I’m not sure how shameful and unjust this was. If a US citizen of Japanese descent could turn on the U.S. THE SAME DAY the Japanese attacked…wouldn’t you figure quite a few more would do it over the course of the war with Japan?

Seems justified to me. It’s war, that sorta stuff happens.

Don’t forget that many German Americans Repatriated and fought in the war against Americans.

Here is another website that discusses the internment of Alaska Natives!!!

I wasn’t aware that this incident was the cause of the internship in America. Although I’m sure it played a role in Canada’s Japanese internment camps, the main reason in Canada was because so many Japanese Canadians worked in the fishing industry off the coast of British Columbia, and the public was concerned that they might be charting the coastline to help in a Japanese invasion.

Great article, it has inspired me to blog my grandfathers story on my site.

We recently had a presentation from a representative of the newly-opened Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor (http://www.pacificaviationmuseum.org). She told us this story (was the first I’d heard of it) and said that what remains of the Zero (mostly unrecognizable rusted pieces) was on loan from the Robinson family and would be on display at the Museum.

I plan to get down there one of these days to check it out.

I am at the culmination of my Criminal Justice program and this case has come up quite a few times. I have heard legal sides defend and attack the justifications of removing Japanese citizens. But I agree that the term Concentration Camps is ubsurd in this instance. These peoples were treated humanely and were merely inconvenienced when they were assessed. Furthermore, they did recieve some sort of compensation for their role. When it comes to War and defending our country, rights MUST be sacrificed if necessary. No one should like that rights are taken away but they must understand why. Anyone who simply says “no” can not truly understand what is at stake here. A lucid, well written article as well as response from A Briggs.

This article leads us to believe that without the mentioned incident on Niihau, we would not have interned Japanese-Americans. I find that hard to accept. The nationalism which has dominated American foreign and domestic policy since almost the very beginning has led us to adopt similar measures throughout our brief history. Starting with the American Indians, placing them on “reservations”, uprooting them and detaining them against their will, continuing on with the South’s use of slaves long after most of the modern world had condemned it and right on through the already commented on treatment of German-Americans during WWI, American society has generally had negative feelings of some kind towards anyone who wasn’t white and spoke English with an American accent.

ConcernedCitizen said: “@Grope: Wow. You know, I’m sure that ninety-nine percent of African -Americans are decent and loyal, but that’s not good enough! Lock them all up! Same goes with Latinos, Chinese, Indians, Eskimos… Only Caucasians can be trusted!

Being imprisoned due solely to one’s race is completely wrong, under ANY circumstances. Look up “racism” in a dictionary, dude.”

Fortunately, there has always been a large number of Americans who have been willing to speak out against such behaviour, and today those Americans seem to be in the majority (unless the two peoples being targeted are Muslims and illegal aliens from south of the border). Great comment Concerned citizen!

Rinson Drei said: In WWII, Roosevelt remained neutral initially partly because he was uncertain of the loyalties of America’s huge German minority, many of whom were openly sympathetic with Hitler’s nationalistic claims. As opposed to hundreds of thousands of Japanese, there were tens of millions of Germans in America, and they could not be easily ignored, as they had significant political clout.”

Here i also beg to differ, Roosevelt wanted nothing more than to get the US in the War, almost disregarding the very neutral stance of the Congress and initiating Lend Lease with Great Britian. He also knew that entrance into WWII would be the final kick to get the nation out of the Great Depression. Some even go as far as accusing Roosevelt of “encouraging” the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor. http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/pearl.html or Robert B. Stinnett’s “Day of Deceit”. Roosevelt was aware and a bit worried about the Charles Lindbergh type Germanophiles of the 30′s, but that was not a major factor in his inability to get the US in the war sooner.

debbiebf said: “In addition, people didn’t hate the Germans, they hated the Nazis. Japanese looked “different” and talked “different” and America had watched Hitler take over the minds and bodies of the citizens of Germany rather quickly. Germans in the states were outraged and upset about what was happening. People didn’t see the Japanese expressing the same outrage. (Was there outrage in the Japanese community? Could the media have done a better job?) “

Great points, today we refer to the Nazis much more than the Japanese. But back in 1941, it was Japan was dared attack America, and it was Japan who was a threat to invade the West Coast. Germany was definitely our enemy, but they were fighting “over there” and not a real threat to US soil.

Lastly, the association of “concentration camps” as the word is used post Nazis has very little to do with the camps where the Japanese Americans were held. I say this NOT to justify the forced uprooting and detention of law abiding citizens, as for this there can be no excuse. Rather, I say this to point out a very clear distinction, as there have been “concentration camps” for well over 100 years now, with most historians crediting the Brits during the Boer War in South Africa for giving us that “invention.” As wrong as they were then and remain today, the intention was one of regulation and control, not death. Only the Nazis, Russians and recently the Serbs, Croats, etc. have turned them into death camps.

History has shown us, history itself is written by the winner(s) of any war. German concentration camps bad…Allied concentration camps good…Mmmmka…How quickly we forget (or made to forget) our own atrocities…”

This is not directed towards C#4Me only, but to all who’s comments included veiled insult as to anothers “lack of education”. With out giving up my age (a ladys perogative) I remind you that this is the Information Age. The full disclosure and right to know acts, laws & bills, that enabled you to be allowed to learn this stuff are not so very old. Many having been inacted within the past 30 years or so.

With that said, perhaps you can understand the frustration and anger of those of us who now learn that much of what we were taught was BS, especialy things that we were taught in the name of patriotism of our beloved USA.

One did not burn our flag or wear it in those days. Censorship and book burnings were common place. One did not easily question that our goverment hadn’t the highest morals in the world. To have let the masses know that such a thing as this had happened Here, would have created a great deal of grief and awakening in a time of civil unrest, that our government was not prepared to deal with.

As for today, yes it is unsetling and grievious; but as several have asked, what are we to do? I certainly do not have the answers to this and I stongly doubt any one answer would ever be correct.

1c3d0g said: “Yes, the concentration camps were some of the darkest times in U.S. history. Hehe, this world is so twisted sometimes… I know a Japanese lady who saw the flash when the Hiroshima nuclear bomb went off. She’s been living outside of Japan for quite a while now and her son is a proud U.S. Army Sergeant. This goes to show that you can’t classify people by “race”, we’re all Human Beings and that’s what counts. I just wish the separatist leaders around the world would realize that and command their “troops” to end the senseless bloodshed once and for all. Imagine how far we could advance Humanity if all wars ended today!”

IMHO this is one of the wisest things said in this discussion.

(1c3d0g, even if you speak with tounge in cheek, you still play a mean game of bones. LOL..*;)