More From an Internee

Submitted by Edwin S. Fujinaka (United States), Jan 5, 2005 at 21:40

"The fact that there has been no sabotage or espionage on the part of Japanese living in the United States is proof that there is a conspiracy and they are just waiting for the right moment to strike." Thus commented the Attorney General of California at the time, Earl Warren. This is the same Earl Warren who later became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Back in 1942 when Warren made that remark (I believe it was in testimony before Congress, but I am not certain. Also the wording may not be exact, but it is close to a direct quote) Warren was what would be considered a right winger at that time. Later, as Chief Justice, he became a darling of the American Left and his career was really based on revising the Constitution as an activist Chief Justice. Throuout the remainder of his career in public life He never apologized for his attacks on the Japanese (whether they were American Citizens or foreign nationals). Perhaps Malkin and Pipes accept Warren's sentiments, but I doubt it. My own personal theory is that Warren in his later life was trying to atone for his actions in his earlier life by what appears to be an extreme reversal of position and philosophy.

Since I agree with Malkin and Pipes on the need to profile based on ethnicity, country of origin and religious affiliation, I am saddened that they actually weaken their case by attempting to tie such profiling to the WW2 Internment of the Japanese. BTW, when profiling is done based on country of origin, I believe that American Citizenship by birth should be a mitigating factor. That would have cut the number of people interned by half in 1942. Profiling should include every identifiable factor which provides some sort of correlation. Every factor should be considered, not just the ones that somebody deems as politically correct.

Anyway, Pipes and Malkin have my respect for most of their positions and this one misjudgement on internment is not enough to turn me against them. As a former internee myself and as an involuntary draftee into the US Army, I can respect people of goodwill who are truly concerned for the well being of our country.

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