X-Message-Number: 16914 From: "robin helweg-larsen" <> Subject: Re: Japanese Internment Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2001 10:44:54 -0400 This discussion is not off-topic in the larger picture: we all have to deal with the realities of human psychology: the us-vs-them way of understanding the world, and the advantages and threats that it involves. It will still be there when cryonauts are revived in 200 years' time. Lee Corbin wrote in part: If the decision was incorrect---which, with the aid of hindsight and the knowledge that Japan was not ready to invade North America, it certainly was---then I find it still undemonstrated that it wasn't merely a prudent precaution on the part of the government. (If however, you have any evidence---even if you just once read it---that legislators profitted from the act, then of course I'd be glad to learn about it.) ---- Legislators often profit financially simply by being in power and influencing development proposals, and this has been as true in BC as anywhere (it's often more true of provincial or state politicians than it is of federal ones). In addition, they profit politically by being reelected, of course. Politicians often 'play the race card' (or any other us-vs-them card) to simplify issues and divide society, if they believe that they will be seen as key representatives of the larger part of the division, and thereby enhance their chances of reelection. Reference Hitler vs the Jews, Thatcher vs the coal miners, Indira Gandhi vs the Sikh community, Reagan vs the air traffic controllers. When I lived in Mission, BC, in the 70s and 80s it had only 1 or 2 people of Japanese origin; in the 1930s it had been 30% Japanese origin, as much of the very fertile Fraser Valley had been. When all these people were interned simultaneously, and their thousands of farms and homes flooded onto the market simultaneously, the bottom dropped out of farmland prices, and their 'fair market sale' was at a tenth what it had been a few months before. Farmland prices never dipped low enough again for any but a very few Japanese Canadians to repurchase their homes. In 1988 the Canadian Government formally acknowledged that it perpetrated wrongs against Japanese Canadians, apologized, and implemented a restitution package. If you are seriously interested in this particular bit of history, try a Google web search on "Japanese Canadians Fraser Valley". The best-known non-fiction study is probably Barry Broadfoot's: Broadfoot, Barry. (1977). Years of Sorrow, Years of Shame: The Story of the Japanese Canadians in World War II. Toronto. Doubleday Canada Limited. 0-385-12550-X. Barry Broadfoot chronicles the history of the Japanese Canadians in WW II, as well as their arrival in Canada, and dispersal after the war, through the use of extensive oral histories. The end result is a detailed history of the Japanese in Canada from 1877 into the future, with the benefit of the story being told largely in the words of survivors. Thus, issues of racism and discrimination are addressed, and no words are minced in the telling of the actions of the Federal government and the people of Canada. You could also look at: Government of Canada & National Association of Japanese Canadians. (1988). Terms of Agreement Between the Government of Canada and the National Association of Japanese Canadians. Ottawa. Government of Canada. Canada acknowledges of injustice committed against Japanese Canadians. The redress agreement sets out the conditions whereby the Government of Canada makes restitution to the Japanese Canadian community through individual and community compensation. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=16914