One final victim of the Rape of Nanking?

The Times ^ | 3/17/05 | Oliver August

[starfish923]

Ignoring the cause of such behavior only contributes to the next time.

Yes, it does.

[LauraleeBraswell]

There were also the poles. No one knows much about the polish people Hitler killed.

[wtc911]

What is baffling is the fact that you never heard of the Rape of Nanking.

[wtc911]

No one knows much about the polish people Hitler killed.

------------------------------------------

A lot of people know quite a bit about the Poles killed by Hitler. It really is not much of a secret.

[starfish923]

There were also the poles. No one knows much about the polish people Hitler killed.

Maybe someday it will be p.c. to talk about it.
Pope John Paul was around in those days. He would have some idea, perhaps, although he was very young at the time.

[wideminded]

The US had a fleet of ships in the area

Nanking (now called Nanjing) is not on the coast.

[SaltyJoe]

"Did the Japanese soldiers enjoy slaughtering babies?"

Some did, other Japanese killed themselves in guilt.

During our Reagan revolution, I recall that much of Japan's younger generation was still reeling in revulsion to their older WW2 parents and grandparents. Many students refused to attend school ceremonies where a Japanese flag was present. Some school removed their own national flags under this protest. The Japanese friends I knew (some Okinawan), saw nationalism as a silly and dangerous cult. They aren't naive, though. Japan is a society that needs cops and a defense force.

It's right to review history and know the facts. But it's also prudent to look at today's situation and needs. Japan today is not Japan 2 and 3 generations ago. I wouldn't fuel resentment for today's very close Ally considering present challenges and ideological enemies just over the horizon (and in our backyard). I also have to wonder about those who propel divisive attacks to separate us from our Ally's. I hold it parallel to attacks on Wal-Mart. Some have touted a flag-waiving opportunity to oppose Chinese Communism. To me, that makes sense. But if I dig too deeply, I see a lot of unionize bullying and those that want to halt China making Christian products. Yes, look closely at some of those cute Jesus products being sold in Wal-Mart and note where they are made. Perhaps Sam Walton did want "some" products made in China after all. The Christian message is getting through. If the US does embargo Communist China, then we might just halt nonreligious products and let them continue to produce for Christian consumers.

Back to the subject, divisive attacks against our Japanese Ally only helps our present enemies and not our prosperous relationship with Japan.

[minus_273]

i know, it included river gunships

[minus_273]

well it is worth noting that the japanese have largely shed the old system and adopted the US constitution almost verbatim. Blaming today's japanese is akin to demanding repatriations for slavery. The people who were responsible for these crimes were defeated and punished. There is no point in punishing the dependents.

[LauraleeBraswell]

But it doesn't get the attention that the Jews Hitler killed did. It may be more because

a) Hitler was able to turn Germans against their own country men
b) The process of dehumanising fellow citizens
c) That Jews have been persecuted through out history

[LauraleeBraswell]

""They aren't naive, though. Japan is a society that needs cops and a defense force.""


Elaborate please...

""But if I dig too deeply, I see a lot of unionize bullying and those that want to halt China making Christian products. ""

elaborate please...


Your post was VERY VERY interesting! I would be so greatful if you could explain the Walmart-Chinese-Christian connection.

All societies need a police force. What makes Japan so different?

[LauraleeBraswell]

""They also prevent any fair and honest history to be taught to Japanese children. This too is short sighted.""



Here in the US we have the opposite problem. We are allowing rabid anti American history to be taught to children.

[LauraleeBraswell]

""What is baffling is the fact that you never heard of the Rape of Nanking.""


It baffles me too. I never learned about it! I knew the Japanese were horribly cruel to American soldiers.

[elhombrelibre]

Good point. I cannot see any advantage to any people to drum in to their heads that all the world's evils emanate from them. Yet, the Left seems to believe that about the US and advocate that our history books show that.

[LauraleeBraswell]

""A modern corollary is sports riots when opposing fans pour onto a field in mass mayhem. ""

Many experts believe that watching sports is actually the civilized non violent outlet for men to release their natural male agression. Ever see men watching sports, they are crazy, getting all red screaming, jumping up and down.

[LauraleeBraswell]

""Do you believe that all people are basically good, if left to their own devices?""

Well, I don't know. reminds me

I had an aupair German babysitter when I was about 11.
In Germany she lived with her mother and grandfather.
She just loved her grandfather since she had no present father. She told me about him, and he really sounded like a wonderful man who was very affectionate to her. Who took care of her and her mother. Who worked very hard. Who was a good person.

But when he was young he was a Nazi soldier.

Many young German men were. This aupair of mine had an aunt who took in and hid Jews. Her family was not Jew hating or hateful.

Her grandfather was not an evil person, but he was forced to do evil things. She knows he killed Jews, he never spoke about it.

It's one thing being a soldier and being forced to do something. It's quite another to actively go out of your way to kill Jews. Like the Commander who liked to line up Jews for fun or the soldiers who were told they could do whatever they wanted to Jews and did. And then there were the soldiers who followed orders because they had to. Because they were afraid for their own families.

I'm suprised of the resurgence of Anti Semetism in Europe and Germany now, because the way she told it, THEY HATED HITLER. "He wasn't even German!" she said. "He ruined the country!"

I don't know. It's one thing to follow orders, but it seems like many of these Japanese soldiers were enjoying this.

[LauraleeBraswell]

It is important to learn From history. Learning about Lynchings instills that is was wrong, it was a chapter of American history, and we have an obigation to make sure it never happens again. Learning from your mistakes it's about instilling values.

But some of these history courses are just rabidly anti American.

I think you said it best, history should be honest and fair. And American History is really something to be proud of.

[LauraleeBraswell]

because we were the only country founded under god, with the principles of freedom and rights. The founding fathers laid the FOUNDATION, and we built upon that.

[elhombrelibre]

Well, I agree. I expect no covering up or sugar coating of the terrible things that happened to anyone in our history books. Confession is good for the soul. It is a sign of strength, and it is necessary to say when you've done wrong so that you can proceed to do right. If our first loyalty is to the truth, we can easily be loyal to the US Constitution. We needn't pretend that slavery was benign, for example, or that Indian massacres never happened to realize that the US provided more people with the luxury of freedom than any country and in effect started the movement toward self-government that's called democracy and what used to be called the republican experiment.

[Capriole]

""Do you believe that all people are basically good, if left to their own devices?"" Well, I don't know. reminds me I had an aupair German babysitter when I was about 11. In Germany she lived with her mother and grandfather. She just loved her grandfather since she had no present father. She told me about him, and he really sounded like a wonderful man who was very affectionate to her. Who took care of her and her mother. Who worked very hard. Who was a good person. But when he was young he was a Nazi soldier.

The question of original sin is one each of us must evaluate and decide as part of putting together a mature view of life and human behavior. Even if you are not a Christian, you may elect to believe the doctrine as an explanation of the existence of evil in the world. Because even the most cursory study of history or psychology will show that, while there are some people and some cultures that are better and some that are worse, no one, however hard he tries, is ever perfect. No one can avoid doing wrong forever. Even the greatest saints have admitted doing wrong. Some of our most fundamental, hard-wired drives lead us to do things that cause harm.

As for your au pair's grandfather, I would make a few observations:

First, the fact that someone was a Nazi soldier does not necessarily mean that he killed Jews, or even had any contact with them. Most soldiers were fighting in the field, not guarding concentration camps.

Second, you will hardly find a German today, even among the older people, who will admit to being anti-Semitic. To hear them tell it they were all nobly stashing Jews in their cellars, and no one liked Hitler a bit; they were all just his helpless victims. Even today, they're all just the victims of those rotten Jews who keep reminding and reminding everybody about the Holocaust. There is such a thing as revisionism, and there is wishful thinking, as well.

And third, to get back to my initial paragraph, even good people do bad things or weak things. Later they may change, chastened by the spectacle of their own disgusting behavior, or by the lack of success their bad behavior brought. We are all complex.