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There have been several books written over the years on the subject. One recent one 'Just Americans' combines information about the camps and about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. I think an older one was 'American Concentration Camps' but it has been 20 years since I read that one so I'm not sure of the title.
When I was growing up one of our neighbors for a few years was a woman who had been in the camps as a child. Her family had lost their home, furniture, savings, everything. They got pennies on the dollar for some things and nothing for others. Most of what they got was in the form of checks that by the time they were able to deposit them were refused because of age (more than 180 days old) or they bounced.
It is especially interesting to red about the justifications that were used and the Judges who agreed with the program
I think the internment of any American citizen due to their ethnicity is a black eye for this country. One of the things that made/makes this country great is "innocent until proven guilty."
Sort of interesting that FDR is hailed as one of the greatest (and most liberal) Presidents despite having rounded up nearly every member of a racial minority group and forcibly relocated them to internment camps. Meanwhile, Bush and Obama get dumped on for sending confirmed terrorists to club Gitmo.
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Originally Posted by Teddy52
Yes, the interment of Japanese Americans was wrong, but that was the last war we scored a decisive victory.
Something to think about.
Great point. If you are going to fight a war, fight to win it decisively. Otherwise, you end up with North Koreas, Afghanistans or Iraqs. This new kindler, gentler way of fighting wars seems to lead to more longer term problems.
I read an article about this, and it just seems ultimately wrong. How do we justify violation of rights?
article reads: To this day, it is difficult for Japanese Americans to reconcile how the only country they knew, and a democratic one, could incarcerate them because of their ancestry. Many say it is vital to remember the order that forced people from their homes as the country waged war with Japan to prevent others in America from ever suffering the same fate.
[Japanese American Internment Camp Stories: Survivors Urged To Tell Their Tale For 'Remembrance Project'
[URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/japanese-american-internm_n_1304668.html#"]By AMY TAXIN[/URL] 02/25/12 03:42 PM ET ]
Both myself and another poster mentioned that previously. But the poster to which you responded was countering a claim that Japanese-Americans assisted Imperial Japan in the planning of Pearl Harbor, and the Niihau Incident occurred shortly after Pearl Harbor. As such, it is certainly not evidence of any assistance provided in the planning of the attack (as mr bolo claimed to have 'heard' about).
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Just part of the anti-Asian sentiment at the time. And there was plenty of it.
It never ceases to surprise me that on one hand people recognize that internment of the Japanese was wrong on many levels, but on the other they still rate FDR as "The Greatest"......
Not me. Just as judging Washington and Jefferson to be great Presidents, slaveownwers both, and Lincoln likewise, despite being a flaming racist by 21st century standards, we tend to rate Presidents while keeping in mind their time. If we did not, constantly changing standards would eliminate all but the most recent Presidents from such consideration, and that would be folly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teddy52
Yes, the interment of Japanese Americans was wrong, but that was the last war we scored a decisive victory.
Something to think about.
It was also the last war in which the military was segregated by race and in which the Air Force was but a branch of the Army. Let's think about it.
[... thinking about it ...]
All I'm getting is correlation but absolutely no causation, just as I do with your insinuation of a correlation equating to a causation.
If you think about it the internment of Japanese Americans or a persons of Japanese ancestry was not as bad as people thought
because the times were a lot different back then , internment was also for their own personal safety, I believe mobs of angry Americans would of burned their houses down and assaulted many innocent people if they were not interned in the camps
this was back when they were still lynching blacks in the south, the racism and mentality of the times is not like today, not very PC back in 1940
so they were actually safer in the camps at that time in history
Today many people still think the same as back in 1940, Ive heard many discussions of what would you do if China went to war with the USA? and a lot of Americans said they would burn all the Chinese business's down and not trust any Chinese or Chinese American, sounds very similiar to how they thought of the Japanese during WWII
Japanese American internment was a "good thing" in the sense that the Holocaust was a "good thing" by eliminating the risk of millions of people being miserable under Communist rule later on.
Note: I am not saying that that Japanese-American internment and/or the Holocaust were actually good things.
We've had numerous wars in Asia since World War II. Care to point to the widespread destruction of non-interred Korean, Vietnamese, Iraqi and Afghan businesses in the U.S. during those conflicts?
Or, in perhaps the best analogue (in terms of a visceral shock to the system of the nation), 9/11 - do you think the few instances of attacks on Muslims (and perceived Muslims - I'm thinking of the murder of the Sikh in Arizona) mean that millions of Arab-Americans (and, of course, all turban-wearing Sikhs) should have been rounded up? You know, 'for their own good'?
the Japanese on Hawaii were contained they were on an Island, so they were already controlled in a way , since they couldnt freely travel to the states or go back to Japan
another thing the Japanese society at the time was a lot different, they were very loyal to the Emperor of Japan and would do anything for him, he was like a God to the Japanese
I heard some Japanese living in Hawaii actually helped supply information to Japan to help plan the attack on Pearl Harbor
thats how they knew the lay out , which ships were docked at the time, etc
If the Japanese Navy had known the US aircraft carriers were out to sea, they would have chosen a better time. They knew - as evidenced by the attack - the punch that aircraft carriers packed.
The paranoia as regards saboteurs had one tangible result: The US aircraft, instead of being dispersed, were lined up in central locations (far from the perimeter) so as to be easy to guard. And so the Japanese strafed the heck out of them, as could be expected.
Both myself and another poster mentioned that previously. But the poster to which you responded was countering a claim that Japanese-Americans assisted Imperial Japan in the planning of Pearl Harbor, and the Niihau Incident occurred shortly after Pearl Harbor. As such, it is certainly not evidence of any assistance provided in the planning of the attack (as mr bolo claimed to have 'heard' about).
Not me. Just as judging Washington and Jefferson to be great Presidents, slaveownwers both, and Lincoln likewise, despite being a flaming racist by 21st century standards, we tend to rate Presidents while keeping in mind their time. If we did not, constantly changing standards would eliminate all but the most recent Presidents from such consideration, and that would be folly.
It was also the last war in which the military was segregated by race and in which the Air Force was but a branch of the Army. Let's think about it.
[... thinking about it ...]
All I'm getting is correlation but absolutely no causation, just as I do with your insinuation of a correlation equating to a causation.
My point being in WWII the US did everything they believed would help them win the war.
( and we won, THANKFULLY )
Easy for someone to sit on their fat butt in front of a computer and 2nd guess decisions made 70 years ago.
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