# Composer for Japan's Olympic opening ceremonies resigns



## MusiquedeReve (Jul 19, 2021)

Tokyo Olympics composer Keigo Oyamada resigns over past bullying


Opening ceremony songwriter admitted in interviews to abusing disabled classmates




asia.nikkei.com


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## Double Helix (Jul 19, 2021)

Lots of changes afoot. I recently saw a story about Toyota, a major Olympic sponsor, deciding to pull all its Olympic-themed advertising.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Jul 19, 2021)

So he bullied classmates with disabilities and said to two different magazines in 1994 and 1995 that he did not feel remorse.

How that makes him unqualified to compose music for the Olympics more than 25 years later beats me. People change and 25 years is a long, long time!


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## Sarah Mancuso (Jul 19, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> So he bullied classmates with disabilities and said to two different magazines in 1994 and 1995 that he did not feel remorse.
> 
> How that makes him unqualified to compose music for the Olympics more than 25 years later beats me. People change and 25 years is a long, long time!


“Bullying” is a very vague understatement in this case. He fed a mentally handicapped kid feces, forced him to masturbate in public, and more things I won’t list here, and said he felt no remorse for it. I think I’ll be fine not having to hear his music.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Jul 19, 2021)

Sarah Mancuso said:


> “Bullying” is a very vague understatement in this case. He fed a mentally handicapped kid feces, forced him to masturbate in public, and more things I won’t list here, and said he felt no remorse for it. I think I’ll be fine not having to hear his music.


Good grief! Then I understand better. The article just said bullying without specifying.


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## MusiquedeReve (Jul 19, 2021)

Sarah Mancuso said:


> “Bullying” is a very vague understatement in this case. He fed a mentally handicapped kid feces, forced him to masturbate in public, and more things I won’t list here, and said he felt no remorse for it. I think I’ll be fine not having to hear his music.


OMG - yeah the article merely mentioned "bullying" -- what he did was torture


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## Gene Pool (Jul 19, 2021)

Sarah Mancuso said:


> “Bullying” is a very vague understatement in this case. He fed a mentally handicapped kid feces, forced him to masturbate in public, and more things I won’t list here, and said he felt no remorse for it. I think I’ll be fine not having to hear his music.


All the traits of a bonafide sociopath.


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## ok_tan (Jul 19, 2021)

Sarah Mancuso said:


> “Bullying” is a very vague understatement in this case. He fed a mentally handicapped kid feces, forced him to masturbate in public, and more things I won’t list here, and said he felt no remorse for it. I think I’ll be fine not having to hear his music.


Source please?


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## musicalweather (Jul 19, 2021)

ok_tan said:


> Source please?


Here's one source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...-after-admitting-bullying-disabled-classmates


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## givemenoughrope (Jul 19, 2021)

They should have just gone with an orchestral composer to begin with and avoided all this


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## cygnusdei (Jul 19, 2021)

Seeing as there will be no spectators, maybe it's moot


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## Markrs (Jul 19, 2021)

Sarah Mancuso said:


> “Bullying” is a very vague understatement in this case. He fed a mentally handicapped kid feces, forced him to masturbate in public, and more things I won’t list here, and said he felt no remorse for it. I think I’ll be fine not having to hear his music.


That is awful. If you do things like that it really doesn't matter how long ago it was, I don't want to hear that person's music


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## MaxOctane (Jul 19, 2021)

Oh no!! When I read this post earlier today, the name Keigo Oyamada did not ring any bells. But I just saw his picture... *it's Cornelius!* I _love_ Cornelius.

Well, I can't find any actual mentions of the feces/etc in news articles, so I'll console myself with the thought that maybe it was exaggerated and he's not a sociopath.


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## moon (Jul 20, 2021)

MaxOctane said:


> Oh no!! When I read this post earlier today, the name Keigo Oyamada did not ring any bells. But I just saw his picture... *it's Cornelius!* I _love_ Cornelius.
> 
> Well, I can't find any actual mentions of the feces/etc in news articles, so I'll console myself with the thought that maybe it was exaggerated and he's not a sociopath.


https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14397427


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## MaxOctane (Jul 20, 2021)

moon said:


> https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14397427


Thanks, but honestly from this article, it sounds like Keigo failed today's purity test. I mean, in the very article where the offenses are detailed (which were mean but not... _extreme_) he apologizes for his actions. He apologized 25 years ago, but someone found that apology and now he's cancelled.



> In an interview that appeared in a January 1994 music magazine, Oyamada talked about his upbringing and mentioned how he bullied classmates.
> 
> Oyamada was also an interview guest in a book published in August 1995. In that interview, he mentioned rolling a classmate up in a mattress and trapping another inside a cardboard box. He also said he made fun of a disabled individual running a long-distance race.
> 
> In the interview, Oyamada reflected that he did not regard himself as a bully at the time but later realized his actions were terrible.


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## Markrs (Jul 20, 2021)

MaxOctane said:


> Thanks, but honestly from this article, it sounds like Keigo failed today's purity test. I mean, in the very article where the offenses are detailed (which were mean but not... _extreme_) he apologizes for his actions. He apologized 25 years ago, but someone found that apology and now he's cancelled.


I suppose everyone has a view on what is extreme but he admitted to what was mentioned by @Sarah Mancuso and in the Guardian article. For me that is pretty extreme stuff.



Sarah Mancuso said:


> “Bullying” is a very vague understatement in this case. He fed a mentally handicapped kid feces, forced him to masturbate in public, and more things I won’t list here, and said he felt no remorse for it. I think I’ll be fine not having to hear his music.











Tokyo Olympics composer resigns after admitting bullying disabled classmates


A Japanese musician who admitted bullying classmates, some of whom had disabilities, while at school has resigned as a composer for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics




www.theguardian.com


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## MaxOctane (Jul 20, 2021)

Markrs said:


> I suppose everyone has a view on what is extreme but he admitted to what was mentioned by @Sarah Mancuso and in the Guardian article. For me that is pretty extreme stuff.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh, yuck, I see the details now in the Guardian article. Nasty stuff. 

The other articles, which I commented was not really extreme, only said that he held a classmate inside a cardboard box and inside a mattress, which is hardly psychotic behavior.


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## rgames (Jul 20, 2021)

Markrs said:


> That is awful. If you do things like that it really doesn't matter how long ago it was, I don't want to hear that person's music


Tough call.

Go read some of Mozart's letters. And check out the titles to some of his lesser-known works.

Also read some of Wagner's writings about Jews (ever notice Israeli orchestras never program Wagner?).

Some people get a pass. Some don't. Seems to be random.

rgames


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## Snoobydoobydoo (Jul 20, 2021)

rgames said:


> Tough call.
> 
> Go read some of Mozart's letters. And check out the titles to some of his lesser-known works.
> 
> ...


Too many hits with a stick on the fingers made little mozart a pervy boy?

Bullying is tough in schools, always was and always hits the weakest ones. In Japan it’s even a notch up, it’s just not spoken about.


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## Markrs (Jul 20, 2021)

rgames said:


> Tough call.
> 
> Go read some of Mozart's letters. And check out the titles to some of his lesser-known works.
> 
> ...


I think it is just a personal decision, I wouldn't speak for anyone else as you are right, where do you draw lines, how much do you factor in someone's past, when looking at them in the present. In the case off historical figures do you factor modern beliefs which were different from those when the composer was alive. Each to their own.

For me on a personal basis this was beyond where my line on the sand is.


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## cygnusdei (Jul 20, 2021)

Anyone seen The Usual Suspects?


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## moon (Jul 20, 2021)

MaxOctane said:


> Oh, yuck, I see the details now in the Guardian article. Nasty stuff.
> 
> The other articles, which I commented was not really extreme, only said that he held a classmate inside a cardboard box and inside a mattress, which is hardly psychotic behavior.


My apologies for the article. They must have edited it sometime between when you and I read it, because it definitely listed more of the "extreme" offenses when I read it.


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## MartinH. (Jul 20, 2021)

rgames said:


> Tough call.
> 
> Go read some of Mozart's letters. And check out the titles to some of his lesser-known works.
> 
> ...



Still appreciating Wagner's music today doesn't mean you'd still be willing to _hire _him today if he was still alive. I'm in favor of separating art from artist, but _hiring _is a fair bit about the artist at the point where you specifically pick them to do a job.


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Jul 20, 2021)

Brasart said:


> *This is not bullying*, this is torture and sexual harassment — bullying is stealing someone's lunch, or bad mouthing classmates.
> Here this is forcing people to eat their own excrements, forcing someone to masturbate publicly, hitting people, hitting people while restraining them in mattresses, blocking someone's head with cardboard and pouring chalk over it to suffocate them...etc
> And all of this is coming from the composer's own admission -- who knows what worse deeds he did to handicapped classmates that he didn't think necessary to mention while laughing during the interview?
> 
> ...


Perhaps you yourself should have read the link in OP’s post, because:

1) It’s the article that used the word “bullying”, therefore naturally I myself and others used the word too.

2) The article does not say what kind of bullying.

I don’t know about you, but when I read that a young man in school/uni had bullied his disabled classmates, the behaviour I see for me is that he’s said mean things to them; made fun of them etc. Never in a million years would I have thought the article’s use of the word bullying actually described the kind of cruelty and twisted behaviour which was the case here.

Edited to improve readability.


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## TonalDynamics (Jul 20, 2021)

Markrs said:


> That is awful. If you do things like that it really doesn't matter how long ago it was, I don't want to hear that person's music




The way I see it is, a lot of water can flow under the bridge in 25 years and as another user said, people can change.

The bullying he admitted to doing was apparently done in his school days (childhood), and the quote that he didn't feel sorry about it was taken from a Japanese magazine article from '94 - an interview which is over 27 years old.

In another quote from the japantimes article:

"
In his tweet last week, Oyamada said, “I sincerely feel that such acts and language must be criticized” and that he feels “deep regret and responsibility” for what he describes as his “extremely immature” actions.

He added he has felt guilty about it for a long time and that he hopes to contact the people he bullied to issue a personal apology."


Someone above said 'things are changing', and while many changes are a net positive, I see things like this as a regression, shunning the open-mindedness of classical liberalism, and instead favoring the 'cancel-culture' past-time of pseudo-moralistic finger-pointing from would be social justice warriors looking for the next person's career to step on. 


The 'CC' mob reminds me of Bully Maguire sometimes, seeming to echo sentiments like these...










*For me the bottom line is, I don't think I'm morally superior enough, let alone omniscient enough to be able to say whether or not this person has changed over the last quarter of a century.*

All I know for sure is _he did_ issue an apology, so if I am to be unbiased I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Imagine a world in which you could NEVER live down your past, even if it was something you did as a kid.

Who the hell would even WANT to be famous anymore?!

The things he allegedly did were horrible, but a lot of people did horrible shit as kids that they regret later in life.

Again I'm not saying this guy is a saint, never heard of him before - just that I don't feel morally qualified to condemn him for something he did in his youth and has apparently since apologized for

Cheers


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## Sarah Mancuso (Jul 20, 2021)

Sure, kids do bad things, but not on this level. And he laughed and boasted about it as an adult, only apologizing once it came to light in a way that could harm his career. This is a clear case of "I'm sorry I got caught".



TonalDynamics said:


> Who the hell would even WANT to be famous anymore?!


People who don't have a history of forcing disabled kids to eat actual shit? IDK?


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## MusiquedeReve (Jul 20, 2021)

TonalDynamics said:


> Who the hell would even WANT to be famous anymore?!


Fame is overrated


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## TonalDynamics (Jul 20, 2021)

Brasart said:


> *This is not bullying*, this is torture and sexual harassment — bullying is stealing someone's lunch, or bad mouthing classmates.
> Here this is forcing people to eat their own excrements, forcing someone to masturbate publicly, hitting people, hitting people while restraining them in mattresses, blocking someone's head with cardboard and pouring chalk over it to suffocate them...etc
> And all of this is coming from the composer's own admission -- who knows what worse deeds he did to handicapped classmates that he didn't think necessary to mention while laughing during the interview?
> 
> ...


You do understand that being a sociopath is not entirely voluntary right?

Mental illness, to whatever degree diagnosed or undiagnosed, often plays a part in bullying behavior perpetuated by young people.

The things he allegedly did are horrible, sure. But him being a kid himself when he did it does frame it in a different lens -

That's why we generally try young people who commit felonies under the age of 18 as minors and not adults - there is a difference, both in life experience and accountability.

I'm just thinking of all the stupid shit I'm sorry for that I did as a kid, and what life would look like if I was somehow held responsible for all of it... then I realize social media didn't exist yet then and breathe a sigh of relief.

Again I'm not excusing this person, but why not give them the benefit of the doubt if they've apologized and expressed their remorse for something they did in their youth?


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## TonalDynamics (Jul 20, 2021)

Sarah Mancuso said:


> Sure, kids do bad things, but not on this level. And he laughed and boasted about it as an adult, only apologizing once it came to light in a way that could harm his career. This is a clear case of "I'm sorry I got caught".
> 
> 
> People who don't have a history of forcing disabled kids to eat actual shit? IDK?


I honestly would not be surprised if this guy had some kind of clinical _psychopathy_.

Whether or not he's worked past it into adulthood is the question, but we'll probably never know.

As for only apologizing once it came to light, in all likelihood he was just hoping it 'blew over' and noone would bring it up anymore - a strategy which doesn't hold water these days.

I don't think it's likely that you or anyone else has sufficient evidence to claim that his apology was insincere; maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.

But you have to be careful when you allow the 'mob' to dispense summary justice on someone just by reading a news article about something that allegedly happened over a quarter century ago, because that is an incredibly slippery slope, not least of all due to the nebulous nature of memory.

FWIW I hope this guy really has seen the error of his ways and feels true remorse... but if he IS actually psychopathic he might not even be capable of feeling it...

Incidentally I'd be very curious to know the exact age he was when he did these things? I looked for that info but could not find it in the Japan Times article, it just said 'in his childhood'


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## Sarah Mancuso (Jul 20, 2021)

Yeah, sure, I’ll be careful of the “cancel culture slippery slope” of thinking somebody is a bad person for torturing disabled kids.

I swear, the things that bring defenders out of the woodwork on this website keep getting more bizarre…


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## TonalDynamics (Jul 20, 2021)

Sarah Mancuso said:


> Yeah, sure, I’ll be careful of the “cancel culture slippery slope” of thinking somebody is a bad person for torturing disabled kids.
> 
> I swear, the things that bring defenders out of the woodwork on this website keep getting more bizarre…


What if it was a teen who had an actual mental illness?

The details are important and they matter, but that's the issue with 'trying' someone in the court of social media 27 years after the fact, those details tend to get lost in time...

Also I'm not defending the guy, he may well be a horrible person.

Or he may be an actual psychopath who needs clinical help.

Or he may be perfectly sane and very sorry for what he did in his teens.

The point is that I'm not righteous or knowledgeable enough to know for sure, and I don't think you are either.

To be clear, I am playing devil's advocate here a bit - benefit of the doubt and all. I try not to be quick to condemn anyone, sometimes perhaps to a fault.


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## 3DC (Jul 20, 2021)

Lets not generalize and drag the whole nations into this debate. The difference between hate and bullying is that hate is carefully learned and promoted over decades from selfish pigs in politics and bullying is learned mainly in the environment with zero brains, empathy or culture.

As a disabled kid I was an excellent target for bullying - a kid with crutches can't fight back they thought. It was a fatal mistake for them. How come you might ask?

My brother was martial art champion who used to practice latest kicks he learned on me - in the limits of course until I learned to protect myself from his endless tests. My father - former special forces helped in this process so pretty soon I was kinda deadly. I also learned from him that crutches make a great extension of the hands.

One day all bullying attempts stopped. Not only that but other kids in troubles would seek help from me. Not sure why. 

The moral of the story? Bullying will eventually hit you back. It may take years but it will hit you back one way or another. Usually exponentially harder then you think - you know the karma story.


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## Brasart (Jul 20, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> Perhaps you yourself should have read the link in OP’s post, because:
> 
> 1) It’s the article that used the word “bullying”, therefore naturally I myself and others used the word too.
> 
> ...


I think it's a wording mistake from those articles talking about "bullying", I'm not blaming you or others for that, just emphasizing that it's not the right word to use.

The article did not, but the first posters did mention what happened, and a quick google search would give every detail needed.
(I wasn't referring to you specifically if that's why you answered my last post, I completely understand being misguided by an incomplete article and you didn't try to argue the facts after another member gave you additional context)


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## GNP (Jul 20, 2021)

I've had bullies in my life who were dramatically changed persons when I met them later in life. They became such nice folk that I couldn't even recognize them!

Everybody deserves a 2nd chance.


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## 3DC (Jul 21, 2021)

GNP said:


> I've had bullies in my life who were dramatically changed persons when I met them later in life. They became such nice folk that I couldn't even recognize them!
> 
> Everybody deserves a 2nd chance.


Yeah, at some point of their bully career, I bet they where hit by meteorite so hard it changed their personality 100% - they become saints, literally role models for the society.


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## GNP (Jul 21, 2021)

3DC said:


> Yeah, at some point of their bully career, I bet they where hit by meteorite so hard it changed their personality 100% - they become saints, literally role models for the society.


Whatever it is that happened to them (or the ones I know at least), it sure worked!


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## DimensionsTomorrow (Jul 21, 2021)

The original quotes in Japanese from the magazines where he told the stories back in the 90s are here (and yes, I do read Japanese).

This story was from before he pulled out. 









The Music of Cruelty


“I’d strip (one kid) naked and roll him up in cords and make (him) masturbate. I made him eat shit and then performed a belly- to-back-drop wrestling move on him"



www.japansubculture.com


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## el-bo (Jul 21, 2021)

Sarah Mancuso said:


> This is a clear case of "I'm sorry I got caught".



This is speculation, on your part. There's nothing "clear" about it. 



Sarah Mancuso said:


> I swear, the things that bring defenders out of the woodwork on this website keep getting more bizarre…



No one seems to be defending his behaviour. What is being defended is the idea that people can change and be remorseful of past actions, and that perhaps they should not be completely condemned out-of-hand by an internet jury, on the basis of mere snippets of journalistic copy.


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## el-bo (Jul 21, 2021)

DimensionsTomorrow said:


> The original quotes in Japanese from the magazines where he told the stories back in the 90s are here (and yes, I do read Japanese).
> 
> This story was from before he pulled out.
> 
> ...



He uses the words, "inhuman" and "we". Inhuman is at least an acknowledgment of the severity of these acts, and his other comment alludes to the fact that he wasn't acting alone. No excuse, of course, but when multiple people are involved things can escalate pretty easily if a gang are goading each other on (Just speculating, here)

Any of this lost in translation? In English, it seem like a straight re-telling of events. Either I'm missing the boasting or those comments are in other articles.


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## DimensionsTomorrow (Jul 21, 2021)

el-bo said:


> He uses the words, "inhuman" and "we". Inhuman is at least an acknowledgment of the severity of these acts, and his other comment alludes to the fact that he wasn't acting alone. No excuse, of course, but when multiple people are involved things can escalate pretty easily if a gang are goading each other on (Just speculating, here)
> 
> Any of this lost in translation? In English, it seem like a straight re-telling of events. Either I'm missing the boasting or those comments are in other articles.


I haven’t read the whole articles, but from the language it doesn’t seem as though he was telling the story to be remorseful for his actions. It sounds more like a 20-something sitting around talking about crazy shit he has done, particularly since these were articles in rock magazines. I also read a quote from him recently where he said he had never apologized to the person he tortured.

I personally don’t see this as some over-the-top cancel culture. Pretty horrible stuff he did. Not childhood ribbing.

Anyway, I’m going to take myself out of this thread. I don’t particularly enjoy spending my free time debating this kind of stuff.


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## mscp (Jul 21, 2021)

Sarah Mancuso said:


> Yeah, sure, I’ll be careful of the “cancel culture slippery slope” of thinking somebody is a bad person for torturing disabled kids.
> 
> I swear, the things that bring defenders out of the woodwork on this website keep getting more bizarre…


Mental health is a *serious* issue in the world these days, and virtually nothing is being done to help.

Yesterday I heard people wishing the worst things to Jeff Bezos for having flown to space. I bet if these people had a guilt-free red button on their hands, they would have pressed it. Because it doesn't exist, they can only exercise wishful thinking. Horrible.


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## el-bo (Jul 21, 2021)

DimensionsTomorrow said:


> I haven’t read the whole articles, but from the language it doesn’t seem as though he was telling the story to be remorseful for his actions. It sounds more like a 20-something sitting around talking about crazy shit he has done, particularly since these were articles in rock magazines. I also read a quote from him recently where he said he had never apologized to the person he tortured.
> 
> I personally don’t see this as some over-the-top cancel culture. Pretty horrible stuff he did. Not childhood ribbing.
> 
> Anyway, I’m going to take myself out of this thread. I don’t particularly enjoy spending my free time debating this kind of stuff.


I wasn't suggesting he was telling the story to be remorseful, just that it didn't seem like boasting. It's an important distinction, I reckon

He still claims to not have apologized, but seems to have expressed the wish that he could.


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## Markrs (Jul 21, 2021)

I will say, whilst I accept that people change I also don't believe you should do awful things even long in the past with consequence. To effectively abuse a vulnerable child like he did, then apologise when it comes out and that be enough is not something I agree with. If you do things like that there should be consequences even if it just losing out on work (which to be fair is pretty light compared to what he did).

I just don't like the idea you can do awful things in your past consequence free and then when it comes out everyone just says it was in theit past and they are a changed person. It sends the wrong message, that the key is not to be caught until later on life, then apologise and have no consequences.


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## el-bo (Jul 21, 2021)

Markrs said:


> I just don't like the idea you can do awful things in your past consequence free and then when it comes out everyone just says it was in theit past and they are a changed person. It sends the wrong message, that the key is not to be caught until later on life, then apologise and have no consequences.


I think perhaps we're reading different threads.


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## Markrs (Jul 21, 2021)

el-bo said:


> I think perhaps we're reading different threads.


Possibly, we all interpret what we read 🙂

What I was reading from some comments was that; as it was a long time ago and he is a changed person, who has apologised he shouldn't have had to resign from the job.


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## cygnusdei (Jul 22, 2021)

this story has legs








Tokyo 2020: director of opening ceremony sacked over 1998 Holocaust joke


Head of organising committee apologises for latest scandal to hit preparations for the Olympic Games




www.theguardian.com


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