Nagasaki, Part 2
So one of the guys (DeOrio) over at Trans-Pacific Radio has a "Defense of ex-Defense Minister Kyuma" re: the recent Nagasaki hullaballoo.
Hrm.
OK, I'll grant him many of the things he's said. But I won't go so far as to exonerate Kyuma for the remark in the first place. Here's why:
I grew up with the notion, and even repeated a few times in my life, that dropping the bomb "ended the war, saving many lives in the long run." But the lives saved? Soldiers, probably. Americans, certainly. The more we understand about war (and that one in particular), the harder it is to condemn the Germans for "just standing by while a dictator took over and exterminated people," etc. We weren't going to get our feet wet until Pearl Harbor, so American agendas for "life-saving" ring hollow except for protecting our own people. If the Japanese hadn't "awakened the sleeping giant," we would have said fuck the Koreans, fuck the Chinese, and let the Japanese continue to spread their empire throughout Asia, until they finally butted heads with us.
Walking through Hiroshima, seeing the museum, and thinking about these:
If you're a politician from Japan, especially from Nagasaki... fuck. You think before you talk, and just spouting the American history textbook line... I don't think so. I see the points being made, and I see what Kyuma was saying, and I even understand why the author's not thrilled about WHY Kyuma's gone when he's f'd up so many times before. But no. This is that last straw, I think. But it's a straw nonetheless, and to compare it to the "niggardly" thing (which I'm glad to see in print, and know the final outcome of after all this years) seems inaccurate at best.
Also, re: the mayor. Yeah, he may be politicizing this to his benefit... but I wonder if the writer has been to the museum in Hiroshima and seen the plaques commemorating every letter written by a mayor of Hiroshima protesting every instance of nuclear weapons testing since WWII. I don't know, but it would not surprise me if the mayor of Nagasaki feels a similar responsibility. If so, then it would be a lapse in his role and duties NOT to respond in some way to Kyuma's comment. I'm really curious to know if this is the case.
Hrm.
OK, I'll grant him many of the things he's said. But I won't go so far as to exonerate Kyuma for the remark in the first place. Here's why:
I grew up with the notion, and even repeated a few times in my life, that dropping the bomb "ended the war, saving many lives in the long run." But the lives saved? Soldiers, probably. Americans, certainly. The more we understand about war (and that one in particular), the harder it is to condemn the Germans for "just standing by while a dictator took over and exterminated people," etc. We weren't going to get our feet wet until Pearl Harbor, so American agendas for "life-saving" ring hollow except for protecting our own people. If the Japanese hadn't "awakened the sleeping giant," we would have said fuck the Koreans, fuck the Chinese, and let the Japanese continue to spread their empire throughout Asia, until they finally butted heads with us.
Walking through Hiroshima, seeing the museum, and thinking about these:
If you're a politician from Japan, especially from Nagasaki... fuck. You think before you talk, and just spouting the American history textbook line... I don't think so. I see the points being made, and I see what Kyuma was saying, and I even understand why the author's not thrilled about WHY Kyuma's gone when he's f'd up so many times before. But no. This is that last straw, I think. But it's a straw nonetheless, and to compare it to the "niggardly" thing (which I'm glad to see in print, and know the final outcome of after all this years) seems inaccurate at best.
Also, re: the mayor. Yeah, he may be politicizing this to his benefit... but I wonder if the writer has been to the museum in Hiroshima and seen the plaques commemorating every letter written by a mayor of Hiroshima protesting every instance of nuclear weapons testing since WWII. I don't know, but it would not surprise me if the mayor of Nagasaki feels a similar responsibility. If so, then it would be a lapse in his role and duties NOT to respond in some way to Kyuma's comment. I'm really curious to know if this is the case.
Unknown さんの投稿 投稿時:
15:18
1 件のコメント:
Thanks for posting the photos, that is a powerful museum.
I think the mayor of Hiroshima is in fact very much in tune with what many people are saying all over the world, including many mayors of US cities. Read his Peace Declaration and - I had to think, what would the mayor of my hometown say today, if it had been the target of an atomic bomb??
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