From: MR KR COMAN <bakc@giraffe.ru.ac.za>
Subject: Re: Opinion on Japan being "forced" to attack
Organization: Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 19:52:12 GMT


From MR KR COMAN <bakc@giraffe.ru.ac.za>

In article <Bwzp2L.4LA@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> cmr@cvedc.prime.com (Chesley Reyburn) writes:
>From: cmr@cvedc.prime.com (Chesley Reyburn)
>Subject: Re: Opinion on Japan being "forced" to attack
>Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1992 14:18:21 GMT
>
>From cmr@cvedc.prime.com (Chesley Reyburn)
>
>
>I think that one of the most overriding reasons for US unpreparedness
>in 1941 has been totally overlooked in this discussion.  That is the
>institutional racisim prevalent in US society and its military at
>the time.  Contemporary stereotypes simply would not allow for the
>possibility that Japan would do other than our bidding.
>
Doesn't this rather over-simplify things?   Whilst it is possibly true that 
in many sectors of US society and its armed forces there was a tendency to
look down upon the Japanese, the presence of a strong US commitment in the 
Pacific surely suggests that the threat was taken reasonably seriously?  

Early 1940's sentiment towards the Japanese in the broad spectrum of US 
society was probably less influenced by innate racialism than by, inter 
alia: vague concern about Japanese exploits in Manchuria and China (remember 
that a US gunboat -- the Panoy -- had been bombed and sunk by Japanese a/c 
in 1937),  newspaper propaganda (IMHO the prime advocates of the crude 
sterotypes that you so rightly decry TODAY), and not the least sheer 
indifference and ignorance of any news events that fell outside of US 
domestic politics, sports, and crime.   (What happened yesterday in Podunk 
is *real* news! Whereas vague issues on the other side of the world 
committed by crazy little popular caractures?  "Aagh, who cares??  I got 
other things to worry about.")  Remembering too that in 1940-41 the US 
economy was still suffering from Great Depression blues; I'll bet the average
American was more concerned about his next pay-check, and was thus quite
willing to pack Japanese sterotypes away in the back of his mind, along 
with those depicting "typical" Britishers, Canadians, Mexicans, etc. etc.

>Surprise!  The Japanese resented this attitude.  They demonstrated their
>resentment very effectively on Dec 7, 1941.

Surely the Japanese didn't attack PH simply because they resented an US 
attitude?   That's about as arrogant a statement of (supposed) American
self-importance as one can make.....(:-)!!

> American citizens of Japanese descent were put into concentration camps.  
>American citizens of German descent were largely left alone.

Add to the "immune",  US citizens of Italian descent.  Why?  Cos they were
more numerous and thus had *political clout* -- and we all know how bloody
important that is when it comes to recieving "even-handed" justice at a time 
and in an era when public emotive sentiment (after PH) was running hot and 
strong against the Japanese!    (Is that likely to have changed at all today 
in a national crisis, I wonder?)

As a personal opinion, I believe that the actions of yesteryear need to be
judged not the values of today, but by those that a normal, average citizen 
of the time would have upheld as being approriate and correct.  I accept too
that this view is strongly discounted by some historians, but hey it's only
a discussion.....(6-))

Cheers!!
Keith Coman

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Condemning a research report on the basis of :  Dept of Management
 invalid and unreliable methodology is the    :  Rhodes University
 cheapest shot in the book."                  :  Grahamstown, 6140
                                              :  Rep of South Africa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Newsgroups: sci.military