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Originally Posted by TreeBay
Are you a bunch of white guys running around in happi coats, bowing and calling each other sensei?
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That's an outrageous image!
No, we are a diverse group of men and women. Some are daisy-lovers and others are rednecks; from the very old to the very young.
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Originally Posted by RockM
It goes to show that snobbery is universal and a people famed for mannerly reserve can be cloddish oafs too.
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Well put. No one culture owns bonsai, as no one culture owns "cultivated ignorance".
My Japanese friends have always been sincerely encouraging and warm regarding my pursuit. Not simply polite. This sounds like what you are saying, Brian. They are, however from Japan and can't really comment on what is happening locally.
I suspect that the Grand Dame of the society approached me and was miffed (only gawd knows why) and after that we were marked.
I've heard of Westerners going to all Japanese clubs on the West Coast and being told outright lies, like they don't use fertilizer, etc.
All of this antipathy is frustrating. If they don't want to participate that's fine. But it's a resource that they could enjoy if they would stop with what I perceive is prejudice.
Kind regards,
Jim