Star Trek's "Sulu" grew up in an internment camp
George Takei, who played Sulu, was in an internment camp from when he was four until he was eight, according to a recent inverview. It makes sense, with his age, but I had never thought about it.
Chilling Orwellian detail:
"I used to begin school every morning pledging allegiance to the flag, and I could see the barbed-wire fence out there, and the guard towers, saying, “With liberty and justice for all,” without being aware of the irony of those words."
I initially misunderstood that line, believing the guard towers said that phrase, like it was painted on them. That would be creepy. But the kids still had to say the pledge, so I suppose that's still ironic.
Liberty, eh?
###
On a more analytical note, I do realize some people argue the internment camps were a legitimate security step. Very few folks are calling for a similar process with Muslim-Americans today, but radical attention-getter Michael Savage sure has.
I chalk it up largely under the category of "Things we'd never do to people of WASP background." That argument can be taken too far, with racism accused in every situation, but I think it does apply in many cases. Additionally, Anglo folks like the Irish did historically receive many injustices, but I think we have treated people of different races in different ways - it's just easier to be mean to someone with whom we cannot identify.
Chilling Orwellian detail:
"I used to begin school every morning pledging allegiance to the flag, and I could see the barbed-wire fence out there, and the guard towers, saying, “With liberty and justice for all,” without being aware of the irony of those words."
I initially misunderstood that line, believing the guard towers said that phrase, like it was painted on them. That would be creepy. But the kids still had to say the pledge, so I suppose that's still ironic.
Liberty, eh?
###
On a more analytical note, I do realize some people argue the internment camps were a legitimate security step. Very few folks are calling for a similar process with Muslim-Americans today, but radical attention-getter Michael Savage sure has.
I chalk it up largely under the category of "Things we'd never do to people of WASP background." That argument can be taken too far, with racism accused in every situation, but I think it does apply in many cases. Additionally, Anglo folks like the Irish did historically receive many injustices, but I think we have treated people of different races in different ways - it's just easier to be mean to someone with whom we cannot identify.
posted by bp at
10:57 AM
3 Comments:
Ah, but we haven't put Muslims in internment camps. In fact, we've made PSAs to ensure they're protected, the president has gone to their mosques, etc. So I guess we could talk about how much progress we've made. Yes? Because I think we've made TONS of progress. And I get to say that because I'm not a WASP. ;-)
By
Miguel Centellas, at 8:21 PM
One could retort in the form of a rhetorical question: Why put folks in camps when you can read their e-mails and keep logs of attendance at their mosques? :)
But overall, I agree that things have gotten better.
By
bp, at 9:59 PM
Surveillance methods have improved a hundredfold since WWII.
I read a few cases on the subject, most notable of which was Korematsu v. US, Sup Ct ca. 1944 (6-3). Korematsu was a Jpns-American who challenged his internment under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. The case basically reinforced the notion that Congress & the Pres have the power to protect against espionage, which power outweighed Korematsu's individual rights, and the rights of Americans of Japanese descent.
Besides, the internment camps during WWII weren't nationwide, as I recall. They were centered at or around several west coast military installations. The camps were created as a response to specific intel about espionage and sabotage.
Interestingly, the Justice Black wrote in justification of the internment:
"...we are not unmindful of the hardships imposed by it upon a large group of American citizens. But hardships are part of war, and war is an aggregation of hardships. All citizens alike, both in and out of uniform, feel the impact of war in greater or lesser measure. Citizenship has its responsibilities as well as its privileges, and in time of war the burden is always heavier. Compulsory exclusion of large groups of citizens from their homes, except under circumstances of direst emergency and peril, is inconsistent with our basic governmental institutions. But when under conditions of modern warfare our shores are threatened by hostile forces, the power to protect must be commensurate with the threatened danger."
Revelations about the nazi camps after the war would likely preclude any internment camps in the US these days. Besides, the internees have received reparations in recent years for the treatment. But the fact is, Korematsu is still standing law, and Congress/POTUS have the power to order internments if it saw fit. (Although on the other hand, such internment os muslims would certainly come under a barrage of suits, and I would be curious to see whether they internments would be upheld. I look at some of the Guantanamo suits as guidance on such a thorny issue.)
Korematsu died March of this year.
Interesting subject. Sulu out
By
t'su, at 1:40 PM
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