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Except that US didn't just intern US citizens of Japanese origin. They interned Aleutians as well. They also went up and down the continent collecting Japanese
by soperj 13y ago
Except that US didn't just intern US citizens of Japanese origin. They interned Aleutians as well. They also went up and down the continent collecting Japanese & German citizens of Latin American countries so that they could trade them for POWs. This led to problems after the war because Peru didn't want them back, and so they had to stay in the internment camps indefinitely. This continued on until an american citizen actually sued to have them be granted citizenship. They were in camps for over 3 years after the war had already ended.
The only reason any of these people were interred was racism, plain and simple. Farmers in California didn't want them owning the land.
- mixmastamyk 13y agoNot the only reason, history is always more complex than we'd like it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau_Incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau_Incident
- soperj 13y agoThere is always justifications for racism. 3 people helping someone out before the U.S had even declared war on Japan doesn't really seem like a very good reason to intern native americans, does it?
- mixmastamyk 13y agoHindsight is always 20/20. Yes, I'm able to say in perfect safety 70 years after the fact that it was a mistake. If I had been alive and asked on Dec 10, 1941 the same question, I doubt I'd give the same answer.
- soperj 13y agoI understand where you're coming from, and I think that a lot of people would(and do) agree with you. But it's the same as standing up now and saying that the NSA spying on ordinary citizens is wrong. If it's wrong, it should be wrong, and nothing can justify it.
- mixmastamyk 13y agoOk, but the original question was not whether it was wrong, but rather was it "the only reason". Didn't mean to imply it was ever right.