If this kind of crap has to be done it should be done right. Provide adequate housing, food, transportation. Treat humans as humans, not animals.
Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
161–170 of 358 posts
Re: Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
#162It seems uncomfortable, but how does it compare to how the Japanese treated the Chinese during the war? Its easy to look back now and think America was terrible but lets not forget that World War Freaking 2 was happening at the time. If your beloved son just got killed at Perl Harbor you probably would have no issue with this at all. Hell you probably feel like it is not bad enough. Its just like all these self right…
> It seems uncomfortable, but how does it compare to how the Japanese treated the Chinese during the war?
Why does that matter? Does one atrocity excuse another?
> Its easy to look back now and think America was terrible but lets not forget that World War Freaking 2 was happening at the time.
We were much less terrible than the powers we were fighting against. That doesn't mean we didn't also do some terrible things.
Re: Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
We did not choose war willingly, the japanese govt made the choice for us when they attacked pearl harbor.
After the US et. al. cut off fuel and oil trade. They don't teach you that part in school. The saddest thing about WWII is that the people who started the war, by funding it, were never brought up on charges at Nuremberg. Prescott Bush and Standard Oil made millions off selling fuel to both sides. IBM made the punch-card based catalogue service for the Nazis. Henry Ford's company made tank treads for both allied and…
> After the US et. al. cut off fuel and oil trade. They don't teach you that part in school.
They did in my public school.
> People look at Hitler and forget that wars need to be funded.
Your argument is confused. You point to profiteers (who were funded by the war, not funding the war), but then follow with this.
Re: Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because Japanese Americans look different from "the average American", while German Americans don't. Also, Germans had been immigrating into the US since the year 1700 and intermarried widely with other groups. So it would be very hard to decide where to draw a line and say someone is "sufficiently German" to be interned.
This is entirely supposition on my part, from someone far too young to have lived through any of it, but I suspect it's less that Japanese Americans looked different, and more that Japan was a non-Christian culture, which made it easier to dehumanize people of Japanese descent. The Nazis might have been evil but at least they were "like us" in that they shared a common heritage, religion and linguistic root with Amer…
> suspect it's less that Japanese Americans looked different, and more that Japan was a non-Christian culture
Christianity and whiteness are surely connected in the cultural consciousness.
Re: Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
#165The recent speculation about a national registry for Muslims - and what that may look like - makes this even more poignant. The times may have changed, but fear and ignorance have not.
Japanese-Americans or Japanese immigrants didn't have a history of shooting, stabbing, running over or exploding things.
Re: Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
Strange how enforcing borders began to be seen as controversial. The explanation that makes the most sense to me is, some people see free movement across borders as a human right, while others view a country as their home, and so should have the right to decide who to let in.
I am surprised by the same thing. We have a legal process for crossing those borders, and if you circumvent that process you are a criminal. How is that controversial? Separately, if you believe the process is bad, or borders should be open, or whatever -- by all means, fight for that using the frameworks we have.
“If you [break the law] you are a criminal. How is that controversial?”
What is legal is not necessarily moral or ethical.
Re: Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't think the US didn't do everything it could to antagonize the enemy. Japan was repeatedly slapped in the face until it had no choice but to respond to protect its honour. I'm not saying what Japan did was in any way noble, but it was certainly far from unexpected. The US administration knew the war in Europe was a serious problem if left unchecked, that Britain and its allies would never prevail, but there was c…
> Japan was repeatedly slapped in the face until it had no choice but to respond to protect its honour. Are you kidding me? So honor was their reason to start a war that eventually caused millions to die?
You're taking his brief argument far too literally. Of course there was more at play than honour alone. However reasons aside, I'd argue your comment is moot as there's never a good reason to start a war.
Edit: wow I'm surprised by the downvotes. Are you (who ever you are) suggesting you do agree with starting wars? I'd be very interested to hear why you disagree with me.
Re: Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
#168This was appalling and obviously sucked a lot for people who underwent such treatment; however as someone born in USSR I'd say that it was surprisingly humane (hot water not always available) compared to how people were treated in the USSR around the same period. Case in point: Ukrainian Holodomor (genocide by famine) http://www.rferl.org/a/holodomor-ukraine/25174454.html Edit: also, Chechen and Krimean Tatar deporta…
Since these countries (in some form or other) still exist, it's tempting to start making moral comparisons and trying to figure out "which side you should be on". But that's not the most interesting approach, in my opinion. Future historians won't be picking sides, they'll be trying to put it in context, understand the conditions that led to these behaviors, and draw out trends in the period. I can imagine a section…
You may want to put quotes round "undesirables" in that last sentence to indicate more clearly that it's not a view held by your hypothetical future scholar or yourself, but rather a term used at the time.
Re: Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
#169For a country standing for Freedom and Human Rights, this kind of action is appalling. The quotes in the article from officials and three letters agencies stink of utter racism (even though no sabotage operations was ever undertaken).
The United States has never stood for Freedom and Human Rights, this is a country built on the back of enslaved Africans.
It's a country young enough that all the sins of its founding are well documented and remembered. This is both good and bad.
Re: Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps
#170“A viper is nonetheless a viper wherever the egg is hatched—so a Japanese-American, born of Japanese parents—grows up to be a Japanese, not an American.” — Los Angeles Times, February 2, 1942 Depressing to think this is going to happen again, in some way.
The sentiment of that quote is already here, unfortunately. It just hasn't been fully institutionalised yet.