After reading the introduction to the interview with Mr. Dyson, I expected to see him calling for a racial holy war in his remarks. Instead, he made one innocuous comment about Japan. I wonder if the New York Times realizes how silly it can make itself look at times. Please don't start putting unnecessary trigger warnings on every interview that you conduct. We're big boys and girls. We can take it.
19
Why, WHY do we think someone who invented a pretty decent vacuum cleaner has anything to say about trade agreements?
1
Until today, I had no idea that "Far East" was a problematic term. Also, I can assure you, that the casual daily racism espoused by people in the East is far, far worse than anything stated in this interview. If indeed, Dyson actually said anything that was offensive along racial lines.
To be sure, his comments on Brexit are much more worrying.
13
So...not being PC, and being able to say "...anything interesting about people that are different from us" means permission to make sweeping, pedantic, bizarre and frankly incorrect statements about how Japanese "...girls want to spend their whole teenage years to get their noses more like Western noses"? Based on...what? I don't know which is more disturbing - Mr. Dyson's comments or the other readers who don't seem to find this troubling.
4
Well, he may have been wrong as some have described (or correct I don’t know) about the reality of even seemingly minor cultural barriers among people around the planet, and those in particular to Japanese culture related to his particular products and business experience there. Which is, I mean really, not the same as the in the UK. He may be a bit selfish in his approach to things generally. But I don’t think he was particularly racist or offensive. Just saying there are differences in social norms and behavior is not racist. Especially when his general conclusion is that everybody on the planet is attracted to “strange things”. He is a bit of a radical empiricist in an increasingly theoretical world. Maybe that’s his “crime”. When I read the lead I thought I was going to hear something really unfortunate, but I don’t think any such was there. Why imply that it is?
4
I find it unprofessional for an interviewer to insert a paragraph-long editorial bashing his subject over his choice of language. The job of the interviewer is to fashion questions that give the subject "enough rope to hang him/herself" if that is the questioner's intent. Not to pile on after the tape recorder has been turned off. It is the reader's job to process the interviewee's answers and form impressions - positive or negative - from those answers.
16
I found the "trigger warning" that appeared in the Sunday version of this article to be insulting. I have lived and worked in Japan, and his products are considered innovative and exciting there. The Dyson brand is much respected. My Japanese colleagues knew how to use humor when dealing with racial, ethnic, and cultural issues, and that a huge difference exists between racism and obvious racial distinctions. This is a subtle concept that is beyond the comprehension of PC proponents. Mr. Dyson is a creative and technical genius, and should be offended by this stupid trigger warning, but I doubt that a man like this much cares. Please stop continually trying to infantilize your readers in the service of mindless PC priorities.
21
Yes, Dyson unforgivably uses offensive grammar: " ...the school allowed my brother and I ...."
Imagine the horror of Dyson's English boarding school English teacher seeing his incorrect avoidance of the objective "me.!" No wonders Gelles issues trigger warnings.
8
I’m shocked David Gelles brushes over so many important details in this interview. Are we not going to acknowledge a wealthy white British man said “I think racial differences are fun”? This interview celebrates a clearly racist but accomplished man, and by publishing this interview the Times is saying you can be racist as long as you’re successful and we’ll cover you. Y’all are so close to making me cancel my subscription....so out of touch.
1
There is absolutely nothing offensive in this article. Suggesting otherwise is just bizarre.
11
strange headline re: "antiquated comments on racial differences". i read nothing of the sort in you story. perhaps you edited them out. to me, he comes across as as honest, decent person who has improved our world via his ingenuity. Hats off to him!
12
Bah!
Nothing offensive in here.
Please as an Asian, I do not find any of his comment about Japan or Far East offensive.
You have to tone your PC sensitivity down.
10
Since when is the belief in racial differences an antiquated comment? Is the scientific belief in the existence of gravity an antiquated comment? Is it antiquated to observe reality, empirically investigate, report objective truth antiquated? We cannot continue to pretend reality is something it isn't. But thinking non pc people already know this. Kudos to James Dyson for speaking to truth..
6
At least the NYT can be commended for one thing - giving proper space and opportunity for the comments that (rightly) criticise the article's PC bias.
It is a shame that the opportunity to interview James Dyson has been rather wasted. The discussion covered the fairly familiar ground of his education and his start in business quite well.
There were many legitimate lines of questioning that were missing though. What about his agricultural and educational investments, the succession plan for the business now he's in his seventies, progress with his electric car project, and questions regarding investment, battery manufacture and scalability for the cars.
5
“Far East” is offensive but our regularly used term “Near East” is not? Give me (+ the man) a break.
9
James Dyson is a brilliant, technical engineering genius. Put Steve Jobs and Bill Gates into a blender, and what comes out is Mr.Dyson with a British accent.
The comments Mr. Dyson made in the interview are not racist at all, but comments reflecting the cultural differences of countries, which he observed in the course of doing business with them.
With regard to Mr. Dyson asking his wife about her opinion on a product she had used : I remember reading an article--over 25 years ago-- about Peter Lynch, the stock picking guru for Fidelity Magellan in the late 1970's and 1980's. He said he often asked his wife what she thought about certain products that she had bought, and where she shopped. Mr. Lynch often researched those companies and eventually bought their stock for his mutual fund. Many of them were tremendously profitable. Call it an exercise in basic common sense.
6
Why focus on the term "Far East", as if it was something offensive Mr. Dyson said? British and also Germans use this term very frequently; it is just a geographical reference, expressing relative distance.
13
Meh, Dyson's take on Japan is very superficial. Having worked in Japan I can tell you the cutsey Gaijin (big nose foreigner) schtick wears off fast. If you get to brass tacks of designing, manufacturing and selling within the very controlled Japanese retail groups they want to bow and adopt their ways of doing things. Apple famously had a hard time breaking into the mobile phone and music space until they hired local executives who helped navigate the Japanese business establishment.
One of the funny things about people who strike it rich, the media thinks their words are golden nuggets of wisdom. Dyson could easily have failed in selling his vacuums and we wouldn't be reading about his dumb opinions about Brexit today.
30
Dyson’s comments reflected his enjoyment of a cultural exchange, and the realization that that enjoyment can be mutual. Yes, the word “racial” was an unfortunate choice in our cultural context. There is no disputing that Japanese culture is not the same as British or American culture. However, we share a love of very handy cordless, bag less vacuum cleaners and speedy hand dryers. I am so happy that I don’t need to bring my new heater/cooler/air purifier back to Costco because the inventor is an Anglo-centric racist.
43
I too, am failing to see any racial bias on Dyson's part at all, referring to the Japanese as "the far east" well, they are in the far east part of the world, sort of like we're in the western part of the world, does that mean we should't be called, the "west" by those in the "far east" please.....
If any writer, for any paper is going to say that the person they are interviewing has offensive or "antiquated" views, then it's incumbent on the writer, in this case, David Gelles, to provide substantial proof of that mindset, he's asserting in this case, that Dyson exhibits, not just blurt it out, and that line of thought should be integral to the article, not just a side note.
This is exactly what republicans mean when they remark about being politically correct.
59
@James It depends on where you are standing. From Japan's point of view, the US might be the Far East. 'Far East' jere implies a Euro-centric reference point. What's wrong with the more accurate 'East Asia'?
4
@carnack53
Hmm. A Euro-centric reference point used by a European, living in Europe (and soon willing to leave its Union).
Good thing hesaid Japan and not "Land of the Rising Sun" (a bit too helio-appropriating for my taste).
There are definitely other fights to be fought.
6
I'm not really sure what exactly he said that could be construed as so offensive. A little rambling and indelicate, maybe, but it was pretty clear he was referring to cultural differences, despite his clumsy choice of words, which clearly do exist and are not at all a bad thing.
The comment that seemed most ridiculous to me was that if banking was leaving London, it wasn't because of Brexit. That's almost climate-change-denial-level detachment from reality.
69
The British boarding school system is just as insular, maybe more so, than our own private prep school system. And such schools are in the business of catering to the wealthy who believe, even if unwarranted, that they are the cream of the national crop with destinies that include conquering the world. It's no accident that our own Congress, Supreme Court, and Presidents hailed from schools like Andover and Exeter, and then on to the Ivy League. And it's similarly no accident that such schools breed superiority complexes. Or worse, breed such ignorance about how anyone else lives.
Dyson's views of the world outside England are as unsurprising as our own establishment politicians' views of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They assume that people not like themselves can't possibly have anything valuable to contribute. If they did, they would have gone to the same schools to think the same ways.
19
@Sabrina - Was it your school that failed to curb your tendency to ill-informed judgementalism? We rather like James Dyson over here. It's a pity the brief interview didn't cover his views on agriculture. Dyson has become one of the largest owners of agricultural land in England and is transforming his land with a focus on organic production and protecting hedgerows and wildflower meadows. There is also the university he is establishing. More wonderful eccentricity - but perhaps you regard it all as "unsurprising".
37
@Sabrina
Maybe you were a bit hasty in your reading of the interview. Or maybe I am just older and more jaded than you. But I thought the man spoke in a very sincere and intelligent manner. If everyone spoke like me or you or Ocasio-Cortez, that would not be an improvement either.
As for the boarding school comment you made, maybe the columnist corrupted your thinking even before you got to the Dyson part of the write-up. I read Dyson speaking sadly of his boarding school days, of what a regimented and soul-stifling experience it was. Also compounded by the loss of his father at a young age.
Which part of the following sounds like bragging?
"Boarding is pretty harsh stuff. You’re sent away for 14 weeks, and your parents could visit you one Saturday a term, and that was it. “Feelings” is a word I didn’t know until I was about 50."
16
@Suppan and @ Keith Thomas, you're both somewhat willfully ignoring the substance of my comment, which is really more about living inside a privileged bubble and having viewpoints to match. If "greatness" is only defined by people of privilege whose only hardship was being away from their families to receive a first-rate education while every other need--food, clothing and shelter--was taken care of without having to work two jobs at the same time, then I think we have to take another look at how truly great an accomplishment Ocasio-Cortez's rise to Congress surely is. She got there despite not coming from the right family or having the right connections or attending the right schools. Both of you sound like you long for the days of aristocracy, as does Mr. Dyson. That world is not the future, and clinging to it will only deter progress. We often confuse technological progress with social progress. That Dyson's company is an exemplar of one, doesn't make him a proponent of the other. Like other old white men, he wants to hold onto his power instead of sharing it with others who don't look or think like him.
4
The headline and author's lead to this story are really out of line. What on earth did Dyson say that was offensive regarding "racial differences?" After reading the headline and the author's introduction, I was bracing myself for something awful -- thinking, Oh, my: Am I going to have to throw away my Dyson vacuum? But ... where's the beef? You've got to really stretch a sense of outrage to get worked up about anything Dyson said. I'm a card-carrying liberal from a mixed-race family. That doesn't mean I can't be insensitive, of course, but just so you know, I'm not talking as someone who would know absolutely nothing about insensitive and downright racist comments. These weren't. The New York Times is better than this kind of sensationalism. (And I notice a "correction" has been appended, so others apparently agree.) Editors, please don't allow this type of unfair coverage.
162
Thanks, editors, but we readers do not need safety warnings or headline alerts about allegedly offensive comments. We’re really not that fragile.
8
If "Far East" is now problematic, what about the term "Middle East?"
10
I devour the Times on a daily basis - in my opinion, the Times stands head and shoulders above any other newspaper in the world. But let’s be clear, the unwarranted sub-title referencing Dyson’s supposed “antiquated comments” is way off base and unfortunately further tilts the Times towards the left as an enforcer of so-called “safe zones.” Please just stick to reporting and investigative journalism...
7
Pretty disgraceful editorializing here. To acknowledge that there are significant cultural differences between the Japanese and Westerners is not racist, not offensive and it shouldn't be controversial. It's simply a fact, as anyone who has been to Japan can attest. I didn't find Mr. Dyson's comments at all derisive toward Japanese culture.
9
We're big boy and girls. How about you report what he said, and let us decide whether it's offensive?
146
First, Dyson did not come across as offensively as the headline suggested. But, I think he may be more of a master at marketing than engineering. While emptying his bagless vacuum one is exposed to all the dust and airborne particles one is trying to clean up. And $400 for a handheld hair dryer, who has that kind of money?
24
@Loren Rosalints
Well, I can’t speak to the vacuums, but the hair dryer is awesome. Overpriced, yes. But awesome for people with a lot of hair. I was surprised at how much I like it. I decided to cut down on discretionary spending for a couple months to justify the puchase to myself.
There was nothing offensive in this article. Cultures have their differences. That’s a good thing. We all need to break out of our little cocoons.
11
Just noticed the “correction” to the article which corrects nothing other than the misguided Far East comment. I and most other readers (it’s clear from the comments) are still waiting for an apology from the writer and editors and an unequivocal retraction of the “antiquated” and “at times offensive” claims.
Also, two of my earlier comments from yesterday do not seem to have been posted. I suspect that the level of outrage from readers about this unprofessional hit job on Mr Dyson is even higher than the actually posted comments would make one believe, and that the suppression of comments (perhaps many of them) is part of an intentional strategy of damage control. New York Times, I thought you were better than this. Mistakes happen, apologize and move on - you are only making things worse by covering up like this.
11
David Gelles and his editors owe James Dyson, and New York Times readers, apologies. You set him up with questions about Japan and then smeared this man over what - your "gaigin" outrage of racism in Japan? The supposed outrage doesn't belong to you. The Japanese don't need you to defend them, believe me. I did business in Japan for thirty years, and the first thing people do in rural areas is touch my hair. Then I would say, "but I love your straight hair." Everyone would laugh. Big deal.
I just showed the Dyson quotes to a Japanese person, and he could not see what's wrong. He just said, "that's true," (about Dyson's observations). Japan is considered the Far East relative to Dyson's location. Here is an eccentric Englishman going to Japan to sell a strange gadget. He's famous, so people are excited to meet him. Girls are probably teasing him about his nose (how about those caricatures of Admiral Perry's smelly and hairy fleet the Japanese rendered upon arrival of the Black Ships?). Then they jokingly say they want more aquiline noses like him. So what? As Donald Richie says in The Inland Sea, "one world is becoming a hideous possibility, and I wish to celebrate our differences for as long as possible."
16
I share the puzzlement of many other NYT readers that David Gelles thinks we need to be cautioned about "antiquated and at times offensive views." How about you let us make those judgments for ourselves, Mr. Gelles? If we're offended, so be it!
10
What, exactly, is an "antiquated" opinion, or comment? Is James Madison antiquated? Is Emily Dickinson? Charles Darwin? Perhaps antiquated means not conforming to the politically correct consensus of the week?
And why do some readers need to point that Dyson is "old" as if to suggest that at that age a person is entitled to certain allowances? He is 71, which is considerably younger than you know who.
12
I just ordered his autobiography. :)
5
After living in Japan over 30 years, I would regard Dyson’s comments as accurate for most locals and neither antiquated nor offensive. Perhaps they were not PC but Dyson is too smart a businessman to offend what maybe his most important foreign market. Highly unusual but disappointing journalism from the NYT.
26
I fully expected to despise the racist, Dyson. Lo and behold, I'm left shaking my head - again - at the NYT's off-the-mark construction of teaser and headline. Wish you folks had more time to thoughtfully consider what you write, before hitting publish. The 24/7 news cycle sure makes for messy reading.
31
The subtitle of this piece is pure NY Times Clickbait at its wokest. Don't get me wrong, I was curious about Dyson (I own a vacuum) but was further piqued to hear that he may be an old world racist. Then I read the interview. Phew! He is not. It's just the ultra woke NY Times getting woker and woker by the day. Please, stop the PC madness.
32
Your intro painted him in a far more unattractive way than the interview actually showed him to be... Sometimes writers in the Times seem to have an agenda, that oftentimes includes poorly written headlines, that are at odds with the actual content. The editorial staff needs to stop pandering as much as well as allowing comedic or snarkcastic colloquialisms/references to pepper the prose.
18
Mr. Gelles, the only thing in this article I find offensive is the click-bait you proffer in your introduction: deceptive and absurd.
Mr. Dyson is allowed his opinion on Brexit. Further, he made exactly zero offensive comments on race.
Your editor is not paying close enough attention.
28
When did the term 'Far East' become racist anathema?
17
Dear David,
....and the weight of the New York Times falls on the head of an eccentric Englishman. Is that really responsible reporting?
Maybe. but is maybe the correct test for the NYT, certainly not.
mike
6
Come on David, making something out of nothing, Bad form.
I'll be avoiding your column in the future.
17
Are we supposed to be offended by an old man and a poor choice of words? I’ll save my outrage for the people who write the Times’ misleading headlines. The author should check those out. They do much more harm.
11
What's insensitive about this article is the poorly chosen subtitle, claiming that Dyson was "making antiquated comments on 'racial differences'."
His comments about the Japanese are fine! -- playful, honest, and, dare I say, accurate. Where's the problem?
And, what's wrong with saying "Far East"? We, after all, say "Middle East" and no one blinks. And, for another comparison, the French still happily use "Extrême-Orient" which, to Anglo ears, does seem quaint!
17
Hey, Dave, ever been to Japan? The Japanese find Western culture fascinating and Westerners who try to act Japanese are considered confusing. Tired of Libs preaching tolerance to the world and they are the least tolerant
16
Looks like the Times is trying to gin up a story where none exists. I defy you to justify your characterization of his comments as having even a wiff of racism. Completely unoffensive from where I'm sitting. The Japanese are far more obsessed about race than Dyson -- their baseball cards used to contain info on players blood types. Don't know if they still do.
16
What part of his comments on Japan are in anyway “offensive”? Puritanical garbage.
16
Mr Dyson will learn when he reads this column with its commentary on his remarks that these days one must strictly refrain from comments on social or cultural issues unless he is a seasoned and experienced participant.
1
Still looking for the offensive bits.
19
I was all keyed up to expect immense racism from Dyson... mildly disappointed.
(He's wrong about Brexit, obviously.)
5
Why is this “offensive views” yardstick not applied to the presidents remarks and lies?
7
What's wrong with "Far East"? We have Near East, Middle East, . . .
Has someone fishing for offense re-branded something . . . AGAIN?
17
Dyson doesn't sound exceptionally racist or offensive to my South Asian, once-colonized-by-the-Brit ears -- just superior, full of himself, and old. He does sound antiquated, like others in whose view Asia is the "far east" because bonny England is in the center. The sun never does set on these imperial types, does it? Here we have an article about him, blathering on about Brexit, and here I am responding to the article though I'm a product of modern India, where hardly anyone remembers the colonial past. I hope Brexit falls apart, but I hope he can make another useful product like a good electric car.
5
More attention should be paid to Japanese/Korean women getting plastic surgery to alter their features to look Western... the “whitening” creams in India & Africa are embarrassing and sad.
He made a wry observation on a trend he didn’t start.
13
I agree with other commentators on the innocuousness of Dyson's comments. I go to Asia on business all the time and people there are very honest about our differences - remarking on my big nose, different skin tone etc. It doesn't bother them in least that we're different - more like 'vivre la difference'. Creates something to chat about. Don't create an issue where there isn't one.
13
Sir Dyson's ideas for Britain and Brexit are even less innovative than his plastic vacuum cleaners. His consumer product successes have not imparted greater wisdom to his opinions about other subjects. Dyson may have become interested in engineering because of Buckminster Fuller, but he certainly didn't acquire his notions of race or government from Fuller, who understood the scientific fallacy of biological races as well the historical problems with empires like the British Empire.
Ohmygod, my heart sank when I read the implications of the title of this piece that Dyson is a “racist”. I’ve been a Dyson lover since 2004 and losing my original Dyson in my divorce really stuck in my craw more than almost any of the other terms (funny how we fixate on strangest of things in the midst of trauma). But my second Dyson, a purple “Ball”, is way better (and PURPLE!) and still going strong 8 years later.
But I don’t find any hint of improper “racial” views anywhere. By any chance is Mr. Gelles, who was offended by who knows what, a Millennial? It seems like a typically Millennial rush to see something that is not really there.
Meanwhile, I’m not so sure about Dyson’s Brexit views but I appreciate his basing his views in British history and its other relationships outside of Europe, such as the US, as well as his seeming understanding of the economics of the UK relationship with the EU, rather than the racism that seems to animate some Brexiteers. I happen to know another English engineer, incidentally also sporting “flowing trousers and long hair” and offered a job at Dyson upon graduation (he chose biotech instead), who vehemently disagrees with Brexit. He believes it will breed an English insularity that will stagnate and irrevocably damage the Union. I tend to agree but what does this Yank know?
7
I'm of Japanese descent and found nothing offensive in what Dyson said about Japanese people. I myself find fascinating the differences between Japan nationals and Japanese-Americans like myself. The writer is making a fuss where none is warranted.
16
I agree with most of the readers' comments. Mr. Gelles' subtitle is an absurd in light of the statements made by Mr. Dyson. The PC police is creating a hyper vigilant state and will consume its own proponents.
16
I am perplexed that Sir James’s comments (what’s with the “Mr”??) would be considered somewhat offensive. The British always refer to that part of Asia as the Far East, just as we in Australia call it South-east Asia. It is a geographical reference, for heaven’s sake. And there are cultural differences - but I read nothing in his comments that I felt were in the least racist - just stating the obvious.
We should always call out racism, but it does no one any good to mis-call it.
99
@Glen Loxton I'm pretty sure that being knighted entitles you to be referred to as "Sir" or "Dame" within the Commonwealth, of which the USA is not a member.
Regardless of this, I completely agree that Dyson's comments had no hint of racism in them, more like enthusiastic curiosity. Which is a good thing.
18
David Gelles; you claim that Mr. Dyson made "at times offensive views" on "racial differences, but I can't find anything to corroborate that statement in the transcript of the interview. Mr. Dyson merely says that cultures are different and that we should celebrate those differences. Your introduction smells like sensationalism at the cost of a successful business man.
40
And just what, again, was so offensive about what Dyson said?? That the Japanese are different from us...give me a break...have you ever been to Tokyo? YES they are different!
35
Dyson is a poster child for why engineers shouldn’t make policy.
2
The race card is dropped more often than the Jack of Clubs by Vegas croupiers in this country. It's become desensitized, sterile and meaningless at times. Enough!
11
Thank you for conditioning us before offering Mr Dyson's savage comments. Well, not exactly savage. On the other hand, I've read newspapers for 60 years and The Times for 50 and rather widely elsewhere, and I normally don't feel the need to be protected. Perhaps those who aspire for a corner office these days are more delicate than they used to be.
16
The preface seems to hint that Dyson said something racist. I read the interview and I disagree.
Who decided to include that preface made a poor choice.
46
Not sure where the "antiquated and offensive" charge comes from. Dyson simply and honestly pointed out cultural differences. He wasn't disparaging.
32
If your lead-in was an enticement to read on in hopes of for once finding something here other than the anodyne, filtered, censured, pablum that the Times deems "correct" it worked.
More likely, your goal was to spare the fragile, exquisite feelings of those who'd rather live as sheep than be seen as out of step with liberal orthodoxy.
Either way, I'm glad I read this. For once, somebody in this space that is willing to speak colorfully -- and not at all offensively -- about the broad, various world we live in.
After reading this, I feel slightly better about my wife buying all his overpriced vacuums and hair dryers.
24
Shame on you David. This was just a creative man saying what is on his mind, and he was sensitive to how it could be seen negatively by some people and makes clear that is not his intention. Yet you put in all of this PC nonsense into your intro as if to stoke controversy. You really ruined a perfectly good interview. In fact, Dyson was pointing out to you,:
Dyson: We sold them to militaries all over the world, to oil companies, construction companies, smugglers bringing American cigarettes into Italy.
You: Smugglers?
Dyson: He came in a leather jacket and paid cash. I asked him what he was going to do, and I didn’t think smuggling cigarettes was particularly naughty.
Dyson continues: The point is, here’s this longhaired art student in the mid-’60s, getting asked to design something he knew nothing about. Then he’s told to set up a company, which he knew nothing about. That’s what I do today with my people.
End quote. Please read the last paragraph - "The Point IS,..." and get the point.
23
I have to agree with "P"...I was very curious since he and his vacuum cleaners are very popular, to come upon THAT racially insensitive comment (I am an African American female) but I never came upon it. Like Luis Londono commented, should the Far East be called the Near West? I totally agree, even within the African American community, that SOMETIMES we can be a tad overly sensitive to the slightest insinuation. It's not always a racial thing.....many many times it is....but many times it is not.
29
Dyson's "strange things" are more over designed, heavy-handed, wasteful and cumbersome -- and work even worse -- than his Brexit delusions and race theories.
Another large, shiny, noisy example of male ego overriding usefulness in the industrial design age.
2
Profiles really should include their subjects' age. Mr. Dyson, born in 1947, is 71.
8
The Times is probably the best newspaper in the nation, if not the world. It’s editors however need to start being more cautious about repeatedly jumping the shark on calling out racism. There is plenty of truly dangerous and destructive bigotry in the world that needs everyone’s urgent attention. As a thought leading publication, the Times risks diluting the impact of its editorials and reporting on the true underlying racism manifesting itself in issues like voter suppression and unequal justice. Complete purity of thought by every subject whom you report about is a folly pursuit, you really need to stop pursuing it.
33
if what mr dyson said about the Japanese is considered offensive well i just don't see it. having been to japan twice ( for a total of 3.5 weeks and traveling around the main island) i do see a world of difference there.they are a homogenous society and as such are different. not better not worse different. geez folks get over it all ready.
25
I personally don't think Brexit is good for the Brits, but the guy disagrees; well, life goes on. Good or bad, it's the Brits who would shoulder the consequence.
As to the "offensive" thing he said about race or the Japanese, I simply didn't find it. It's not the guy's fault that the Japanese ( I heard Koreans are even more into such thing) girls want to get their noses "more like Western noses." Actually, as a minority myself, these supposedly very successful "ethnic" groups, Japanese and Koreans etc., acting that way have always baffled and depressed me. The rest of us were looking up to them, and they are acting like this! :) You would think the technological and economic success would translate into cultural confidence. But it didn't, and I won't blame that on the vacuum guy.
12
Completely overblown title. The man is extremely well spoken and careful about his words. I expect more from this staff.
54
The clickbait title not withstanding, this was a nice interview. Far from being some antiquated eccentric, Dyson seemed exceedingly down-to-earth and erudite in his descriptions of his background and cultural outlook. I'd love to hear more from Mr. Dyson in the future - perhaps with out the pearl-clutching headline accompanying his remarks.
53
Dyson's comments are corrupted by his overpriced products that reflect a phony idea of innovation and design. He has had one idea, a sphere. Big deal.
Dyson is a relentless self promoter with an inflated idea of the value of his designs. The fact is that his various products, vacuums, fans, etc. for all their space age looks are no better than other products.
5
@J.I.M. Have you actually purchased or used any of his products? I have two Dyson vacuums and they have both been running like champs for years. I can’t even begin to imagine the quantity of dog hair they’ve removed from my carpets and furniture over the years. They are a bit expensive initially, but I’ve never had either one repaired, and have spent $0 on bags and filters.
16
@Jenn the exception proves the rule. The vacuums are cheaply made and not very physically durable.
4
@J.I.M. I love my Dyson vacuum. After six years performance was suffering a bit, I took it in and they replaced a part for free. Works like a champ once again.
3
Perhaps Mr. Dyson could find some time to fix the shiny finish pentagon shaped hand dryers found in most Starbucks all over the US. They almost never engage even if one waves one's hands anywhere near the sensor, and are practically useless for their intended purpose. Based upon my (extensive) experience with those dryers, I would hesitate to buy any other Dyson-labeled products.
7
@James
I've read several interviews and short biographies of Dyson, and he'd probably be the first one to agree with your review.
Dyson strikes me as a hard-working realist with a very British approach to invention and innovation and general improvement, i.e., an approach with dogged perseverance and hardcore sticktoitiveness.
His vacuums are just about beyond reproach and leave every single other competitor 'in the dust'.
8
Your title and subtitle misportray his comments. It’s easy to take offense to anything these days but Mr. Dyson was not really offending anyone. You overcalled this one to get a better headline which is a shame.
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You pretty much called the guy a racist, which to my reading is not in the text. Perhaps you should edit/delete this intro paragraph?
'In this interview, Mr. Dyson expressed antiquated and at times offensive views on “racial differences” and Japanese culture. He also referred to growth markets in Asia as the “Far East.” When asked to clarify his remarks, Mr. Dyson declined to comment further." (Read a portion of his comments on Japan below.)
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A past employer of mine had similar attitude towards hiring only recent graduates. This works great for protecting and strengthening an existing culture. It becomes an impediment when the strategy and business model need adjustment.
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@Groovygeek Dyson likes groupthink if it mirrors his thoughts.
With all the hand-wringing qualifiers at the start of this article, I was expecting to read something offensive.
By the time I reached the bottom of the page, I was still waiting.
It's rhetoric like that which makes the NYT a laughingstock caricature of political correctness.
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What should I call the Fat East, the Near West?
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Strangely, your cat-walker opinion-writer referred to the "Near East" yesterday but there is no big "oh no" at the beginning of the piece or correction at the end...why the difference?
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@Neera
“Cat-walker” - fantastic!!
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What’s offensive is the awful and paternalistic thought policing the editors here engage in before letting the man speak for himself and the reader JUDGE for themselves. It’s almost like a kind of mansplaining that’s going on at the times. We need moral guidance to know what’s wrong with what he says.
It is arrogant and narcissistic in the extreme to insist that all racial and cultural differences are taboo - because it implies there must be no differences which mean then that “they must be just like us”. And there it is - the cultural imperialist hidden within the multiculturalist. It’s awful and it’s NOT OKAY! People have every right to be “different than me” and indeed they/we are!
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@Chuffy "... the cultural imperialist hidden within the multiculturalist." Very astute!
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What’s with the trigger warning? Not needed, we’re grown-ups out here.
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"In this interview, Mr. Dyson expressed antiquated and at times offensive views on “racial differences” and Japanese culture. He also referred to growth markets in Asia as the “Far East.”"
I'm not entirely sure what to make of the presentation of this interview-article. An almost preposterous bias is established by the author's opening caveats and warnings.
The only thing we should all be careful of - be aware of - is the pernicious damage we suffer by cow-towing to such politically correct nelly-ism!
James Dyson is an awesome engineer! He and his genius, innovative mind single-handedly revolutionized the long-dead, staid and ineffective world of vacuums!
How did he do this? What is the genesis of his ideas and thinking in general? What else might that particularly successful thought process be applied to in order to elicit similarly stupendous outcomes? These questions were hinted at but not nearly explored enough in this interview.
Instead, and from the outset, the article is set like a trap for the reader: 'Look at this loon! [snort, guffaw] Preposterously referring to countries geographically far to the east of Britain as --- well, as the Far East!'
"Antiquated and...offensive views..."? Relative to whom and what? In my opinion, those are relevant considerations that should have been explored.
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@lowereastside I don't share your adoration of Dyson - but I was struggling to find the racism as well. Maybe something got cut from the article? Barring that, I'd be interested in what led the author to be so concerned about what he said.
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I don't find his comments on Japan offensive. Yeah he sounds like an old man but I don't think there is any ill will there at all.
And "far east" being considered pejorative? Come on, please.
Sometimes we all take this stuff too far.
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@John
Agreed.
I’ve been to both Britain and China. In Britain, China is “east” of the island and very “far” away. Hence, “Far East”.
As my dad likes to say, “a child of five could figure that out”.
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Define old.
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I'm failing to see how Mr. Dyson's comments on Japan in this article are offensive. In addition, I still refer to the far East as, well, the far East because...well, compared to the USA, it is pretty far east--it's a term of distance.
He thinks differences between people are "fun". I agree. The term indicates he has explored some cultures.
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What a revolting human being. And as for his education, he didn't learn much in school, since no one taught him that, "...so the school allowed my brother and I to continue there" is not correct English.
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Did I miss the “offensive” comments on racial differences? Are we now to pretend that there are none? Medical science recognizes different responses to medications between ethnicities and genders. Dyson identified a cultural difference (mislabeled as “racial”). What’s the big deal?
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Could the writer explain exactly what about his Japan remarks is antique or so offensive? And why using the term Far East is problematic?
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Dyson says his comments are not "P.C.": don't patronize us by declaring that they are "offensive." I am not reading this piece for the opinions of the interviewer. Let us form our own opinions and leave out the moralizing.
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Dyson's a clever man. Unfortunately he is also an example of clever people having very stupid opinions. Those who are nostalgic for the British Empire are nostalgic for a whiter past, when foreigners could safely be ridiculed ("racial differences are fun") by those who sincerely believed in their own superiority.
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Oh please, to me he said nothing untoward about racial differences. Let us be very careful - this is an example of why Trump won; because his constituents want to shake off these "overly politically correct" condemnations on ordinary innocent speech. Of course they go way too far, and have incorrectly translated the issue to mean that they can now outwardly extol bigotry and hate, but so has the left side gone too far in deeming all commentary and observation of differences between races to be hateful or demeaning.
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@JRO I don't think that's quite why Trump won - but I agree, this was a pretty ridiculous comment by the author.
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@E
You are right - I should have said that this was among the possible myriad of reasons that
Trump won. Thanks for pointing this out. :)
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When I see people with limited knowledge, education and experience making such provincial comments, I blame their circumstances for their narrow views. When Mr Dyson, who has wide-ranging experiences makes such comments, I feel sad that even after all these experience, he still clings to such parochial thoughts.
SAD!
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@Neel Kumar
What exactly was "parochial" or "provincial" about what he said? That Japanese people don't have large noses, or that racial differences can be a source of fun?
Your high horse looks very uncomfortable
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I wish he would invent something to save the environment for our children.
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@Lester Rest assured he is, Lester. He is investing hundreds of millions in sustainable agriculture.
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Why are his views on racial differences "antiquated" or "offensive?"
Does this mean your own views are modern and praiseworthy?
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I was surprised your correspondent found the term “Far East” to be unacceptable. It is commonly used in the UK and does not have - to my knowledge - perjorative connotations.
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It’s a very British, Euro-centric view. Far East of what?
These terms, like British colonialism, should be behind us.
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Perhaps, but it is - from the perspective of a European - geographically accurate. It is the most easterly significant mass of land and people.
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I might add that you appear to drawing a false equivalence between using the term and support for colonialism.
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Dyson makes wonderful products but his view on Brexit Will lead to the breakup of Great Britain. The U.K. is too small to complete in the world market with the EU.
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