Voting Station

S.I. Hayakawa

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Educator

The Resume

    (July 18, 1906-February 27, 1992)
    Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Birth name was Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa
    English professor/Linguist/Politician
    Wrote 'Language in Thought and Action' (1939) and 'Symbol, Status and Personality' (1963)
    President of San Francisco State College (1968-73)
    Served one term as a Senator from California (1977-83)

Why he might be annoying:

    He originally planned to run for the Senate as a Democrat in 1970, then ran as a Republican six years later.
    While campaigning, he said the US should keep control of the Panama Canal, quipping 'After all, we stole it fair and square.'
    However, he helped win Senate approval of the Torrijos-Carter Treaty that transferred control of the Canal to Panama (1978).
    He criticized demands that Japanese American citizens interned during World War II be paid reparations, claiming their detention was 'perhaps the best thing that could have happened.'
    He was nicknamed 'Sleeping Sam' after being repeatedly spotted dozing during Senate debates.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He became a hero to conservatives when he confronted a group of student protestors and, unable to be heard over a blaring sound truck, jumped on top of the truck and pulled the wires from the loud speakers (December 2, 1968).
    He was refreshingly blunt as a politician, such as responding to a question about a ballot initiative to legalize greyhound racing with, 'I can't think of anything that interests me less.'
    He said he never paid attention to polls, commenting 'I'm too old to worry about batting averages.'
    He may have been narcoleptic.
    He was a dedicated jazz fan and wrote liner notes for several albums.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 59 Votes: 47.46% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 20 Votes: 55.00% Annoying