... all hail broke loose.
A throng of grumpy ol' chest-thumping alpha pundits are weeping like pigtailed middle school girls at a Jonas brothers concert.
I have been meaning to participate in the forum and react to the hilarious fit thrown by the likes of Fox News' Hannity but lacked the time to do so.
All thanks to this new program I have recently started called "sleep 7 hours a night, not 4", there's not much else I can get done, but I digress.
The story ran, over and over since last Sunday, but let's delve into it some more and maybe even close the contentious debate right here!
Let's try and figure the real scope of Obama's gesture, other than hitting some raw nerve and making some macho-style-politics advocates squeal, that is...
To achieve the best analytical results, a scholar approach shall be used. Let's ask ourselves the right questions.
Okay, ready?
Okay, ready?
What happened exactly?
-On the second stop of his Asian tour, President Obama, upon meeting the japanese Emperor Akihito, followed protocol --some would say in an overboard, ninety degree fashion-- and greeted the Japanese Head of State with an imperial bow.
Come again?
-President Obama shook his counterpart's hand and made a motion forward with the upper part of his body showing reverence to Emperor Akihito.
Why?
- Since we're not President Obama, nor are we able to read minds yet, we'll attempt a plausible course of thinking which surely goes along the line of: "showing a host some goodwill by borrowing some of his cultural codes is always good for diplomatic business".
Does this send the world a weird message though?
- Looking at things, (and by that I mean Foreign Affairs), through the prism of Alpha-male type of politics --where the most powerful nation relies on frowning, aloofness, disdain and more, to ensure they get respect and diffuse enough fear not to be messed with-- one could be appalled and call the gesture an act of subservience. The President's people later laughed brushed it off as a simple protocol. The protesters insist that the commander-in-chief of the strongest military in the World shouldn't worry about pleasing allies, with shocking bows and curtsies, especially when some, like Queen Elizabeth, were left out and didn't receive such formal greeting in the past.
Ok, how did the gesture translate to the Japanese public?
-The japanese perspective on President Obama's bow when/if someone cared enough to even discuss it, is a positive one although proper etiquette as to the level of arching is a debatable detail. Most people there, took Obama's "body language"as a touching and polite act and appreciated the effort.
Any political figure ever tried anything similar before?
- Obama's detractors -- or those with a lot of time on their hands anyway -- have researched thoroughly and came to the conclusion that no one in History ever set the bar so low. A clever slideshow has been put forth to support that.
Others argue that a lot of bowing and even awkward smooching has been done in the past, but no one seemed to care, as they shouldn't try and read into Obama's gesture beyond the demonstartion of good manners that it was.
Any political figure ever tried anything similar before?
- Obama's detractors -- or those with a lot of time on their hands anyway -- have researched thoroughly and came to the conclusion that no one in History ever set the bar so low. A clever slideshow has been put forth to support that.
Others argue that a lot of bowing and even awkward smooching has been done in the past, but no one seemed to care, as they shouldn't try and read into Obama's gesture beyond the demonstartion of good manners that it was.
Next!
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