@Ace:

I need to see this episode, clearly . . . sounds like a good one.

@Ace:

Shhhh Ace. That's supposed to be a secret. ._.

@KeenHavoc:

Clearly, President Obama wants to Kill Smurfs.

@Indi:

I realize that. When I said "Americans are idiots," I meant myself included. :D

For all you silly n00blets getting off on the tangent of stupid Americans, they need to remember that they’re not God, among other sweeping generalizations that just make you look ignorant yourself… You’re also forgetting that the article is talking about “critics” of Obama. Not “ALL” Americans.

He’s President of the US, because more than 50% of us voted him into office. So including us in those “sweeping generalizations” is pretty dumb. We helped put him in office to begin with. And guess what? Most of us are fine with the gesture too. Sure he might have messed it up a bit, but the effort is what matters.

~Crystia

@KCHuang:

People who issue blanket generalizations are idiots. You’d do well to remember that.

~Crystia

Americans are idiots. Politicians are idiots. American politicians are off the scale.

Props to Obama for at least attempting to respect Japan's culture.

@AP Ichigo:

I agree. A nod of the head would have been acceptable.

To lung into this conversation;

The reason people are upset at the fact that The President bowed is because America was founded under God. We have tried to never bow to show that the only King we bow to is God, and that is who America was founded to serve under. That is why in our pledge it says "One Nation, Under God." So I see where people are coming from.

Yet at the same time I also think that it is rude not to bow in a country where bowing is customary. So really the whole situation is pretty messed up.

May I point the question out; To bow or not to bow.

But coming to my final conclusion is that if Obama wants to show that America is still a Christian Nation, it is best that he had shaken the Emperors hand. For Christians and soldiers of God, even if other disagree, we must stand up for out King and God.

So in a way I can see both points. Above was just my oppression.

@:

Just try to be a little more objective next time, 'kay? Irritated is one thing, but dragging around a bunch of people in the mud for little to no reason is a whole other story. There's a reason adults can still fight like children. *shrugs*

@Ace:

I agree on the idea of mutual respect. What I disagree with is our leaders saying that Obama should not have bowed to the Emp. My view is thus: when you are in someone else's house, you play by their rules. Aka, respect their customes. Americans (as a whole) tend to inflate the importance of our leaders vs. those of other countries.

When I first read this on Yahoo news, I -really- wanted to leave a flame comment. My main issue was not that the people were yelling at him for bowing, but because neither the author nor any of the people mentioned or quoted in the article stated the fact that it's part of the culture of Japan to bow to those who you respect. In all actuality, I would rather him show a sign of respect and us still be political friends with Japan, as opposed to his ignoring their customs and possibly setting off a feud. But obviously the people flaming Obama are ignorant of Japanese culture. Feh.

@wuzzle320:

Of course America doesn't control the world, but neither does Japan. World leaders should be treating each other with mutual respect no matter where they are, not treating the other as inferior when they're visiting the country. Leaders looking down on their equals is a recipe for bad foreign policy and generally just not a very good way to treat a guest.

Not that I think the Emperor was regarding Obama as inferior. The way I read the situation, Obama was respecting the Emperor in the manner best recognized by the local culture (and admittedly botching it a little,) and the Emperor accepted the gesture with no indication of condescension. If it was wrong of him not to bow back, I think he can be forgiven because as the Emperor, he would be used to being bowed to frequently without bowing back. It's just something he hasn't become accustomed to.

You would think that living in the day and age that we do people would be better informed on other cultures. Obviously not. Well... unless your the President of the United States or people lurking about on theOtaku.

@Shinmaru:

I will join, I will join!!! High Fives all around!!

@Shinmaru:

HIGH FIVE X INFINITY!!!!

How do I get that many hands...? o_o; *ponders*

@:

AGREE! I am an American, and respect our president, but that's just it. He is the president of AMERICA. Even if the two are on the 'same level', Obama was in JAPAN at the time. Lest we for foget that the US doesn't control the world?

The heck? What's wrong with those people? Obama was simply respecting another culture's customs. Wouldn't you expect the emperor of Japan to greet our president with a handshake? And what happened to the 'racial tolerance' that America's so famous for?
I apologize for my rantiness, but those people are crazy AND stupid.

In the clip I originally saw on the news, there was no bow, only a handshake, and I was wondering why he DIDN'T bow. You should should follow the customs of another culture when you're in their country.

ALSO. Shouldn't the president have people to tell him how to do this stuff right?

I must say that I REALLY enjoyed reading these comments, they really are fascinating :-]

@Shadweh:

I Applaud your statement!

@:

Back home, (I'm from Detroit) it can be considered an insult to buy a foreign-made car. Said cars have been our regional life-support for decades and has become part of our culture and lifeblood. When some uppity jerk comes around thinking that his car is superior simply because it wasn't touched by his blue-collar neighbors, problems start. Different cars fit different people for different reasons, just like how different cultures vary from person to person due to a variety of circumstances. I'm appalled at how many people just don't understand how important cars are to my local economy just because other industries decided they wanted to skip over Detroit and go where they live instead. Then again, a lot of these industries probably thought all we were capable of doing was making cars and attending sporting events and were just unaware that the fact we became such an automotive hub was to save the consumer money by keeping all the materials in a centralized location to cut down on unnecessary shipping costs for parts. I can tell you for a fact that they are wrong about us, as we were never given the chance and can achieve great things as long as we have the opportunities that before turned up their noses and moved along.

If you don't understand part of someone else's culture, it's not because you're an idiot jerk but because you're uninformed. Many perfectly, rational, intelligent people can be uninformed about culture tidbits like Detroit's cars or Japan's bowing and not mean anything negative by it. Simply not knowing isn't a crime. Potential social gaffe? Maybe. Proof that all Americans are incapable of speaking without making total fools out of themselves? No.

For the record, I don't think I know a single American who truly believes in that 2012 nonsense or believed in Y2k... so please stop declaring to the world that we do. It's incredibly rude to assume like that.

Considering that the paper I just wrote takes place in the Age of Imperialism, the gesture of respect Obama did is a big leap for America (even if he is definitely not the first to do this). I will say this though: I personally think that he should have done a little more homework on Japanese courtesy before bowing as low as he did. Then again, he probably got the research from one of his aids and misinterpreted it for all I know...

@Shinmaru:

*HIGH FIVES* :D

@:

At least he didn't jump up on the cutting board like Bobby Flay did at the end of his first match in the original Iron Chef. That received quite a bit of ire.

@AP Ichigo:

The guy I got this news from mentioned that Obama bowed too low as well, yeah.

So from your take, you'd see this as less of "he screwed up, but at least he tried" to more of "he did not do the research"?

This whole problem would be eliminated if everyone adopted the high five as their official greeting. Who doesn't feel awesome after getting a high five? And there's no ambiguity about it either. Join me in high fiving our way to the top of the world.

I dont think anyone should really be making a big deal out of this. When in a forgien country, do as they do. Its not too complicated. Granted, he did bow a little low, but still.

Anyway, in America, with all the other problems we're having, shouldn't we pay a little less attention to this? I mean, all this publicity for what would equal.. a handshake in this country perhaps, its just... Yeah. :/

@:

Please, I am just as sickened by people believing in the whole 2012 thing. Do not include me with the idiots. Thank you.

@:

Sorry, me calling out your completely generalized opinion is totally and utterly uncalled for. I'll go back to my dark, evil hole now -- got to get ready for my lunch meeting with Big Brother and Stalin. I'll never infringe upon your right to free speech by challenging your opinion ever again. I swear.

@:

Don't go bashing America and then whining about being denied Freedom of Speech, now. That's part of our constitution, after all. :p

@:

Are you really doing this again? You just insulted an entire country based entirely on the unfounded superstitions of some of our more vocal minorities. That's hardly fair at all. I'm curious as to how you would feel if I told you all Japanese people were bigots because of the abundance of Blackface characters in manga and anime. You're going to have to learn how to participate in a discussion without blatantly insulting everyone who disagrees with you every time you post, because it really doesn't win you any points, yo.

In any case, and this goes for everyone, the America-bashing is getting old, guys. I happen to live in America and think it's a pretty cool place. So a couple of outspoken political bigwigs misinterpreted a gesture. It's not like you're required to have intricate knowledge of the workings of Irish Monarchy to hold office in the US. Ease up.

@:

Well, let's not get overzealous here and start making generalizations. That's every bit as silly and ignorant as what's happening in that story.

Well now we know the other politicians have no respect for other people and their culture. They're always thinking about themselves. At least the president knew the formal way to greet them. Good for him.

Why do I find it funny that a Canadian's posting this? :D

Still, I think we, on this site, are more than a bit biased about this news nugget. Many of us anime nerds who come from Western backgrounds have already ingrained this kind of stuff into our brains. Other people, like the normies making a fuss, don't necessarily understand the customs and traditions of other lands in full since they have never required such information. When in Japan, you respect Japanese ways. When in Britain, you respect British ways. When in Egypt, you respect Egyptian ways. If people don't need to go to or deal with people/things from Japan, Britain or Egypt, they might not always recall the different cultural nuances. It's not so much that Americans are being dumb here, but they were unfamiliar with the situation and experienced culture shock. Trust me; it happens.

seriously..... dang whats wrong with that..... come on, politicians, swallow the dang pride and try not to choke on it.....

Oh America, how you amuse me. This isn't a very big deal, the President was just trying to show some respect, so that's what should count. Gosh people are so silly =.="

@wolf of sorrow:

totally agreed ._.

Even if he did bow wrong or whatever, he did try to show respect to their culture, which is very cool in my opinion. :]

People will find the smallest things to complain about. >>;

Hm, did the emperor return the bow? I think the bow is fine as long as equal respect is shown in return (though I found the bow to be VERY low?)

American leaders are so full of foolishness. Our president showed respect to another culture, and the politicians over here are whining? America is not the leader of the universe.

~kugen

I love the US, I really do, but it's so obnoxious when some people think that they're the king of the world just because they live there.

I totally agree with Miss Anonymous, *facepalm* indeed...

Personally, I think the Prez did the right thing by bowing. America isn't God so they need to get the God-complex feeling out of their system. Second, the President was showing his respect for the foreign leader, after all he is the emperor.

Anyways, as an american, I think he was just being culturally correct. American analyst on the other hand are too anal to see respect for culture and think it's dissing the country.

Stupid Americans.

@Ace:

There is nothing wrong with your logic there. Nope, none at all.

@Miss Anonymous:

How dare he greet people in the local culture's accepted method of exhibiting mutual respect! You totally should have punched him for us, Missy. He's a traitor to America.

Ah, they're just miffed because he didn't bow to whitey when he came back home.

*facepalm* @ the stupid people