““We care about the small people. I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies, or greedy companies, don’t care. But that is not case in BP, we care about the small people” - Carl-Henric Svanberg, BP chairman (Swedish), after meeting with President Obama
Why do US people make such a big deal out of this remark? Poor choice of words. Sure. But he's Swedish! For those of you who needs help to understand what he really means, here's a comment left on WSJ;
Kafpauzo wrote:
It’s a fairly common Swedish expression, best translated as “the exposed people” or “the vulnerable people,” when used in this context. It describes people who are affected by something that encompasses them and is beyond their control.
I’m Swedish, so I’m judging from how the literally translated expression comes across when used in this context in Swedish.
Swedish politicians and media sometimes use this expression when talking about political decisions that have large effects, discussing how individual people are exposed to these effects, and talking about the fact that the politicians are responsible.[...]
Mystery solved....
Toyota spokesman in Surgical Mask
This unfortunate event reminds me of Toyota's surgical mask incident. When a Toyota spokesman appeared on camera in a surgical mask apologizing to the world, non-Japanese viewers were taken aback.
There is a tendency on the part of non-American automakers to view the American public’s emotional consumerism as a fetish, or even a form of illness. This might explain the surgical mask. - The Daily BeastWhat!? I saw the same feedback posted everywhere. (First originated from ABC News host, I guess.) Actually, in Japan, unless it's swine flu, we usually wear a surgical mask when we catch cold to protect others from OUR virus, not the other way around.
To the Japanese, there was nothing odd in the sight of a Toyota executive appearing before the world’s TV cameras to announce the recall of its cars while wearing a surgical mask. You don’t need to be a PR consultant to see that, to the West, especially to anxious Toyota drivers in the West, this makes as good an impression as turning up to the Vatican in hotpants. Even here, cultural misunderstanding widens the gulf: foreigners in Tokyo see these surgical masks, commonly worn during the cold season, as evidence of the natives’ hypochondria. In fact, it is a considerate gesture: they are wearing their mask to prevent you catching their cold. - Times OnlineAs long as I know, Times Online was the only media outlet that mentioned it.
Well, next time you encounter some bizarre, weird, out of contest behavior coming out of foreigners, just ask them why, what they mean by that before getting angry, because a lot of times, they don't really mean it.
BPのカールヘンリック・スバンベリ会長が原油流出事故の件でオバマ大統領と会談後の会見で
「我々は小市民（small people）のことを心から案じている。大手石油会社、欲まみれの会社は気にしちゃいないんだ、とという声をよく耳にするが、BPは違う。我々は小市民（small people）のことを心から案じている」と神妙に謝罪したら、被災地住民が「おいこら、よくも俺たちのことを小市民呼ばわりしてくれたな！」、「見下しやがって」、「俺は小さくない！」、「先祖は大陸からきたけど小さくない」、「いまだに大英帝国気取りか」とあらぬ方向で怒っていて驚いた。
だって相手はスウェーデン人じゃんねー。前半削って後半の「small people」のところだけ何度も流して煽ってるマスコミもどうしようもない。通しで読めばなんとなく言ってることは分かるのに。きっと向こうの言葉にはこういう言い回しがあるんじゃないの？
と思ったら、WSJにネイティブの人からの説明があった。；
「スウェーデン語ではよくある表現ですね。この文脈なら"被災者”、"弱い人々”が適訳でしょう。自分の手でコントロールできない状況に晒された人たちを指す言葉です。私はスウェーデン人なので文脈から推測できるのですが。
スウェーデンでは、政治家もマスコミも影響甚大な政策決定で市民にどのような影響が及び、それに対し政治家がちゃんと責任を取るんだよ、という話をする時この表現を使います」
トヨタのマスク会見
そう言えばトヨタが1月にリコール発表した時も、広報の人がマスクつけたまま謝罪記者会見に現れて、「アメリカ人は怒り狂う雑菌だって言いたいのか！」、「マスクかけてるのが何よりの証拠だ！」と、あらぬ方向で怒っていましたねぇ…なんでも「会見でマスク」は西洋人から見ると…「ホットパンツでバチカン行く」
ようなものらしい。
会見にマスクで出るトヨタもトヨタだけど、日本では鳥インフルエンザとか以外の時はふつう他人様に自分の風邪うつさないようにマスクかけるんだって、誰か教えてやってくれ～と気が気じゃなかったわ（「日本では気遣い」って書いてるのTimesぐらいだ）。
というわけで外国人が挙動不審な時は怒る前にどういう意味か本人に確かめましょ…
Your post on the BP incident over the words "small people" is quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteShintaro Tominaga, Kashiwa, Chiba-ken, Japan.