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Phrase: Turn a blind eye
Today’s expression has nothing to do with not being able to see.
When we turn a blind eye, we wilfully ignore something or pretend not to notice it.
People usually do this when they don’t want to get involved in something.
For example, let me tell you a story about something I witnessed on Christmas Eve 2018.
Twice every day, Sora-chan, my little Japanese Shiba Inu, and I go for a walk around our community.
We’ve come to know most people around here, and we see a lot of what goes on.
So, anyways, to get back to Christmas Eve 2018.
As I was saying, Sora-chan and I were on one of our walks when she had to stop and take care of some business if you know what I mean.
While she was doing that, I was standing there looking around when I noticed a small truck parked next to the river.
Then, I saw two men take an appliance from the back of the truck and dump it.
They just tossed it on the ground.
I could have turned a blind eye and walked away – and I almost did.
Then, one of the men saw me and waved.
This guy was bold enough to dump garbage where it shouldn’t be and then wave at me, too.
That pissed me off, and I decided to put my foot down.
The fine for illegal dumping in Japan can be as high as ￥100,000,000 or roughly US $100,000.
I made a note of the license plate number and reported what I saw at the local police station after we finished our walk.
Christmas is not a holiday in Japan, but the 23rd of December is the emperor’s birthday, and Christmas Eve is a day to celebrate.
On Christmas Day, while my wife was at work, Sora and I returned to the same spot, and the garbage was gone.
The police work fast in Japan, and now the area is still beautiful.
If I had turned a blind eye, the garbage, which turned out to be multiple appliances, would probably still be there.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 79.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.