Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
March 26, 2012 at 4:53pm
Alas, I can't find the clip on YouTube, but you can see it here:
Obama's gesture causes 'insult' row in Turkey
A hand gesture that US President Barack Obama made to call Turkey's foreign minister stirred the Turkish Parliament, with opposition members saying Obama "insulted" the minister with the gesture, while the ruling party says the move was caused by friendship between Obama and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.
This makes me laugh. I was told off by an ex-boyfriend once for doing the same thing. He explained that it was highly insulting in Turkey. I remember thinking, "You're just making this up now--is there anything that doesn't offend people here?"
On this one, I'm on Obama's side.
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Comments:
Oct '11
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
Oh, for heaven's sake. That's just silly. Ok, it's mildly condescending to beckon with a finger. It's something you do to a 5-year-old who's misbehaving. But maybe the Turks should lighten up.
Mar '11
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
Oh, well, he was among friends - no problem.
Btw, Claire, did you see that Mrs Thatcher regretted being PM, as far back as 1995?
Jun '10
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
Obama isn't the most culturally aware guy, but that one doesn't deserve condemnation.
Oct '11
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
For some reason that gesture is considered offensive by the Vietnamese as well.
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
I'm not holding my breath.
But I'm pretty amused by this, in the way one would be when a dimly-remembered argument with an ex is replayed as a high-level international diplomatic imbroglio.
Sep '10
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
I wonder what it says about any culture that is so quick to take offense about trivial things. Not so much this gesture but in general the easily offended seem often to be groups where more than a bit of uncomfortable truth is expressed in stereotypes.
Sep '11
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
Because I'm ignorant of the Turkish and Vietnamese cultures, what exactly about that gesture is insulting? And isn't he gesturing at/beckoning one of his own staffers?
Edited on March 26, 2012 at 6:57pmRe: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
Well, what you have to understand is that the opposition likes to portray the AKP as slavishly pro-American. Many of them think the AKP is a CIA plot to weaken Turkey by imposing upon it a neo-liberal Islamist regime that's friendly to US imperial interests in the region. This is, they believe, part of the American Greater Middle East project.
No, I'm not kidding. They do.
So, seeing the foreign minister scuttle after Obama like that--following what is arguably his imperious gesture--is just too tempting for them.
Think how the US opposition reacted to Obama's bowing to the Saudi king, but in reverse.
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
It's politics. People choose to be incredibly offended by trivial things when they think they can make political capital out of it. Same as in America. It's like Sandra Fluke being incredibly offended by Rush Limbaugh. It doesn't say much about Turkish culture or American culture; it just says something about democracies, I guess, and how easily people allow themselves to be whipped into silly frenzies.
May '10
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
It's certainly a strange world when taking offense becomes a form of bullying.
Mar '11
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
DutchTex: Because I'm ignorant of the Turkish and Vietnamese cultures, what exactly about that gesture is insulting? And isn't he gesturing at/beckoning one of his own staffers? · 23 minutes ago
Edited 23 minutes ago
I think it means "This guy... this is not my kind of guy."
Oct '11
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
DutchTex: Because I'm ignorant of the Turkish and Vietnamese cultures, what exactly about that gesture is insulting? And isn't he gesturing at/beckoning one of his own staffers? · 1 hour ago
Edited 1 hour ago
That gesture is extremely offensive in Korea also. Gesturing "come here" with the palm down is OK. Gesturing with the palm up has a coarse sexual meaning towards women which the rules prevent further explanation. It was the same in Thailand and Vietnam when I was at those places. I have no idea what that gesture means in Turkey. Once when trying to insult the crew of a Bear bomber we had intercepted I tried flipping them the bird with no effect. I remembered an Italian actress giving the raised fist salute with the opposite hand on the elbow and gave that a try. Those guys almost fell out of their observation blister. We were soon passing the bird and raised fist salutes back and forth. It was a great cultural exchange.
May '10
Re: Obama Manages to Insult Turkey
This gesture seems to be offensive in a lot of countries.