This story passed unnoticed in the manosphere. It deserves reflection.
Followers of RVF teachings will recall that white knighting can literally get you killed. Examples abound, and have been noted.
A few weeks ago, a famed Japanese scientist was found hanging from a rope in the stairwell of his research building. His name was Yoshiki Sasai:
![[Image: ugXf6JW.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/ugXf6JW.jpg)
He had been the mentor of an attractive young female scientist whom he pushed and promoted, despite questions in the past about her competence. Her name was Haruko Obokata:
![[Image: xfEoyvq.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/xfEoyvq.jpg)
![[Image: RQJHKY9.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/RQJHKY9.jpg)
![[Image: kdcEYWA.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/kdcEYWA.jpg)
She claimed to have made some great advance in stem cell research, and published a paper with his name on it to that effect. It then was revealed that she faked the research results. The paper had to be retracted, to his great humiliation.
We may speculate on the precise nature of the relationship between the attractive young protege and the mentor. The media is silent about the details, but Dr. Sasai left three letters addressed to Ms. Obokata when he killed himself. Not to his wife, not to his relatives. To her, the woman who sold him out. The contents have not been revealed. Here are links to the story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morni...n-scandal/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/05...49791.html
Any time an older male "mentors" an attractive young female, there is always some element of sexual desire present. Whether it is acted upon or not, the dynamic is there. Clearly, Sasai pined after his protege, and did all he could to further her career.
When the scandal broke, Dr. Sasai buried himself in shame. The girl, Obokata, denied everything. And to this day still denies everything.
Her work was proven to be made from fudged data, which in Japan is a huge betrayal of one's mentor; such relationships in Japan are taken very seriously.
But did she commit suicide, to redeem his honor? No.
Did she admit any fault? No.
We may ask if Obokata had been a man, and he had disgraced himself and his boss, the result would have been very different.
But the interesting thing here is the white-knightery displayed by Dr. Sasai. He heaps all the blame on his own shoulders in classic white knight fashion, and destroys himself, partially (I argue) out of his tortured sense of sexual betrayal.
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Followers of RVF teachings will recall that white knighting can literally get you killed. Examples abound, and have been noted.
A few weeks ago, a famed Japanese scientist was found hanging from a rope in the stairwell of his research building. His name was Yoshiki Sasai:
He had been the mentor of an attractive young female scientist whom he pushed and promoted, despite questions in the past about her competence. Her name was Haruko Obokata:
She claimed to have made some great advance in stem cell research, and published a paper with his name on it to that effect. It then was revealed that she faked the research results. The paper had to be retracted, to his great humiliation.
We may speculate on the precise nature of the relationship between the attractive young protege and the mentor. The media is silent about the details, but Dr. Sasai left three letters addressed to Ms. Obokata when he killed himself. Not to his wife, not to his relatives. To her, the woman who sold him out. The contents have not been revealed. Here are links to the story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morni...n-scandal/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/05...49791.html
Any time an older male "mentors" an attractive young female, there is always some element of sexual desire present. Whether it is acted upon or not, the dynamic is there. Clearly, Sasai pined after his protege, and did all he could to further her career.
When the scandal broke, Dr. Sasai buried himself in shame. The girl, Obokata, denied everything. And to this day still denies everything.
Her work was proven to be made from fudged data, which in Japan is a huge betrayal of one's mentor; such relationships in Japan are taken very seriously.
But did she commit suicide, to redeem his honor? No.
Did she admit any fault? No.
We may ask if Obokata had been a man, and he had disgraced himself and his boss, the result would have been very different.
But the interesting thing here is the white-knightery displayed by Dr. Sasai. He heaps all the blame on his own shoulders in classic white knight fashion, and destroys himself, partially (I argue) out of his tortured sense of sexual betrayal.
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