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Post by queenzod on Apr 13, 2018 19:46:31 GMT
The Sami he used to wear is made of reindeer leather, so I bet we won’t be seeing it again. 😕
ps. I wonder how he’s reconciling his vegan lifestyle with the leather watch bands of Jaeger LeCoultre.
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Post by onebluestocking on Apr 13, 2018 21:00:21 GMT
I suppose it is more of a "work thing"...for example, a character he plays might wear leather, eat meat, etc. but it doesn't reflect on him personally. Wearing those watches is part of his job.
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Post by mllemass on Apr 13, 2018 21:01:40 GMT
He may have gone vegan, but I can't imagine him taking a stand and jeopardizing his work because of it. When he does speak out about something, it's always seems to be an issue involving children. I'm sure he has opinions on lots of other things, but he keeps them to himself.
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Post by roverpup on Apr 13, 2018 21:35:21 GMT
Absolutely "BINGO" to all 4 of your points QZ!!!
If the people of Korea are going to be all bent out of shape about the way BC greets folks then he can come more to Canada any time! He could drawl out "Hi Y'all!" and say "Zee" and I still would welcome him with open arms and not say one word!!! Honestly, I really think some people just want to search for things to be faux offended at nowadays!
:-))
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Post by igs on Apr 13, 2018 21:45:20 GMT
The Sami he used to wear is made of reindeer leather, so I bet we won’t be seeing it again. 😕 ps. I wonder how he’s reconciling his vegan lifestyle with the leather watch bands of Jaeger LeCoultre. I've always thought that stopping wearing stuff you already own once going vegan is shallow. Like if you have it, wear it until it breaks or you don't like it anymore. I mean if you have a mink coat or something gross like that by all means toss it since it's such a fashion statement and glorifies animal abuse but a wrist-band or a watch is a bit different in my opinion. Then again I'm not vegan - I sort of dabbled with trying to be one for a while but I started working out a lot last year and found trying to get enough protein on a vegan diet too exhausting so I reverted back to vegetarianism. Also, reindeer leather isn't that bad. Reindeer are game, not cattle. The Sami are one of the few remaining indigenous peoples of Europe (although TBH the definition is often pretty arbitrary when it comes to European peoples) and have herded them for centuries as their livelihood. It's not like factory farming. I'd even eat reindeer or any game if someone offered it to me (I haven't in years cause I don't live in Lapland and I don't know anyone who hunts.) I'm aware some vegans wouldn't want to wear reindeer skin of course, I just find it a bit militant. Sorry for this random rant haha.
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Post by ladyemma91 on Apr 13, 2018 22:07:50 GMT
The controversy over the bowing is complicated and involves a lot intricate customs. I lived in Korea for a year so I myself made some missteps I am sure. As it has been said before Koreans bow with the arms down, the hands should not be used at all. Koreans expect foreigners, especially foreigners who are coming there for work, to read up on basic gestures at least. A foreigner coming and doing the bow with praying hands could send a signal that that person in question is assuming that all Asians bow that way and they are all the same. Also that bow is associated with China and Japan, two countries that colonized Korea and Koreans try to distance themselves from (the anti-Japanese sentiment is especially high despite the presence of so much Japanese culture there).
Problem is we don’t really have an equivilent situation you could come up with to fit the West. Gestures (unless they are completely offensive) don’t bare as much weight and history here as they do in Korea.
I can’t for the life of me figure why he kept doing it over and over. I thought for sure someone would tell Karon and he would apologize or in the very least correct his bowing. But when it happened again I thought well maybe no one has said anything. Correction and confrontation is hard for Koreans, especially when the person they need to correct has a high social standing. But then I saw people say that a fan had talked to him and he said he was purposely doing it in the Buddhist style. This incident may not have happened, or someone could’ve said “you bow this way unless you are Buddhist and then bow this way.” Has he doubled down on the Buddhism? Is that tied in with his veganism? I like to think he didn’t know how much it was upsetting his Korean fans (I follow a few of the big ones and they were quite upset by it) and he wasn’t just being arrogant. But ultimately it’ll probably always remain a mystery. I just hope it hasn’t hurt his standing in Korea. And no controversies in Singapore please.
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Post by sgev1977 on Apr 13, 2018 22:55:04 GMT
When he went to Japan to promote STID some maybe a little overprotective fans from Western countries were scandalized when they heard there was a multitude of people waiting for him at the airport. They thought those fans were invasive and rude. Why? Because that's something very weird to do for non-Asian countries. Maybe for some sport teams but certainly not for actors. It actually sounds like a hell for "innocent" travelers!
He arrived, he had this great reception and everyone was happy. There was a cultural clash but those overprotective fans understood it was just a well-meaning gesture.
TBH I rolled my eyes when I see a tweet saying that if he is really a Buddhist why he doesn't salute fans at Heathrow like that. Answer: there are not fans waiting for him there!!!
I understand some of those fans have a very deep sense of their culture, history and traditions and agreed that someone should had told him but calling him racist for that is ridiculous. You can't judge people character for not following your own traditions. I can easily had committed that error and I would had feel bad and tried to learn but I would be very angry if someone call me racist for such an error. That is a big word and should not be used so easily.
I'm sure that he didn't want to offend them and common sense (something not very frequently used on social media around the entire world. I'm not just talking about Korea) tells that even if ignorant it was well-meant so I really hope they can see it.
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Post by Hannah Lee on Apr 13, 2018 23:43:32 GMT
As far as the bowing, I'm pretty sure I've seen him, and other performers, bow like that in front of audiences when coming out onstage and being welcomed, or at the end of a performance. Maybe he was trying to acknowledge the culture/customs with the gesture, or maybe he was just being the lifelong performer he is acknowledging the crowd. I want to say it's NBD and people just making a mountain out of a molehill, but then again I'm not of that culture, so it's not really my place to say.
If it was a misstep, rather than pointing back at BC or Karon, I'd point at Marvel/Disney- if you've got a global launch of a major project, you'd better do advance research of the cultural norms/customs of the varied places you're sending your employees to. When I worked at a US company with international business, and had a business trip planned on the company's behalf, I got a briefing sheet about the locale I was traveling to, or at the very least a local contact to check with. And if I had a misstep (for example forgetting the norms and bringing up work at lunch in a country where that was not the norm) someone graciously reminded me and took it as a simple error, not an insult. And when I got back, I'd note what I'd got wrong so my team wouldn't repeat the error next time.
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Post by roverpup on Apr 14, 2018 0:02:21 GMT
There may not be an exact equivalent in specific “gestures” but there are plenty of things people in the “West” could be totally offended about in social situations if they wanted to let themselves be. It is just a matter (to me) of being a tolerant person who doesn’t think the worst of people and not expecting the same high standards of behaviour that you look for from “native” citizens, from those who aren’t from your cultural milieu.
To me this whole “bowing-gate” has the closer equivalency of someone in North America of expecting people from a foreign land to speak “American” the minute they emigrate. Lack of tolerance and a whiff of “my way or the highway” to boot. I wouldn’t tolerate any Canadian dressing down, angrily commenting on social media or laughing at a group of Korean tourists for social “faux pas” and I hope most Koreans would behave likewise.
:-))
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Post by queenzod on Apr 14, 2018 1:25:00 GMT
I’m not sure I understand who is complaining. All the folks from Korea that I’ve seen didn’t care one whit how he bowed. They were just thrilled to pieces to see him. If the majority of Koreans dont care, who exactly is upset?
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