A big difference looking back in retrospect

Submitted by Joe Mittelman (United States), Dec 28, 2004 at 22:20

I was 15 at the time of Pearl Harbor. I remember the fear in America that the West Coast would be the next point attacked. There was a long period before we, living in that area, felt comfortable that the Japanese in fact were not going to attack in force. If there was anger or hatred of Japanese at that time I sure didn't see it. I was a freshman at Hollywood High and our Student Body President was 2nd generation Japanese. They were totally accepted until Pearl Harbor, and then the fear set in, and most people at the time were sorry to see them go. However, most also felt that while unfortunate, the "good ones" had to suffer along with the "bad" (?) to make the country safer. Only in retrospect do we now find great fault with that decision. At this time, it's not little old Christian and Jewish ladies who are blowing themselves up. It's time to get rational and go directly to the heart of the problem. Not all young Muslim men are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are young Muslim men.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".