Tom Hanks: Overcoming Racism Taking “Awfully Long Time” and Calls WWII a War of “Racism and Terror”

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[GOYAKLA]

Hanks has one lower than the other. I guess he could never get things straight!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Historians like Dower put their research and fact gathering out for anyone to challenge.
Another excellent review of the subject is available in the 2007 book by historian Ronald Spector titled, “In the Ruins of Empire, The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Postwar Asia.”
This tome shows that while the war ended on September 2nd, it more or less continued in Asia and set up China and the USSR to assert what they believed were historic rights and interests, which brought the US and UK to establish order through the policies established by the Allies when Japan surrendered.
You might guess that I have collected a number of histories on the era but by no means consider myself more than an amateur. My reading is buttressed by having lived in Asia 1951-1961. My dad was a Hump pilot in the CBI and had been a pilot for CNAC pre-war.

[Atlas Sneezed]

The book, titled War Without Mercy, Race and Power in the Pacific does confirm the use of “race” on both the Allied and Axis sides of the war. Japanese were routinely characterized as nearsighted, monkey like people. Japanese seemed to see themselves as taller and better looking (and lighter skinned) than Koreans and Chinese.

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But that doesn’t mean that we fought them because of their race. We fought for a number of good reasons. Race was just one of many tools to make the effort successful, as an element of propaganda to motivate the troops and populace.

But those who decided to go to war weren’t motivated by race.

[dforest]

No it wasn’t you fool Hanks. My Dad was over in Japan after the war. He was in the military. He actually fell in love with the Japanese people and has such wonderful pictures and memories. Racism wasn’t even in the equation.

Wasn’t a racist bone in his body. He had a lot of respect for them.

The people of a country are not necessarily their government.

I would hate to think I would be judged as an American by the actions of this jerk Obama.

[windcliff]

ping

[onedoug]

“Ah, Geez, not this....”

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

the Asian theatre of WWII which was far more difficult to win than Europe.

A lot more resources went into defeating Germany than went into defeating Japan.

The people who fought Japan did it on a relative shoestring budget until Germany was defeated - and the Japanese weren't fighting the Russians as well, like Germany was.

[Mozilla]

I started to dislike Hanks when he endorsed Barack Obama. But actually I had problem with some for sometime. Don’t like his liberalism.

[Mozilla]

I started to dislike Hanks when he endorsed Barack Obama. But actually I had problem him for sometime. Don’t like his liberalism. He has become worse. Just another left wing Obamabot

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Is that what Tom Hanks said; we founght them because they were Asian ?

[driftdiver]

Not to mention the South Koreans.

Japanese would force women to become sex slaves. If they caught a disease or became pregnant, or just pissed someone off they would shove a rifle inside them and pull the trigger.

I guess thats because of US racism.

[driftdiver]

“Is that what Tom Hanks said; we founght them because they were Asian ?”

He said the war was due to our racism.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Then I would say Hanks is ignorant.

[EyeGuy]

Typical ignorant, modern-day context (”race” considerations trumps everything else), gross misreading of history

The Japanese of that era were an unspeakable evil that quite simply, needed to be exterminated.

The rest of the world, and most certainly civilian Japanese, should be eternally grateful to the US military, especially those that were killed, for performing that difficult task.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

lol.

Once he was was a good actor with a strong Christian world-view.

Then he got wined and dined by the fat cats of Hollywood who told him he should become the next Jimmy Stewart.

Tom, I knew Jimmy Stewart. And you're no Jimmy Stewart.