RE: Hinkaku - It isn't the same as xenophobia!

[hvane@shrewsbury.org]

On  9 Dec 97 Richard Pardoe wrote:
> Our presidental candidates must have a certain dignity (or) propriety to
> be considered for the office (remember Gary Hart). (more examples deleted)

These examples aren't a question of dignity or propriety.  They
demonstrate a lack of ethics (or hubris in deciding ethnics don't
apply to them, which is pretty much the same thing).

Hart was caught in a blatant lie, as was the judge you mention, and
Rose was doing something illegal.

We (Americans) don't seem to demand hinkaku in people in public life
(unless we're talking about an icon like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
and much of our view might have been what we projected onto her), so
I do think it's a uniquely Japanese concept, at least at this
century.  Therefore, I have no way of judging whether or not
Konishiki has it.  

OTOH, I'm glad he wasn't a yokozuna for my sake.  I discovered sumo
only a couple of years ago, and as a yokozuna he would have been
long gone from performing on the dohyo at that point.



Linda
hvane@shrewsbury.org