History repeating....Cold Case CBS covering the Japanese internment camps

[madfloridian]

during WWII.

I had to stop watching awhile, recording it. It is so much like we are acting toward the Muslims and Hispanics in our country today.

Do our schools teach about the Japanese camps? My own kids never learned it in school. They were surprised.

It is like history repeating...the way the US soldier is insulting the Japanese family.

http://www.owensvalleyhistory.com/manzanar1/page10.html

Paxton's song:

"He said, My name is Nakashimau
I am a proud American.
I came here in '27,
From my homeland of Japan.
And I picked your grapes and oranges,
Saved some money, bought a store.
Until 1942,
Pearl Harbor, and the War.

Came the relocation orders,
They took our house, the store, the car,
And they drove us through the desert,
To a place called Manzanar.
A Spanish word for apple orchards,
Though we saw no apple trees.
Just the rows of prison barracks,
With the barbed wire boundaries.

Chorus:

And we dream of apple blossoms
Waving free beneath the stars,
Till we wake up in the desert,
The prisoners of Manzanar,
Manzanar.

Fifty years have all but vanished,
And now I am an old man.
But I don't regret the day
That I came here from Japan.
But on moonless winter nights,
I often wish upon a star,
That I'd forget the shame and sorrow,
That I felt at Manzanar."

The family shown in the Cold Case episode tonight were given 20,000 restitution many years later. Not much for all they lost.

[ixion]

1. yeah, no one likes to talk about that... or about slavery, or our genocide with Native Americans

or the way we stole Texas from Mexico, or the numerous bogus "police actions" we've started to satisfy the MIC...or the fact that our government sees US as the enemy. it's just rather inconvenient for them.

[madfloridian]

2. Headline SF Chronicle 1942.. " S.F. CLEAR OF ALL BUT 6 SICK JAPS "

"For the first time in 81 years, not a single Japanese is walking the streets of San Francisco. The last group, 274 of them, were moved yesterday to the Tanforan assembly center. Only a scant half dozen are left, all seriously ill in San Francisco hospitals.

Last night Japanese town was empty. Its stores were vacant, its windows plastered with "To Lease" signs. There were no guests in its hotels, no diners nibbling on sukiyaki or tempura. And last night, too, there were no Japanese with their ever present cameras and sketch books, no Japanese with their newly acquired furtive, frightened looks.

A colorful chapter in San Francisco history was closed forever. Some day maybe, the Japanese will come back. But if they do it will be to start a new chapter—with characters that are irretrievably changed. It was in 1850 — more than 90 years ago — that the first Japanese came to San Francisco, more than four years before Commodore Perry engineered the first trade treaty with Japan. The first arrival was one Joseph Heco, a castaway, brought here by his rescuers. What happened to Heco is, apparently, a point overlooked by historians. He certain came and probably went – but nobody seems to know when or where."

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist8/evac19.html

I have a feeling we really have no clue about who is the private internment camps now and how many.

From PBS a documentary...Children of the Camps.

http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/

"The Children of the Camps documentary captures the experiences of six Americans of Japanese ancestry who were confined as innocent children to internment camps by the U.S. government during World War II. The film vividly portrays their personal journey to heal the deep wounds they suffered from this experience."

[madfloridian]

3. Pictures of Manzanar, there is a song there by folk singer Tom Paxton.

who is one of my favorites.

http://www.owensvalleyhistory.com/manzanar1/page10.html

Paxton's song:

"He said, My name is Nakashimau
I am a proud American.
I came here in '27,
From my homeland of Japan.
And I picked your grapes and oranges,
Saved some money, bought a store.
Until 1942,
Pearl Harbor, and the War.

Came the relocation orders,
They took our house, the store, the car,
And they drove us through the desert,
To a place called Manzanar.
A Spanish word for apple orchards,
Though we saw no apple trees.
Just the rows of prison barracks,
With the barbed wire boundaries.

Chorus:

And we dream of apple blossoms
Waving free beneath the stars,
Till we wake up in the desert,
The prisoners of Manzanar,
Manzanar.

Fifty years have all but vanished,
And now I am an old man.
But I don't regret the day
That I came here from Japan.
But on moonless winter nights,
I often wish upon a star,
That I'd forget the shame and sorrow,
That I felt at Manzanar."

The family shown in the Cold Case episode tonight were given 20,000 restitution many years later. Not much for all they lost.

[madfloridian]

4. Hard watching....we really are no different now as a country I fear.

Just different groups to hate or scapegoat.

[acmavm]

5. It was a great episode. And the ending was a real surprise. But I think

that very thing is happening as well. War does horrible things go people. And the sad part is that war only serves to maintain the status quo of the elite.

[madfloridian]

7. "the status quo of the elite"...exactly why we are still in Iraq.

That episode moved me literally to tears. It caught me off guard with the depth of emotion it brought up.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. I'll be watching in an hour.

Cold Case is one of my favorite TV shows. I don't miss it, and sometimes I even watch the reruns. That show's got a lot of heart and has dealt with some very poignant issues.

[madfloridian]

8. One of my favorites also. Hope I did not give too much away.

Just wasn't remembering the time zones.

It was very moving.

[Blue_In_AK]

9. Like I said, I even watch the reruns,

so you didn't give too much away. :) I'm looking forward to it.

[JI7]

10. about to start watching it

on the west coast. i love this show, it's been on a few years but i just got into it about last year. i like how historical events play into their cases.

[Samantha]

11. I saw it and thought it was excellent

I love this show and watch it often. This particular episode should win a special award.

[madfloridian]

13. I agree it is deserving of an award.

It was well scripted, not over played. But quietly devastating in its social commentary.

[madfloridian]

12. TNT has Cold Case also...I record the ones I missed...great HD format at TNT

Here is the link with the schedules:

http://www.tnt.tv/title_special/?oid=609626

They also have Without a Trace. TNT High Def is one of the best qualities.