FASCINATING CONCEPT OF “SAVING FACE”

Initially, I was going to write about the quarantine protests, but there is an interesting cultural phenomenon that is very alien to us, but also very counter-productive by any measure, known as “saving face.”

For one reason or another, Eastern cultures are quite obsessed with “saving face.” This concept does not even fully translate to English, for it is counterintuitive and alien to us. It is the exact reason why no one questioned the Covid-19 cover-up in China. We just chalked it off as protecting their investment, but we all know had they acted sooner they would have garnered much more sympathy from the world community. This is not a uniquely Chinese problem either. In Turkey, I encountered “Saving Face”, and it has been a topic of quite a few comedy skits and sitcoms. I also heard of this in the past from other cultures as well.

How does this “saving face” work? It is surprisingly simple in thought, but quite difficult in practice, the reason why it makes such great comedy material. It is a country or person trying to hide their defects or mistakes through any absurd tactics necessary. Should anyone want to speak about those things to solve it, they will only speak about it in secret among their “in groups.” If you have ever gone to any website where the topic of an Eastern country comes up, almost any time, and without fail, some people will defend that country with whataboutism and will chastise the people who brought it up, not realizing that the discussion of that topic is part of the solution, and it is much more dignified to own up to it and work to address and solve it. That is always the case in the end.

We have stories where owning up to it was rewarded and is seen as a strength of character. On the other hand, those who do not realize or possess this awareness will instead humiliate the person with the fault. It all depends on how the owning up is done, and to what end.

In the West, we consider it to be a strong and right thing to admit to one’s mistakes and fix them, but in the East, it is considered weak, and instead, not making mistakes is highly praised.

They always fail to realize that the only way to not make mistakes is to take extreme precautions when trying something new or taking risks.

In this Coronavirus crisis, we have seen what happens when countries try to save face. This should be a lesson for everyone. Honesty is the best policy