On 2020-06-01 7:55 p.m., dsi1 wrote:
> On Monday, June 1, 2020 at 12:09:27 PM UTC-10, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2020-06-01 4:53 p.m., dsi1 wrote:

>>> That's pretty much the Western concept of looking out for number
>>> one. "Saving face" means that if the other guy loses face, so do
>>> you. Saving face is a non-zero-sum game.
>>>
>> Oh bullshit. "Saving face" is looking out for number one.
>
> The concept of saving face is one that's so far out of most
> Westerners experience that they'll never be able to figure it out.
> The thing that I'll never understand is why Westerners will comment
> on things that the have no knowledge of. Things like saving face and
> the notion that cashiers in supermarkets have to memorize random
> codes for produce. It will forever remain a mystery to me.
>

No. I think we have figured it out. It is the concept of allowing
someone to exit a situation with dignity in a way that makes it look
like they did nothing wrong. It also reflects one's social rank. In the
case of an low level employee who gets caught stealing stationary the
person faces immediate dismissal. He is just a lowly peon so he is
dismissed with cause and everyone knows that he was fired for stealing
from the company. If it is a high level employee who gets caught
embezzling thousands and thousands of dollars he is given the option to
resign and there is no threat of the police being called in or lawsuits
for wrongful dismissal. He is given the chance to resign so it looks
like it was his decision to leave.