We have to keep our Democratic house clean. If we intend to take the higher moral ground on issues of race and international diplomacy, areas on which Democrats have every right to stand proudly, we must rebuke our own fellow Democrats when they cross the line.
Have you ever heard of New Hampshire State Representative Nick Levasseur? No, you haven't. (Apologies to our NH friends in the community.) Well, you should know his name today and you should let him know how you feel about these remarks from his Facebook page:
"Anime is a prime example of why two nukes just wasn't enough."
This news is getting some play on television in New Hampshire, as it has in its very own Huff Post blurb (linked above).
The Republicans up in New Hampshire are seizing on this idiotic commentary and
It's made the Internet rounds now, including Gawker, where they took the right angle on the issue by commenting on the coverage:
"Odd that they've chosen the "making fun of anime is insensitive" angle, instead of the significantly more obvious "don't joke about killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people" angle. Levasseur, a Democrat, has since apologized."
I'm a member of the Democrats Abroad Japan organization and have lived over here for more than 6 years. My wife is Japanese and my children hold dual nationality. These comments not only hit home for me, they should hit home for anyone who cares about the nuclear devastation that the United States wrought upon the people of Japan to make a political point in WWII. The Japanese were beaten by the time the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, but in case one wishes to argue that they still had fight in them, they had already decided to surrender before the people of Nagasaki were bombed, and the US knew it.
The Wikipedia entry for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki reads:
Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki,[4] with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day. The Hiroshima prefectural health department estimates that, of the people who died on the day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other causes. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness. A plausible estimate of the total immediate and short term cause of death, 15–20% died from radiation sickness, 20–30% from flash burns, and 50–60% from other injuries, compounded by illness.[5] Since then, more have died from leukemia (231 observed) and solid cancers (334 observed) attributed to exposure to radiation released by the bombs.[6] In both cities, most of the dead were civilians.[7][8][9]
Whatever you personally believe about the necessity or the utility of these events, they are a holocaust. They are a humanitarian tragedy the likes of which we've rarely seen in the history of our planet. It strikes me that when there's outrage over the casual use of Hitler and the Nazis in making political criticisms of opponents, the appropriate reaction to that type of commentary is outrage. Yes, even when it was made with respect to Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush who deserve the strongest rebuke possible short of those comparisons. The Nazis and Hitler were responsible for the annihilation of millions upon millions of innocent Jews (and other groups who were in their sights) and the eternal victimization of the human race for the scars that horrible period of history has dug into all of us. The same can and be should be said of the Atomic bombings of innocent civilians in Japan, the poor victims of military strongmen and their Emperor, without even mentioning our actions.
Carpet-bombing, Atomic-bombing, chemical weapons genocide...none of these are remotely acceptable arenas for humor....even of the sometimes useful gallows variety. As generations of people move past 1sthand experience with these human tragedies, and as our own time's genocides get little coverage in the media or in schools (especially the one we're either directly involved with or tacitly support), the open wounds of history cannot be allowed to heal over. Remarks like this, however insignificant they were contextually, are part of a broad tapestry of forgetfulness that threatens not only the legacy of those who died or suffered through the bombings in Japan, but the survivors and the victims of the Nazi Holocaust, and the rest of the humanitarian tragedies that ought bind us together in solidarity born out of compassion, empathy, and a hope for a better world for our own children and future generations.
Send Representative Levasseur a message at nickolas.levasseur@gmail.com to let him know how you feel, but more than that, keep these events alive with the seriousness we must afford them. If we plan to be good Progressives in upholding sensitivity to racial attacks, attacks based on gender or sexual preference, or anything remotely of the kind, we must take these opportunities to keep ou own house clean.
Also, do what you can to support Queen Noor of Jordan's work at GlobalZero, especially in light of President Obama's recent breakthrough with Russia which requires treaty ratification by our highly politicized Congress.
Peace be with you Kossacks!
UPDATE FOR THOSE WHO MISS THE POINT. HOWARD ZINN SAYS IT BETTER THAN I DO.