« [SSJ: 6998] Re: 6990] Re: 6980] Re: 6975] Re: 6937] Re: From Ronald Dore | Main | [SSJ: 7000] [Temple Univ. ICAS] December 2011 Movie Talk: CUT with Director Amir Naderi »

November 29, 2011

[SSJ: 6999] Re: 6998] Re: 6990] Re: 6980] Re: 6975] Re: 6937] Re: From RonaldDore

From: Ronald Dore
Date: 2011/11/29

Dear Ellis,
"I think you totally underestimate the cultural, political, military and personal ties that have developed between Japanese and Americans"

Hugh Patrick kindly invited me to the celebration of Columbia's Business School's 25th. It began with a dialogue between Ambassador Roos and Gerry Curtis about the north-east Japan disaster and Operation Tomodachi.
They are both throughly decent men with many genuine Japanese friends; Gerry a half-century long friend of mine for whom I have deep respect and surely the epitome of the ties that Ellis talks about. But what struck me most was the way both of them referred,never to any particular Japanese person, but consistently to "the Japanese", a collective noun representing the jieitai, the Kan government, the devastated farmers, and whatever,. Americans were referred to as individuals, patrol boatcommanders, marines, President Obama.
I don't think the phrase "the Americans" occurrred, maybe "we Americans".
The other thing that seemed significant was the fact that Futenma surfaced only when Roos said with a sheepish chuckle."Forunately we've agreed not to talk aout Futenma here today."

Deep "cultural, political, military and personal ties", yes, but always the potential for a deepening us-them iwakan.

Ronald Dore

Approved by ssjmod at 01:28 PM