Do the People Who Shout Loudest About “Equality” Look Down on Others? A Gaffe and My Distrust of Liberals

The other day, Toru Tamakawa, a commentator on TV Asahi’s Morning Show with Shinichi Hatori, caused an uproar with an inappropriate remark.

While explaining that lifestyle is not the only cause of thinning hair, he referred to homeless people and described the way they lived as “dirty.”

He apologized during the program, and TV Asahi’s president later acknowledged that the remark had been inappropriate and apologized as well.

What interested me, however, was not the gaffe itself so much as who had made it.

Did We See What an “Ally of the Vulnerable” Really Thinks?

Tamakawa regularly offers strong opinions on politics and social issues. He is generally seen as a liberal commentator who emphasizes human rights and equality.

And yet he described homeless people in that way.

The contradiction is striking.

Someone who calls for consideration toward socially vulnerable people forgot that consideration in his own words. Nor was he discussing an especially difficult issue. It was an offhand analogy used to explain hair loss.

That is precisely what bothers me.

Anyone can say admirable things in a prepared speech: human rights, equality, opposition to discrimination. The list can go on forever.

But in casual conversation, a person’s usual way of seeing the world can slip into their words.

I do not intend to claim that this single remark proves what he truly thinks. Even so, the gap between the principles he usually promotes and the words that came out of his mouth was substantial.

How does someone who preaches solidarity with vulnerable people actually see them?

Once people begin asking that question, the loss of trust is not insignificant.

Harsh on Others, Lenient with Their Own Side?

Another thing that concerns me is the media’s response.

Tamakawa apologized, and TV Asahi acknowledged the problem. But at least for now, he has not been removed from the program.

I do not believe that everyone who makes an inappropriate remark should automatically be removed from television.

The question is whether the same standard is applied to everyone.

When politicians or conservative commentators make inappropriate remarks, the media sometimes scrutinize not only their words but also their beliefs and character.

What happens, then, when someone close to the media’s own position does the same thing?

Is an apology enough? Or will they demand the same accountability they ordinarily demand from others?

If the standard remains unclear, people can hardly be blamed for suspecting that the media are ultimately lenient toward their own side.

If you advocate equality, start by applying your standards of criticism equally.

That is all I am asking.

I Began to Understand Trump Supporters a Little Better

Watching this controversy made me think about Trump supporters in the United States.

Why do they feel such intense hostility toward liberals and the Democratic Party?

There seems to be an emotional dislike that cannot be explained by policy differences alone.

I suspect that part of the reason is the kind of discomfort created by incidents like this one.

Liberals advocate equality. They criticize discrimination. They say they stand with vulnerable people.

Yet the more strongly they present themselves as the morally correct side, the more they can appear to look down on people who think differently.

And if they are also seen as lenient when one of their own causes a problem, the distrust only grows.

At that point, people stop wanting to listen before they even consider whether each individual policy is right or wrong.

I am not saying that everything Trump supporters believe is correct.

But I feel I can understand how hostility toward liberals may arise not from a policy dispute, but from a dislike of people who lecture others from a position of superiority.

The More You Speak of Justice, the More Strictly You Will Be Judged

People are human, and they make verbal mistakes. Tamakawa has apologized for this remark.

But people who regularly criticize the words of others harshly will themselves be judged harshly when they do the same thing.

That is only natural.

What this controversy made me question was not so much liberalism itself as how strictly people who speak of justice hold themselves to their own standards.

If they demand high ethical standards from others while granting exceptions to themselves, people will stop trusting them no matter how admirable their principles may be.

There is nothing wrong with the words human rights or equality. The behavior of the people who use them can diminish their value.

There is nothing wrong with raising the flag of justice high. The problem begins when the flag becomes so large that you can no longer see where you are standing.