Japanese American Oppressor Analysis

In the United States World War II has been one of the most remembered wars of all time. Acclaimed historian Ronald Takaki asserts that for many Americans, World War II was fought for a “double victory”: on the battlefront as well as on the home front. Takaki’s book Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II reminds the audience that there was much, much more happening at home and on the frontlines during World War II than in the battlefield. Takaki presents a strong central argument; it illuminates the incongruity of America's own oppressive behavior toward minorities at home, even while proclaiming the role in World War II as a fight against oppression abroad. It also pays tribute to the determination and perseverance of ethnically diverse Americans in their two-front war against prejudice and fascism. In addition Takaki tells the story through the lives of ethnically diverse Americans: Japanese Americans who felt betrayed by their own country when families were sent to internment camps; For African Americans, the war for freedom had to be fought in their country’s own backyard; a Navajo code talker who uses his complex native language to transmit secret battle messages and confound the Japanese, while his people are living in desperate poverty on a government reservation. Their dual struggle to defeat the enemy abroad and overcome racism at home gives the Double Victory its title and its texture.

Sunny Albuquerque rests atop an escalated desert, and celebrates Halloween a notch above the rest of the planet. With roots from Mexico, New Mexico has been participating in “Las Dias de Los Muertos” (The Days of the Dead) long before the land became a state of the USA. During Oct. 31 – Nov. 4, the Spanish recognize the spirits who stay among them, and honor those that have passed. They have the belief that maybe the spirits of the deceased are among them every day, but the end of October and early November is the chosen time to honor the nonliving. It teaches the Spanish to accept death, as it can’t be avoided. To bring some joy into the morbid topic, they build intricate shrines for their passed family members, dance the night away to music, and have fiestas. Skulls are vibrantly painted with the name of the deceased on them. Of course, plenty of spicy Spanish food is cooked and enjoyed.

In this same poem Suyemoto writes, “And conscienceless, wills not to understand/ That being born here constitutes a right,”1 referencing the two thirds of Japanese on the Pacific-coast that were natural born citizens. Even the cruel, inconsiderate neglect people showed while wondering through Toyo’s family’s home when they were trying to pack their important belonging for departure to a camp the next, demonstrates how little people thought of the Japanese at his point in time. Toyo Suyemoto’s poem “Guilt by Heredity” explains these blind discontent most Americans felt for Japanese during this time in American history, and is shows how little people, or the American government cared about or for these people during World War II.

The Fifteen-Year War was a time of great turmoil and uncertainty in Japan. Various facets of the country were tested and driven to their limits. During the occupation, race and gender began to evolve in ways that had not exactly be seen before. War had a tremendous impact on every part of the life of a Japanese citizen. Both men and women began to fill roles that were completely novel to them. Race became a part of the definition of who people were. As the war progressed and American troops landed on Japanese soil for occupation, more drastic changes occurred. Economic hardship and rations befell the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. Prostitution began to rear its ugly head and rape transpired. Through memory, research, and vivid

War can be loud and visible or quiet and remote. It affects the individual and entire societies, the soldiers, and the civilians. Both U.S. prisoners of war in Japan and Japanese-Americans citizens in the Unites States during WWII undergo efforts to make them “invisible.” Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken hero, Louie Zamperini, like so many other POW’s, is imprisoned, beaten, and denied basic human rights in POW camps throughout Japan. Miné

More than 110,000 Japanese Americans living on the west coast of the United States were forced and placed into internment camp. Many believe that the internment camps were necessary for national defense. Conversely, I believe that the actions taken place at time of war were unnecessary and racist acts. Throughout this paper, I will discuss how and why the removal of the Japanese-Americans was uncalled for and harsh, while addressing the counterpoint. The first reason I believe that the Internment camps were despotic is that for other war like situations, no actions this harsh were taken.

The autobiography illustrates personal experiences of discrimination and prejudice while also reporting the political occurrences during the United States’ involvement in World War II. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States government unleashed unrestrained contempt for the Japanese residing in the nation. The general public followed this train of thought, distrusting the Japanese and treating them like something less than human. In a country of freedom and justice, no coalition stepped up to defend the people who had lived there most of or all of their lives; rather, people took advantage of the Japanese evacuation to take their property and belongings. The government released demeaning propaganda displaying comical Japanese men as monsters and rats, encouraging the public to be vigilant and wary toward anyone of Japanese descent. The abuse of the Japanese during this period was taken a little too lightly, the government apologizing too late and now minor education of the real cruelty expressed toward the nation’s own citizens. Now we see history repeating itself in society, and if we don’t catch the warning signs today, history may just come full

War can be loud and visible or quiet and remote. It affects the individual and entire societies, the soldier, and the civilian. Both U.S. prisoners of war in Japan and Japanese-American citizens in the United States during WWII undergo efforts to make them “invisible.” Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken hero, Louie Zamperini, like so many other POWs, is imprisoned, beaten, and denied basic human rights in POW camps throughout Japan. Miné Okubo, a U.S. citizen by birth, is removed from society and interned in a “protective custody” camp for Japanese-American citizens. She is one of the many Japanese-Americans who were interned for the duration of the war. Louie Zamperini, as a POW in Japan, and Miné Okubo, as a Japanese-American Internee both experience efforts to make them “invisible” through dehumanization and isolation in the camps of WWII, and both resist these efforts.

Roger Daniels’ book Prisoners without Trial is another book that describes the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. This piece discusses about the background that led up to the internment, the internment itself, and what happened afterwards. The internment and relocation of Japanese-Americans during World War II was an injustice prompted by political and racial motivations. The author’s purpose of this volume is to discuss the story in light of the redress and reparation legislation enacted in 1988. Even though Daniels gives first hand accounts of the internment of Japanese Americans in his book, the author is lacking adequate citations and provocative quotations. It’s

officials eventually began to recruit these internees into the American army. Not only was WWII a war about political alliances and geographical sovereignty, but it was also a war about race and racial superiority throughout the world. Propagating this idea, Dower (1986) argues, “World War Two contributed immeasurably not only to a sharpened awareness of racism within the United States, but also to more radical demands and militant tactics on the part of the victims of discrimination” (War Without Mercy: p.5). In elucidating the racial motivations and fallout from WWII, Dower helps one realize the critical role that race and racial politics played during the war and are still at play in our contemporary world. An analysis of this internment process reveals how the ultimate goal of the U.S. internment of Japanese Americans and the United States’ subsequent occupation of Japan was to essentially “brainwash” the Japanese race into demonstrating allegiance to America.

Throughout American history many minority groups have experienced discrimination. One of these groups was the Japanese-Americans, especially during World War II. In this essay, I will be focusing on a segregated Japanese-American combat unit known as the 442nd Infantry to highlight the discrimination suffered by Japanese-American soldiers.

While coming up with a topic for this paper, one of my questions dealt with war and cultural groups. I will be the first to admit, Racism was the last thing on my mind. The original question being, “How does war affect a Social Culture and how does it stand today?” When I started thinking about Cultures that had been so deeply affected by war, one of the first that came to mind were the Japanese in World War II. Then I recalled what one person had told me of their younger days at college, when they were attending school. Their name will remain anonymous; I do not want to make the victim’s name public as it has a very personal nature.

In internment camps cultural integrity was a problem. The Issei, or first generation Japanese who were older, were used to being very well honored and respected by the younger generation. In internment camps, age had no value. To a white soldier, a Japanese man was a “Japo” and nothing more. In traditional Japanese culture, the elderly were very highly respected. However, at the camps their “traditional authority” was stripped away and this “contributed to the demoralization of the Issei” (62

“70.6% of young people say they have seen bullying in their schools”, says the American SPCC. Loads of people are subjects to bullying within their schools, and sadly many of them are neglected. This epidemic has falsely lead numerous people into the belief that there is one underlining answer to this issue, anti-bullying programs. These programs are made up of well-intentioned groups of people trying to prevent bullying, however, rarely does it work. Many anti-bullying programs end up working in favor of the bully, because they set regulations that are easy for the bully to work around, they eliminate any guarantee to the victims’ protections, and they don’t protect those who can’t standup for themselves; those who hurt.

In this new age of technology, even with the growing trend of cell phones being brought to school and used during class, our board of education must stick to the status quo, which is that cell phones should not be allowed in class. We need to disallow cell phones in class for three main reasons: they provide a temptation and distraction to students, studies have proven that cell phones correlate with lower test scores, and finally students can develop addictions to cell phones which can detrimentally affect the lives of the students.