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The Anticultmy goodness, look at the SGI propaganda about Polly Toynbee. [
www.gakkaionline.net]
In reality, its very easy for a con-artist like Ikeda to fool and dupe an intellectual, its very simple.
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Nichiren Shoshu loves to disparage President Ikeda’s 1972 meeting with Arnold Toynbee. This was his first meeting with a person of great international prominence, and resulted in an account of their dialogues entitled Choose Life.
It was Toynbee who suggested to President Ikeda that he engage in dialogues with other world leaders and thinkers, even naming a few he might begin with. So it is very important to Nichiren Shoshu the discredit their dialogue in any way they can. Enter Polly Toynbee, the great historian’s granddaughter.
Her basic premise — and the basic premise of most of what Nichiren Shoshu says about the Toynbee-Ikeda dialogues — is that the SGI took advantage of Toynbee to enhance President Ikeda’s status as a world figure. How was the SGI able to exploit one of the world’s greatest thinkers? His granddaughter says — he had become senile and didn’t know what was happening!
Polly Toynbee, it would seem, was put off by her own subsequent contact with the SGI. It appears, though, that this has more to do with her own rather paternalistic and aristocratic worldview. For instance, she is surprised and offended that Japanese bow to each other in greeting and parting. Anyone who would have taken five seconds to learn anything about Japanese culture would have known that this is as customary in Japan as shaking hands is in the West; but Ms. Toynbee did not take those five seconds. She also begins her account of her relationship with President Ikeda by insulting his personal appearance.
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Classic SGI! If someone criticizes or disagrees with SGI -- attack! Even if SGI has to make things up!
--First, as Anticult says, con artists can manipulate even smart people.
--Does Jim Celer REALLY think he knows more about Arnold Toynbee's mental state and health than members of Toynbee's own family did? What arrogance on Celer's part!
--This article also quotes some good reviews -- or seemingly good reviews that the book received. The trouble with that, is only a few words or sentences from the reviews were published -- showing the whole review might have given an entirely different impression.
--We also know that Ikeda has used ghostwriters -- and that he can afford the best, paying them well for their writing skills, knowledge, and silence.
--Where did Polly Toynbee say that she was shocked that the Japanese bow to eachother? She commented on rows of Japanese girls in white bowing to Ikeda's entourage -- that's not exactly the same thing.
--Ms. Toynbee has an "aristocratic" and paternalistic worldview"? What the hell does that even mean?
--And she insulted Ikeda's physical appearance? Ooh, the nerve of the woman! Maybe that's what it means to have an aristocratic and paternalistic worldview -- she didn't fall under Ikeda's spell, and she wouldn't kiss his butt!
We should all strive for an aristocratic and paternalistic worldview!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2009 10:25AM by tsukimoto.