2003年02月11日 火曜日
It could never happen again - could it?
by Jane Pinckard
Japan Abroad
Shades of Trent Lott in this Coble debacle, which is frightening, to say the least. However, the journalist David Neiwert does great data-accumulation and analysis, proving just what a pro he is. The series of blog entries make up an informative, well-reasoned, and articulate essay on the nature of modern justice and historical interpretation.
The story starts, on his website, with Slouching Towards Manzanar - keep reading, though, because the whole series is wonderful and thought-provoking. It's a dissection of current American political thinking and attitudes through the lens of anti-Japanese hysteria in 1941.
What really struck me was this FDR quote, sent in by one of Neiwert's diligent readers:
"The argument works both ways. I know a great many cultivated, highly educated and delightful Japanese. They have all told me that they would feel the same repugnance and objection to having thousands of Americans settle in Japan and intermarry with the Japanese as I would feel in having large numbers of Japanese come over here and intermarry with the American population."
An extraordinarily racist belief, at least to most modern Americans. But the amazing thing is, many Japanese do feel this way. Still. And they don't think it's racist or wrong.
It was just "common sense" to FDR and others then, as Dave points out.
Maybe one day, it'll no longer seem like common sense to modern Japanese.
Posted by Jane Pinckard at 2003年02月11日 17:05
Comments
Law professor <a href="http://www.isthatlegal.blogspot.com/2003_02_02_isthatlegal_archive.html#88600534">Eric Muller's Is That Legal blog</a> has collected a lot of great research on Coble's racist remarks and evidence against Coble's claims. Let's see if we can push him out of office by the time the next vote rolls around.
We don't need to wait until 2004. We can act now. With much pressure from various Asian American organisations in the United States, Rep. Coble finally apologized for his comments on February 10th. For those not satisfied with just that, you should e-mail or fax the Republican leadership to do more.