Bowing in Japan is simple, the lower you bow the more you are an 'inferior' to the other person.

Obama's bow was, extremely subservient and this is why it's causing the storm on both sides of the pacific.
You show respect to other leaders, but not humiliation and subservience.
This is not the first time he's done this either...

Democrats and Republicans are both stunned by this...

Originally posted by WatchRider
Obama's bow was, extremely subservient and this is why it's causing the storm on both sides of the pacific.

Both sides?

Show me where this supposed "storm" is in Japan - because I seem to be missing it.

Obama is an idiot and a puppet.

There is something and someone a lot more sinister we should be looking at.

Who?

Originally posted by vox2442

Originally posted by WatchRider
Obama's bow was, extremely subservient and this is why it's causing the storm on both sides of the pacific.

Both sides?

Show me where this supposed "storm" is in Japan - because I seem to be missing it.

Well I can't open up peoples hearts and minds for all to see on ATS but rest assured when east and western audiences saw the images I don't think their first thoughts were:
Oh look at the brilliant way he's bowing before our leader.
It would of been more like:
What on earth is he doing bowing down like that?!

Originally posted by WatchRider

Well I can't open up peoples hearts and minds for all to see on ATS but rest assured when east and western audiences saw the images I don't think their first thoughts were:
Oh look at the brilliant way he's bowing before our leader.
It would of been more like:
What on earth is he doing bowing down like that?!

No.

you can't open up people's hearts and minds. But you can post a source.

There's an incredible amount of assumption on the american half of this - that the Japanese are treating this somehow similar to the way the US media is. They're not.

No one seems to care, in fact. It's not news.

While I don't have 24 hour access to all forms of Japanese media, I DO read a couple of newspapers a day, watch a fair bit of TV (especially news and current events shows), and listen to the radio whenever I'm driving, as well as reading a few japanese news blogs. Add to that watercooler talk in the office, and I have heard nearly ZERO about this.

The coverage of the American coverage of this has been getting more air time than the actual bow - and THAT is making America look like a bunch of idiots, because no one here seems to be able to understand what the fuss is all about.

If the Japanese are as outraged as you and others here would have me believe, they're doing an incredible job of hiding it. Makes me wonder how all of you are getting this information - because I don't see it.

not to mention, didn't George H. W. Bush get knighted by the queen of england?

I think that is even worse if not the worst a president or former president can do... in that fact, we have already shown how inferior we can be...

but we still got our military stationed there, and in korea, and in afganistan, and iraq, and kuwait, germany italy etc etc... we've blown up two of thier cities, they bombed the hell out of pearl harbour. they like baseball, we buy all their technology and cars (well we charge it)... but who gives a sh!t. we're broke as hell, but we can get more loans for another war, and kick the sh1t out damn near everybody in this world, but is this gonna bother obama?
who cares if the took a sh!t in the royal / imperial bathroom that day, was the smell offensive too?

The coverage of the American coverage of this has been getting more air time than the actual bow - and THAT is making America look like a bunch of idiots, because no one here seems to be able to understand what the fuss is all about.

If the Japanese are as outraged as you and others here would have me believe, they're doing an incredible job of hiding it.

Number 1, why would they be ashamed by the deep bow of the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth, and two, of course they wouldn't be outraged, it was a sign of subservience to their leader...Duh!


[edit on 18-11-2009 by skepticantiseptic]

Having attempted to study Japanese customs for polite behavior, and having given up, I will cut anyone some slack if they are just trying.

Maybe he should have carefully presented him with a business card...just so.
Bleh.

I think this one is overblown. I'd like to see a bunch of the loudest try to function correctly socially over there. I bet it would take me 5 minutes to mess something up.

Maybe they won't get so mad they call him Obama kun.
Oh that's bad, Lord I apologize for that one.

Originally posted by hadriana
Having attempted to study Japanese customs for polite behavior, and having given up, I will cut anyone some slack if they are just trying.

Maybe he should have carefully presented him with a business card...just so.
Bleh.

I think this one is overblown. I'd like to see a bunch of the loudest try to function correctly socially over there. I bet it would take me 5 minutes to mess something up.

Maybe they won't get so mad they call him Obama kun.
Oh that's bad, Lord I apologize for that one.

If you mess something up it is no bigge becuase you are not the LEADER of the free world...He has advisors who should know the customs of the host country and pass info that on to him. I hope he was just trying to say that even though he is a powerful leader that he still can be humble.

As a military guy I dont like it, but thats just me

Gear

Japanese people #may# have felt that such a great honor from such a powerful person was too much for them to reciprocate and thus in Japanese terms the only polite response was to appear embarrassed at unjustified honor being pored at their feet - this is a very standard formula of etiquette in all the politest country's.

Japan is though a very advanced nation technologically and socially, most people just think that by obama bowing it looks like he's treating japan like it's a 17th century feudal state and not the 21C's most tech-enabled society as it actually is - they don't care though, like i didn't care all the times bush got it wrong meeting our royal family, it's just archaic tradition.

Just a thought - perhaps Obama is going overboard with the bowing becuase he's afraid people will accuse him of being a power hungry dictator?

The right wing has painted him as many things; an illegal, a narcissistic, dictator, a buffoon...everything BUT a human being.

I don't agree with Obama's political agenda but I still respect him as a human being in a remarkable situation.

He is very inexperienced and for the most part old Washington insiders run the show. From what I understand it's Rahm Emmanuel who is actually running the show. Someone the right wing is actually fearful off...and with good reason.

I do not believe he rehearsed these moves. This is a subconscious level body language. It shows that Obama is unsure of himself, afraid and intimidated.

Originally posted by Hitemhard
Did you just purposely ignore all the posts others have contributed here?

Heck, even someone here who says he's a high school kid taking martial arts knows the difference.

LOL! i'm not in high school, i'm a high school drop out, that means i never finished high school. I left the place many many years ago. I don't study karate either, I used to, the point is that i only did it for a year, less than actually, and even I know what's what.

agreed that TheOneElectric opinion is born of ingnorance, however perhaps you should follow your own advice and also read the posts, I'm not that young and i'm not active in martial arts. thanks for the reference tho.

-B.M

Who cares if this moron bowed, didn't bow, shook hands, scratched his nuts, picked his nose and ate it.

He's an idiot and a joke.

He should show his own people that kind of respect.Im going to go retch now.Leader indeed.

I haven't seen any sources indicating that the Japanese were "mortified." Would someone care to site a (Japanese) source for such? It seems to me the degree to which an English speaker is mortified by this event has a correlation to the frequency with which they partake in Fox News.

Originally posted by Izarith

If you want to know the Japanese opinion of this bow, I highly suggest you don't look for it on FOX or MSN.

If you have read the entire thread you would have seen links to alternative news sources provided by other posters about the Japanese perspective.

Not just FOX/MSM.