Japanese Internment
On February 19, 1942 Executive Order 9066 was signed and authorized by Franklin Roosevelt. This law effected Japanese citizens on many levels. But what was the motivation? To what extent did it affect those it implicated?
Choose your journey below.
For Ending One, see paragraph “Ending One.”
Ending Two, (you got it!) see “Ending Two.”
Ending Three, see “Ending Three/ Eww… the Truth.”
Ending One
The streets of that time were filled with signs suggesting that perhaps, Japanese (many actually Japanese-American) should leave the country or “Go home,” after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. But the thing is, these were merely helpful attempts to tell the Japanese where to go in order to avoid being harmed.
The seemingly racially insensitive signs were in storefronts and in the mouths of civilians were actually helpful. So when the Government provided safe havens for them (although rather rundown and shoddily built) the Japanese and other random people who were seen as “alien spies,” “traitors” and as “un-American,” were given a safe haven for a period of time. You see, it wasn’t all that bad.
It’s what the founding fathers would have wanted.
Ending Two
Just because you were born here, does it mean you have earned citizenship? The camps were merely check-in stations to make sure every one’s (specifically Japanese-Americans) papers were in order. Even though there were many first and second generation people present doesn’t mean it wasn’t fair to do what they did. They merely changed the rules so you were only a “real citizen” at 5 generations or more. And if you were a fifth generation citizen, and happened to be Japanese or suspicious, then it was six. This also excluded Irish, Italian and other immigrants and citizens. In terms of National security, they were less suspicious, “Code Yellow” if you will.
Ending Three/ Eww the Truth
Internment was a cruel reality and ripped innocent Japanese-American families apart, both American and non-American. Some never were able to see their relatives again. Outward racism towards Asian Americans was expressed in some of the harshest ways our history has seen, by being subjected to internment/captivity. This was a low point in our history. We held our own citizens captive in the country that they lived in, some for generations. Hard to face? Yes. But we did it and we should note it and be grateful that we have changed.
The Trail of Tears
Once Upon a time…
Ending One
The Native Americans realized that there were more lucrative real estate prospects in the West, with better neighborhoods and schools. The bad thing was they had started to actually like their colonizers who forced their… friendship upon them. Their slightly paler friends told them that it would maybe be better for them in another place and that they would selflessly stay behind for the greater good. It was a hard decision, but because they knew that promising business was waiting for them elsewhere, they reluctantly left their land that had belonged to them for generations. They missed their loving, caring neighbors, who had shown them such care so much that they cried the entire way.
Ending Two
Thanksgiving dinner was disgusting. The food was bland and the service poor, but the Native Americans didn’t want to be rude about it. For years they kept it a secret, trying to be as polite as they could to the settlers. Years of silence about the issue, accompanied by avoiding dinner parties at all costs, ensued. The food was so bad it even made some of the Natives sick. So after a lot of consideration, thousands of Native Americans decided that the only way to avoid these offensive dishes was to leave.
It was actually tears of joy that they cried, knowing that the terrible dishes would never have to be eaten again.
Most of these stories and endings are huge violations to the truth of our history. However, as of late many have been recalling history as they would like it to have been, rather than what it was on a national platform. This should raise some alarm, and not only to all the history buffs out there.
Many are rewriting and re-analyzing history so that it “goes down easier” for us. This is not okay.
How can we face the future with the readiness that we need if we skew the past with “watered-down” perversions in order to avoid the harsh fact that we too have the capacity to be as cruel as anyone else?
Slaves were murdered on a whim, American husbands were torn away from their wives and children and many people have died because of the sick ways we were taught to hate.
For a majority of our history, we have been unequal. For only 50 years have we been trying to change that and have been able to look forward to more progressive change. An Olympic athlete won’t forget the errors that they made in the past that lead to small failures; instead they note them and use them to their ultimate success. We must do the same.
Our past isn’t all horrible, but perhaps a good look at our weaker points will lead us to a stronger and more beautiful future.
Nicole Robinson can be reached at nrobinson@spartans.ut.edu.
May the truth be told!