requires a person who can make almost instantaneous decisions because peoples lives are riding on it. God help us if we are ever attacked. It will be all over before he even opens his mouth to speak.



[edit on 11/17/2009 by Blaine91555]

[edit on 11/17/2009 by Blaine91555]

You know... by responding or even aknowledging articles like this you're all just furthering TPTB's agenda (yes I know, me too). They want you to bicker with each other about all this stupid piddly stuff that Obama does or doesn't do. Obama, like Bush before him, is just a puppet. A face for you to place all your blame or praise on. The REAL politics go on behind closed doors, far away from Washington. This is just another attempt to get people all riled up over nothing.

To be a hypocrite for a moment: It's just a fricken bow. He did it to show respect. Who gives a goddamn if it "shows weakness", we dropped 2 nuclear bombs on them and made THEM the submissive state that they are now. Whether or not someone bows too low is irrelevant.

Also, I was watching the old Japanese Iron Chef last night and at the end watched the 2 Japanese chefs both shake hands and bow low at the same time. It's a cultural sign of respect over there. Akihito was probably used to all the American slobs in the past who never bowed before him to show their respects, hence him not bowing to them.

For the record, I'm NOT an Obama fanboy

reply to post by Wormwood Squirm


And you are an expert on diplomatic protocol? The "Chosen One" screwed the pooch on this one. Heck, even many of his supporters are shaking their heads at this one.

I don't like obama didn't vote for him but honestly what the hell is the big deal???

he was submissive? no he was respectful

dear god ppl tell me this he bowed down right? ok so since he did this how has your life been affected? ...plz i'll wait....hmmm.....yea exactly it hasn't.

This thread should have been closed when the poster referenced fox news as its source.

Might as well pull up some stories from The Onion to discuss as well.

Maybe next we should ponder over Obamas bathroom habits such as toilet paper squares to wipe ratio. In Russia, the lack of a courtesy flush is considered an honor to those around to bask in its glory.

"He just dropped an oBOMBa."

Why the hell would he bow in the first place? Its like when you see a hispanic person. You don't just say Hola and walk away. Its disrespectuful.

Originally posted by Blaine91555
We have a President who is not even really qualified to run a corner grocery store.

If you ever tried to pass a Bar Exam in any state, you'd quickly change that uneducated opinion of yours. I'd rather sort through produce 18 hours a day than endure this.

Obama needs to stop his nonstop vacation

If you call a business trip a vacation, your views must be pretty radical. Do you work in a salt mine?

The position requires a person who can make almost instantaneous decisions

Do you ever realize that many situations are so complex they require thinking? It might be a novel concept, why don't you try it out.

Originally posted by nicnic100
Why the hell would he bow in the first place? Its like when you see a hispanic person. You don't just say Hola and walk away. Its disrespectuful.

Did he walk away?

My Spanish is rusty, but a few words I manage go OK with Hispanics I meet.

Sorry, I don't have the time to read all the irrelevant comments on this thread. Just stopped in to drop the obvious joke, probably said already, "I'm sure the emperor is happy just not to be barfed on."
Go make some news.

The guy is a moron! Yes, it's one thing to show cultural respect, and that's fine. But this moron bowed SO DAMN LOW, he essentially said "Even though I'm the leader of my country, I am weak, and am no different than a child" Why do I say this? Because IT IS TRUE!

In japan, there are different levels of bowing. You don't bow THAT low unless you're a child, and you only do it to your adult superiors (parents/teachers etc.) If I remember correctly (and maybe someone who has lived in japan can correct me) when you are with your equals (in this case for example, you have the american leader addressing the japanese emperor) you bow at an equal level, and usually you don't bow so low.

This moron through his sheer ignorance, just made all of the U.S. look like a bunch of weak children! And this is the guy who boasted throughout his campaign how he considered himself a citizen of the world???

Another point to ponder. While it can be ok to be respectful towards different cultures, I know of many japanese that, at least when addressing other westerners, don't bow, nor do they expect to be bowed to, then again, these individuals live in america and they know that it is not necessary.

Mortified? I love the use of extreme words on this site. Getting old. I live 5 minutes outside Tokyo Japan, have many japanese friends and watch the news every night. Nobody is talking about that here. So you can disregard this post. Obama might have done it the wrong way but believe me, nobody cares.

YAWN...you conservatives are pathetic....

Sounds to me like your saying SuperPowers bow to no one....

Do you realise how shallow you sound????