As President Obama took a bow before Emperor Akihito of Japan last week, I wonder if it crossed his mind how some Americans would interpret the gesture as a sign of submission. I wonder if he thought about how the gesture would look to the Japanese people. Was it appropriate, in your eyes?
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/11/obama-emperor-akihito-japan.html
the real gyt
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I am speaking as one who lived in Asia for a while. When a person bows it is a sign of respect but the depth of the bow shows a lot. If you bow the same as the person you are greeting it is a sign of respect. If you bow deeper than the person you are greeting, it is a sign of submission.
Obama messed up totally on the bow. If you are going to bow, you do it with your hands at your side. If you are going to shake hands, you do not bow. To combine the two showed the Japanese emperor that this man was not familiar with the customs and the depth of the bow showed that this man is subservient to the emperor.
Doesn't Obama have anyone there who can tell him proper decorum?
Chains
First of all, despite popular "liberal" opinion, it is NOT "common" courtesy for a sovereign to "bow" before ANYBODY. It is never done. Not ever. No foreign leader on Earth bows to anyone unless they are displaying their submission to that leaders authority. It is entirely inappropriate, should be viewed by the leader and people of Japan as dishonest and deceitful, and should be viewed with contempt by the American people, for representing our nation in a weak and dishonest fashion.
If what Obama was trying to do, at the behest of his advisors (who are idiots), was to display an attitude of humility to the Japanese, or to the Saudi King when he bowed to him, or any other leader he has bowed to that didn't get caught on tape, then what he should have done was take a half step backward and nod his head, and ONLY his head, while grasping the other leaders hand firmly. He also could have allowed arrangements to be offered to the foreign leader to set the stage of their meeting in such a fashion that the foreign leader could position himself upon a modest dais, so that his footing was several inches higher on the floor than Obamas. One might call that "home field perogative", after all, he is in THEIR country, and obviously some display of respect should be shown.
My main point is that a deep bow is not respectful to either the Japanese OR Americans back home because it is not honest. Obama is not really meaning to display subordinance, but that is what that gesture means. So it can be viewed by the Japanese as either a lie, or proof that Obama is culturally ignorant of age old traditions of power and protocol. It can be viewed by Americans as either high treason for Obamas "surrendering of our sovereignty" to the Japanese, without the approval of Congress and the Senate, or we can view it as ignorance of age old traditions of power and protocol. At the very least we could view it as arrogance, since we all know Obama is educated well enough to know better, yet perhaps he seems to think that he is somehow above using the time honored protocol the rest of the human race has used for centuries.
I will tell you one thing though. He will probably get away with it, with as many liberals as there are in this country to defend him, but I suspect even his liberal base would abandon him if he ever decided to take a knee before one of these foreign leaders someday instead of merely a deep bow. However, one could only hope.
?
Well once I saw @Cthulhu post I had to reply to this.
For all you replying it was proper etiquette, you are wrong and also not too bright to post something trying to sound as if the other person is in the wrong when its vice versa.
If you bow as a foreign leader it is a form of SUBMISSION!! get your facts straight!
And yes, for what it's worth, what Obama is doing to this country and to how we as Americans look is ridiculous. This whole election was a media joke, and if your halfway smart, you'd realize this.
Edit:
What has Obama done for this country!!?
Make us a laughing stock around the world?
I swear, some people really need to get their heads out!
MrNeutral
Should I be shaking my keyboard in anger? Was this run by the State Dept office of protocol? Where is Goldie Hahn when you need her.? BTW,bowing is not a sign of submission. Unless you are Bush puking into a Japanese lap. It is a sign of respect. But the Emporer is a living God. Living God's don't have to bow. Besides, a real man can make his own protocol! Maybe a fist bump?
Anonymous
It was entirely appropriate. Check out this article about Ike bowing to foreign leaders (photos included).
http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2009/11/dwight-d-eisenhower-bowing-hour.html
The whole controversey about Obama's actions is because the wing nuts know they cannot criticize Obama's policies. Now they have to admit they're also wrong about symbolism.