Sociological Meanings of Basic Concepts

Two replies or critical comments to other students' postings(Response below). These replies should have a minimum of 150 words each. Read each student posting and provide a critical comment for each one. No apa required, No reference, all in your own words.

Student 1

After the unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, The United States declared war on Japan. This attack created a negative image of Japanese people by the American public including the government. Soon after the attack happened 1,200 Japanese immigrants were arrested due to suspicion as potential threats to the United States. The American public grew very untrusting of the Japanese immigrants and Japanese citizen. Americans urged the government for justice. The public, military and political figures wanted people of foreign descent to be removed from specific areas of the United States, particularly the west coast. Ultimately, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the executive order 9066, which allowed for the United States war department to create military exclusion areas. The belief was that this would prevent sabotage and espionage. Many Japanese people had to sell their homes, and businesses and were place in Japanese internment camps.

My opinion on the executive order 9066 is not a favorable one. Although it is natural for people to feel angry or distrusting of others when a horrid situation occurs, I do not feel as if the Japanese people who were living in America should have been put into camps, which would resulted in them losing their homes and businesses. Just because the Japanese people who were living in America origins trace back to the country who attacked pearl Harbor does not mean they were all at fault. I feel as if it was an unfair judgement from the government and the American public.

What I learned about the resistance from Japanese Americans against the relocation policies was that there actually was resistance of some form. I learned that some Japanese people protested against the camps and relocations. They felt it was cruel and unfair. Many Japanese people also refused to fight for their country, America, during WWII until the government released their families from the internment camps.

The Civil Liberties Act granted of 1988 granted $20,000 to each surviving Japanese person who was placed in a internment camp during WWII. I personally believe that money would never justify what happened to the Japanese people who were placed in the internment camps. What they dealt with mentally and what they loss physically cannot be replaced with money. Although the money is a nice gesture, it cannot justify what Japanese American and immigrants went through in the internment camps.

Student 2

After watching the movie and reading all the assigned materials I can figure the harmful impact of War II towards Japanese American  community.  In my personal opinion, I don't think that the executive order by president Franklyn D. Roosevelt was necessary. I think he went to far when he decided the relocation of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans because  the fact they had Japanese origin made them suspicious to conspire  against United States national government.  They forgot that all those people that they segregated from the whole USA society were legal United States citizens; in fact, they went through in the violation of the constitution.

Also, the violation  of the civil rights towards certain groups  appears to be very usual practice from the powerful people  in the history of this country.  Yet, they just kept going massacring, oppressing, abusing and  humiliating innocent people exactly as they did with Native Americans and  Afro-Americans people.  Therefore, Japanese American were not the exception of the this toxic pattern that has being destroying the life of million of persons that have done anything wrong to deserve that kind of abusive and erratic behavior from the elite people who are the ones who made derisions.

Concerning to the official  law that was past to in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan to provide a formal apology by the government towards Japanese American community ,for the arbitrary decision that   put in risk of danger the life of thousand of Japanese Americans.  I think it was necessary a public apology because that means that they admitted their fault in what they did.  However, there is no way that they can get the time back and to repair all damage they have done.  Even though, they provided 20,000 dollars to each survivor of incarceration, money compensation is not going to replace  the lives were lost during that historical event.  Japanese American community must have memories of all the abuses they were subject duringg Pearl Harbor  period. So, money and apologies are not enough to compensate all their suffering.  Having said that, I think that only the time can help this cocommunity in the healing process to forgive their executioner.