Ugly Americans

On "This Week," following Jimmy Carter talking about monitoring the Nepali elections and defending his plans to meet with Hamas, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley talked nonstop for at least five minutes about how President Bush planned to attend the Beijing Olympics (though Hadley would not say whether or not he would attend the opening ceremonies -- still got a finger in the wind) despite China's policies toward "Nepal."  He said this repeatedly, even mentioning the Dalai Lama, never becoming aware that he was misspeaking, and Stephanopoulos did not correct him, whether because he too was not terribly aware of the difference or simply because he didn't want to interrupt or digress from the point. 

I found it an extremely embarrassing display of imperial ignorance and indifference.

Comments

[karen]

Amba- could you be give more detail about this post. I think it's really important, but don't understand the lingo you're using in terms of Nepal. Like- i know W will support our atheletes @the Olympics and just about everyone else says they would boycott them.

Then, W has to be his usual contrary self(Tongue applied firmly in cheek)by saying he felt his presence would give more publicity to the contrasts in US vs China's democracy and that it would be a peaceful, diplomatic showing to be present.

I've always maintained that, no matter what W does- it ain't never gonna be the right thing for the ones w/the axes grinding on their pitiful stones.

PS- double standards everywhere(negatives, too:0)).

[karen]

"... by saying he felt his presence would give more publicity to the contrasts in US vs China's democracy..."

Or lack thereoff.

[amba]

It wasn't the substance of the policy decisions I was commenting on (neither Jimmy Carter's personal diplomacy nor W's official diplomacy). Those are subjects for other posts (which at the moment I don't feel like writing). It was the fact that NEPAL was substituted for TIBET without any apparent awareness of the mistake, as if they were interchangeable!!

[Randy (Internet Ronin)]

He made a gaffe. I'd discuss it and probably criticize him, but I don't want to engage in the politics of personal destruction.

[karen]

LOL!!!! now, that's something I'D say!!!

I always wish i could be so ignorant and get paid what the folks who are in such higher positions saying the same things get paid. Life would be worth my foolishness then!

I listen to VPR so much these days(go figure:0)). I did know it was Tibet, if i had taken the time to think about it. Thanks for explaining.

[Peter Hoh]

Confusing Nepal and Tibet? How embarrassing. Misspeaking is a lame excuse that doesn't quite cover this gaffe.

[amba]

Randy: It's a gaffe if you say it once! He kept on saying it. Apparently it was just all the same to him!

[Charlie (Colorado)]

I found it an extremely embarrassing display of imperial ignorance and indifference.

Um, on Hadley's part, Carter's part, or Stephanopolous' part?

Hadley was reasonably good on Fox news Sunday on the same topic, and I rather liked his point (and Bush's point) that there are going to be a lot of people who think boycotting the opening ceremonies means they're gotten their Good Humanitarian chit and can go back to business as usual.

[RW Rogers]

I don't know, amba. From what you described, it struck me as someone who has a momentary lapse, like someone you know referring to you in a conversation by the wrong name repeatedly because some event or random connection caused the misfire. In this case, I imagined it to be the earlier segment on Nepal. Now, if he merged what was going on in the two different countries, or what was said by others earlier about Nepal, that's another thing. But that's not what you reported, so I see it as a gaffe. A pretty stupid one at that, for someone in his position, but I've been shown the light and am trying not to engage in the politics of personal destruction, however that is defined by those empowered to define it and set the correct tone, so I shouldn't have said that, I guess. OMG, another gaffe. Who knew?

[amba]

Um, on Hadley's part, Carter's part, or Stephanopolous' part?

Hadley and Stephanopoulos. Carter was out of the picture by then. Obviously, him talking about elections in Nepal was what triggered the lapse in Hadley's brain, but it was a sustained lapse: he never noticed that he was saying "Nepal" instead of "Tibet," and he said it, I think, between five and ten times. (To be precise, I'll have to look at the transcript and count, if they haven't corrected it.) Stephanopoulos hopefully noticed it, but then decided it wasn't worth breaking the flow of content to correct it. Hopefully. The impression conveyed was that to both men, "You know, those Himalayan countries over there with the Asiatic-looking people" was the degree of discrimination that they brought to that part of the world. That would not be surprising in the average working American (particularly given the proven atrocious nature of our education in geography, etc.), but in people in both these guys' positions it is inexcusable. It's a myopia and indifference like ... well, like the illustration here. It's funny, but it's not funny. It's the sort of imperial indifference that probably breeds more resentment than anything else, and rightly so. You know, "Go ahead, station your armies or missiles on my border, flood my culture with your suggestive, violent Hollywood dreck -- one keeps me safe, the other entertains me -- but for God's sake, get my name right."

[amba]

To repeat: I'm not talking here about the substance of Hadley's comments or the administration's policy on the Olympics. Not talking about the substance of the interview.

[huxley]

Frankly, I've been wondering if Carter is going senile for a few years now. If true, it's just sad.

Carter's recent book Palestine: Peace, not Apartheid led to fourteen members of the Carter Center resigning en masse and Carter himself having to apologize publicly for a passage that seemed to justify suicide bombing.

Whether one agrees with Carter's politics or not, it seems to me that in the past he was savvy enough to do the calculations necessary to avoid swift public humiliation.

[wj]

Saying Nepal when you meant Tibet is a gaffe, but not probably not that significant. Especially given that the speaker got the right general part of the world.

On the other hand, the failure of the interviewer to catch it is indicative of something more worrisome and far more common. Geography is simply not taught in teh schools. You can get a course in college, if you happen to think of it. But in grammer school or high school? Almost certainly not.

As a result, the Americna tendency to know little and care less about things beyond our borders is firmly in place. And that general ignorance and indifference, more than any "imperial" overtones, is what worries me.

[huxley]

It's a shame that young people, as far as I know, don't collect stamps anymore. That's how I learned most of my geography!

[amba]

A good way to learn it, and very intriguing.

[huxley]

Plus you get to learn the national flags.

Not much help with pronunciation though. I was quite surprised when I learned how to say Czechoslovakia aloud. Course, now it's the Czech Republic and Slovakia.