About two hours ago, walking into a building I come to very often, the guard/gentleman at the front of the building who answers questions was sitting in his underwear, in the middle of changing his pants. It almost seemed that he had started changing them, got distracted by something on TV, took a seat, said hello to me as I walked by, then finished putting on his pants...
He seemed nonchalant about me catching him in the act. Instead of judging it from my immediate "what the hell" response, I was thinking about it from his perspective.
"Hey, I needed to change my pants at that moment. If I do this at the bathroom, and someone comes in looking for help, then I will get criticized for not being there. If I change my pants at my desk, then yes, some foreigner may wonder 'what the hell?' Damned if you do, damned if you don't."
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The editorial writers of the Korea Times spend too much time watching movies. They want big symbolic actions that mean nothing. And they'd like to have photos to demonstrate those big symbolic actions that mean nothing.
The latest example is the response to MERS:
That's exactly what Hollywood directors would stage--have the president show up on the scene, barking out orders about what must be done, standing around looking serious as solemn music plays in the background, canceling visits to assure the public. And as for Obama? Yeah, he would put everything on hold--in one case, he even held a press conference about the beheading of an American shortly before heading to the golf course. Okay, okay, the beheading of an American isn't the kind of national emergency the Korea Times is referring to. And I'm also wrong because the president didn't get caught changing to his golf pants.
He seemed nonchalant about me catching him in the act. Instead of judging it from my immediate "what the hell" response, I was thinking about it from his perspective.
"Hey, I needed to change my pants at that moment. If I do this at the bathroom, and someone comes in looking for help, then I will get criticized for not being there. If I change my pants at my desk, then yes, some foreigner may wonder 'what the hell?' Damned if you do, damned if you don't."
* * *
The editorial writers of the Korea Times spend too much time watching movies. They want big symbolic actions that mean nothing. And they'd like to have photos to demonstrate those big symbolic actions that mean nothing.
The latest example is the response to MERS:
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| President Obama, playing golf shortly after holding a press conference. |