Ignominious acts, Ethnocentrism, and the World War 2 internment of Japanese Americans, part one
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Be Like the Cactus
Let not harsh tongues, that wag
in vain,
Discourage you. In spite of
pain,
Be like the cactus, which through
rain,
And storm, and thunder, can
remain.
Kimii Nagata
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"Executive Order No. 9066
The President
Executive Order
Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas
Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104);
Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and until other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, and shall supersede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.
I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each Military area hereinabove authorized to be designated, including the use of Federal troops and other Federal Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies.
I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments and other Federal Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities, and services.
This order shall not be construed as modifying or limiting in any way the authority heretofore granted under Executive Order No. 8972, dated December 12, 1941, nor shall it be construed as limiting or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with respect to the investigation of alleged acts of sabotage or the duty and responsibility of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, prescribing regulations for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and responsibility is superseded by the designation of military areas hereunder.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The White House,
February 19, 1942."
GAG. FDR was a pretty cool president, but he had many, many faults.
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Manzanar, yesterday and today.
When I was a kid, back in the Neo-lithic era, one of the books we had to read was entitled Farewell to Manzanar. I don't remember it really, now that I'm in my dotage, but I do remember being shocked that the internment of Japanese Americans occurred during the second world war. Here's a link to the book online: https://www.rgandara.com/uploads/1/2/3/7/123702754/james_d._houstonjames_a._houstonjeanne_wakatsuki_houston_-_farewell_to_manzanar__2013_houghton_mifflin_harcourt_trade_and_reference_houghton_mifflin_harcourt_hmh_books_for_young_readers___1_.pdf We also used to drive past what remained of the camp on our way to Mammoth Mountain--a ski resort. It was a long time, before I made the connection between the two.
Let's think about the term 'World War.' Can we just digest that particular term for a moment?
What led to the internment of these blameless people? Why was their personal property confiscated, grossly undervalued, and then re-sold to whites? The answer is: prejudice, ethnocentrism, and retribution for Pearl Harbor.
Bigotry against Asians in this country has a long history, especially in the Western states. Perhaps it was a response to the immigrants who came to the US in the nineteenth century. But, who can honestly track the beginning of prejudice?
Last week, I briefly touched on the power of propaganda in exploiting a populations' hatred and distrust of certain people, who might be categorized as the 'social other.' OK, I'll give you the obvious example: the Jewish people who were murdered by Hitler's morons in WW2.
Does it surprise you, Dear Reader, that the 'good ole US of A' also interned people deemed potentially dangerous? Probably not; the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WW2, is hardly a forgotten story--or is it? So, where do we start?
We have to begin with Pearl Harbor. It was a nice Sunday in paradise (Hawaii)--December 7, 1941. There was a sound of planes overhead, and then the impact of bombs, as Japanese forces carried out their surprise attack on the American naval base.
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The Japanese dealt the US pacific fleet a deadly blow that morning. The attack on US interests by the Kami-Kase warriors (among others) was something the American public would never forgive. It also rekindled old feelings of suspicion and animosity by whites against Asians, especially persons of Japanese descent.
You have to remember, Dear Reader, that this was a 'natural' mental evolution for most white Americans, even in the 1940s. I wish I could tell you that racism was a thing belonging exclusively to the nineteenth century, but we all know better, don't we? The attack on Pearl Harbor guaranteed a virulent resurgence of anti-Asian feeling in this country, particularly on the West Coast of the US.
Following the sneak attack, there were sporadic hate crimes against Asians living in the US (right along with those of German and/or Italian descent). Right away, propaganda kicked into motion in order to isolate these groups from mainstream American society.
American propaganda, in the early days of the way was both offensive and racist. Let's take a gander at some examples, shall we?
How about a hunting license for Americans to hunt down Japanese?
Ye gods. I know it was a gimmick, but it wasn't funny, and lots of people with Japanese ancestry in this country would suffer because of racist bullsh(t like this.
It gets worse. The following is a page from a Life Magazine 'article' following Pearl Harbor:
How about some cartoons?
"Tokyo Jokio" is really the worst one,
But, when it came to propaganda, posters expressed it best:
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Let's see some movies in this vein:
CRINGE.
Are you getting the picture, Dear Reader? No country is free of bigotry. In this way, I suppose, Americans are a little hypocritical when they sing phrases like "home of the free" or "land of the brave." Another part of this story, has to be the way in which we demonized any person of Japanese ancestry in the US--they were spies for the emperor (gag)! They represented a classic 'fifth column'! How will the country ever be safe from the 'yellow peril'? Vomit.
Forgive that last term, Dear Reader, it's seriously how most Americans viewed the Japanese at this time. It was actually used. Now, the following image, is what most Japanese Americans faced in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor:
Photo by Dorothea Lange.
It was in this Executive Order 9066:
"Executive Order No. 9066
The President
Executive Order
Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas
Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104);
Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and until other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, and shall supersede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.
I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each Military area hereinabove authorized to be designated, including the use of Federal troops and other Federal Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies.
I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments and other Federal Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities, and services.
This order shall not be construed as modifying or limiting in any way the authority heretofore granted under Executive Order No. 8972, dated December 12, 1941, nor shall it be construed as limiting or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with respect to the investigation of alleged acts of sabotage or the duty and responsibility of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, prescribing regulations for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and responsibility is superseded by the designation of military areas hereunder.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The White House,
February 19, 1942."
GAG. FDR was a pretty cool president, but he had many, many faults.
What in tarnation was our government thinking? That there were millions of potential fifth columnists hiding in plain sight, waiting to blow up the local library? YES, that's exactly what the government feared. Whoever thought up 9066 needed to be taken out to the back pasture, and stomped on by the family stallion.
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
It is impossible for me to understand the particular circumstances of Japanese American families living in those times. Heartbreak? Outrage? Betrayal? All of those emotions. It’s equally impossible to understand just why our government felt it necessary to imprison these innocents in what were substandard conditions.
Take a look at this:
What happy prisoners, right? Oops, I meant “internees.” Someone had a sick sense of humor. It’s not funny, Dear Reader, these were real families, needlessly suffering, because some putz decided these people were a danger. Great Thor’s hammer, don’t you just love paranoia?
This is not to say that there weren’t internal threats during WW2: the German American Bund, and the America First Party all had overtly racist, fascist tendencies. In fact, these two groups had enormous support in our government. Here’s a documentary called “Nazi Town USA.” It goes into the We2 Fascist movement in WW2 America. https://www.pbs.org/video/nazi-town-usa-y4vqkt/
You can also listen to this podcast by Rachel Maddow if you’re curious:
It’s a terrifying study on Fascism and anti-semitism done ‘Maddow-style.’
What, you may ask Dear Reader, was the America First Party? I'll take that up for you next week! Until next time, Dear Reader, be well.
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