The Logic Off Topic list

Mr. Kondo wrote:
>I tried to convince you,

Convince me of what? I have an open mind to other facts or information. 
You should understand that I have been to Japan three times, I speak some 
Japanese, I have had many Japanese friends, and even had Japanese 
students living in my house. I have stayed in Japanese homes in Tokyo, 
Osaka, Akita, and Kumamoto. So I'm no stranger to the way at least some 
Japanese think. 

I visited the museum in Hiroshima and saw the documentary movie about the 
bomb. Of course I was horrified. And I feel sorry for the victims. 
However, it is completely wrong to pick that one incident out of context, 
and not consider the rest. Unfortunately there were no photographers 
present to document the even greater loss of life and cruelty that lead 
up to those attacks. I have seen some photos, and read many accounts 
which made me sick to my stomach. All together, the entire thing is 
terrible for everyone concerned. 

I'm sorry to mention those things to you. However, most people know about 
atomic bombs, but not about the war crimes that happened before the bombs 
fell. And if you know only one thing but not the other, you will be 
biased. If you hear that a man hit a woman, it sounds terrible, but if 
you later learn that the women killed 10 people and was stabbing the man 
with a knife, then you see the whole picture, not just a tiny part of it.

Of course, most of the Japanese alive today had nothing to do with any of 
that, and there is no need for individuals like you to apologize for 
things you had nothing to do with. I don't blame you or modern Japanese. 
I'm sorry if you felt that way. You did not kill Chinese, and I was not 
alive when the bomb was dropped.

>I and vast majority of Japanese truly and deeply regret what our country 
>did in Korea, China and south east Asia, as well as cruelty to POWs, etc, 
>etc...

But you don't even know what your country did - Japan didn't commit 
atrocities in Korea or Taiwan since it already controlled those places 
(they simply forced everyone to speak Japanese and be comfort girls). 
Have you noticed that the other Asian countries, such as China, Korea, 
and Phiillipines are the ones that call for apologies, not America.

You see, this is a cultural issue. Asians are quick to apologize, but a 
sincere and heartfelt apology from your leaders is what is needed, that 
can only come from an honest look at what occurred. Then everyone can 
move on and forget it.

President Reagan apologized to the Japanese who were moved to camps 
during WWII and paid them $20,000 as I recall. 

>But where we live now is a democratic country that rejects war by its 
>constitution.

Well you're right it is. But why do the Prime Ministers continue to pay 
homage to the dead war criminals each year?

If the country is so democratic, why won't the government allow the 
teachers to teach the truth, like they do Germany. The teachers union and 
various professors want to tel the whole story but are not allowed to by 
government censorship. Why can't an average Japanese buy products made in 
the US without high tarifs?


>Do not drop another A-bomb on us.

Has anyone said one word or one hint about dropping any more bombs on 
Japan? This is totally absurd. You see, this is the true Japanese 
attitude. They are raised from childhood to believe that they were 
innocent victims and that this was some arbitary act of evil against them.

Shall I respond with "Please don't come over some Sunday morning at try 
to destroy our navy" or "Please don't go to China and kill and rape, and 
please don't torture American POWs". These comments, as silly as they 
are, are just as valid as your plea.

Please calm down, and don't take it so personal. We are talking about 
history from a time before we were born. The only reason this comes up is 
because people, quite wrongly, brought this topic up as though the US 
desserved these recent terrorist attacks because our 'crime' of bombing 
Japan.

You ask us to stop blaming Japan for what they did, but when will Japan 
and the world stop blaming the US for what it did? This topic should have 
never come up at this time.