/ Deodanes 1 Christine Deodanes Professor Ditch English 115 ___Oetober 31, 2019 Fan. - George Takei: Formed through Suffering / { They Called Us Enemy by George Takei is a graphic memoir that follows his experience both during and after Executive Order 9966. The executive order was a direct response to the (\\\ ) Pearl Harbor attack during the Second won War because the U.S citizens feared another ee te On February 19, 1942, the executive order caramel by USS President rey declaring that Japanese Americans wl threat to the U.S. Those of Japanese descent ioe relocated and \ incarcerated to one of the ten “relocation centers”, where they would be held for many years. The effects of the executive order brought both joy and terror behind the barbed wire fences. It was A an eyé-opening experience for Take to grow up under legalized racism. His parents faced hard / 7 -cisions but those experiences shaped Take into the person he is today. He isa evil ights ( OK a _Ieader who advocates for the justice of Japanese Americans. Takei evolvéd into a resilient, /\ j 9. \ \ .) determined man whose voice is powerful to the oppressed community, z we if \ N a W The trauma of the injusti’ treatment would continue to haunt Takei but prompt him to (-/ ye Aact upon it. In the article, “What Suffering Does” by David Brooks, it states that suffering could be destructive and harmful to us but other times it could carve a pavement for change. Brooks X says, “Some people double down on vulnerability. They hurl themselves deeper and gratefully into their art, loved ones and commitments” (287). Even though we sometimes can’t control our \\ \)\\p.° suffering, we stil act out on it and some people respond to it positively. Suffering doesn’tDeodanes 2 necessarily heal us, but it changes us and sometimes for the better. When Takei was older, he grew closer with his father and would dis: ss what had happened in the internment camps. The conversations would fill in some gaps that had escaped him. Their conversations were very i‘ (0 ineiteful and one of them even sparked hii interest in the democratic process. The seeds of No oy oct were planted into him through his father. He learned to be engaged in the political o> HA? rocess 1o make positive change. One of the many things he participated in was a musical play on Broadway called, Allegiance. The play brought the story of the internment camps onto the stage for a wider audience to watch. During its run on Broadway, “the musical was seen by just, ie over 120,000 audience members...roughly the same number of Japanese Americans who were incarcerated” (190). It paid tribute to those who were affected by the gamps personally and o;hev educated those who weren’t aware of such suffering. ( yn £ y gy - + AW)? At the beginning of the graphic memoir, news of the Pearl Harbor attack was being \ delivered on the radio. The Mayor of Los Angeles, Fletcher Bowron, testified before congress \ about the Japanese Americans and the measures to take against them in order to ensure the safety M of the American people. He described them as “Japanese and nothing else” (21). They were not / \’~°>) to be trusted and were posed asa threat to U.S citizens, The executive order was shortly passed | S y after an immense amount of pressure was put onto the President. Those who were not affected by |X : . . v4) the executive order were blind to the pain and blatant racism that Japanese Americans were r experiencing. The article, “The Alchemy of Suffering” by Matthieu Ricard, speaks of the three types of suffering: visible suffering, hidden suffering and invisible suffering. Ricard says, “Invisible suffering is the hardest to distinguish because it stems from the blindness of our minds...” (36). One's suffering could be overlooked or even justified if people are ignorant to the J situation, Those who pushed for Executive Order 9066 at the time, were victims of invisible \ |}Deodanes 3 BP ie shes grease ape taco Rice ost ruindaManta ee Oe Americans called for the relocation of Japanese Americans because they saw them as a threat, ; : : ¢ nothing else. They wanted to ensure their own safety and by doing so, they pressured their J congressmen and President for the executive order. Their actions caused pain to those who were ( ~! also citizens of the United States but were overlooked because of their Japanese heritage. In They Mo NEL Mic WIV ymemy.-Takei says, “Memory 8 called ws a willy keeper of the past...usually dependable, but at\ y times, deceptive” (50). Takei advocates for the justice of Japanese Americans because he knows that the only way to prevent history from repeating itself is if we stay aware of these “— Mies and acts of oppression, The wartime incarceration was morally wrong and caused long term trauma to Japanese /{) oh ) v J ) Americans. They were forced to abruptly leave their homes and belongings. They were only 4 allowed to take what they could carry. There was no information being told to those who were leaving their homes. There was a lack of information regarding how long they would be gone and what the government planned to do. Many Japanese Americans recalled feeling shocked, worried and scared. First, they were sent to a temporary detention center where they slept in horse pens and then were relocated to the more permanent camps. The camps were surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed guards. Most families lived in confined spaces, ate and bathed ') tatoos snitisinn Thin dienptedtin seditionsl Japanese family relationships because the responsibilities were stripped from the parents. One of the many detrimental things to happen within the camps was a government “loyalty questionnaire.” Ail inmates who were 17 years or { } older were required to answer two questions regarding their willingness to serve in the U.S military and claim their loyalty to the U.S. Most saw an opportunity to affirm their loyalty, but other inmates believed that it made no sense to pledge their loyalty to a country who strippedDeodanes 4 them of their rights. Others responded “no” to both or one questions because they feltsheir actions portrayed patriotism in a different way but instead, they were labeled as “no-no’s”. Many _/() |) Japanese Americans were ostracized for decades after the war because they were “un/American” for not pledging their loyalty. Although their perspective has been acknowledged, they still . suffered the indifferences the incarceration brought. Many felt a sense of shame and humiliation, YN KI ‘There was a sense of self-blame and some even felt responsible for what had happened (Nagata / | 358). Takei spoke in his memoir that those who feel shame should not feel that way for /» something was wasn’t their fault. Instead, the shame should fall on the perpetrators. In 1981, i NAS Takei was one of the hundreds who testified before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. The hearings led to the conclusion that the incarceration, on behalf of —/ A /\\ the U.S, was racially prejudiced and detrimental to Japanese Americans. Not only did they suffer) Sy ete arene careers eye neers iet eater : 3 )\ without homes. They struggled finding jobs in a country that had locked up their own citizens. S \, The apparent trauma and strugle led to the public apology from the United States and x J \ reparations of $20,000 to those affected. It took those brave enough to share their stories, to Ye make the U.S acknowledge their wrongdoing. Japanese internment camps were a result of fear due to the Japanese aircraft attack on the U.S. Naval Force located at Pearl Harbor. After the attack, there was a growing fear that \O0 Japanese American citizens could act as spies and therefore risk the safety of the Nation. This led to the decision to detain and send to internment camps. This attack prompted the U.S to enter they) > ‘war causing many casualties. The U.S government feared another attack, so they took drastic ON ‘measures and passed the Executive Order 9066. From the government's viewpoint at that time, 1“) \. ) given the circumstances they believe that national security was more important than these CDeodanes 5 N ‘ - a . Woe individuals civil rights. Although this was presented as a security measure for the countries \\ het safety, in reality the U.S Government has had a long history of races and discriminatory behavior aN \ against immigrants including policies that have affected Asian immigrants since the late 18 i hundreds (Ray). The U.S government's unjust incarceration stripped Japanese Americans of their civil rights and treated them as the enemy even though they were just as much of a citizen as anyone else from a different background, When there are activist leaders such as George Takei speaking about the injustices that occurred in the U.S, only then can people become aware of the y IN past and try to avoid repeating the same mistakes. NS ‘Takei grew up in a time where he was not considered a U.S citizen but an enemy of the t N \ country. He grew up enduring the mistakes of those who were to blind and arrogant to the al / ¥/ situation. He and his family were given no choice but to live under these circumstances and follow the Executive Order 9066 that was imposed on all Japanese Americans, citizens or not. The struggle that his parents and those around him went through was apparent to those affected but could not be understood by those who didn’t go through it. Along the way, he had seen the importance of being involved in the democratic process and had taken the liberty of spreading his story to those who will listen. Takei is an actor, activists and writer. He uses his platform to make sure that justice is brought to those who can’t speak up for themselves. Takei continues to be a powerful voice ranging from his community to others.Deodanes 6 Works Cited J Brooks, David. “What Suffering Does.” Pursuing Happiness: a Bedford Spotlight Reader, Bedford/St. Martins, a Macmillan Education Imprint, 2016, pp. 287. Nagata, Donna K., et al. “Processing Cultural Trauma: Intergenerational Effects of the Japanese ‘American Incarceration.” Journal of Social Issues, vol. 71, no. 2, June 2015, pp. 356 370. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/josi.12115. Ray, Michael. “Executive Order 9066.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 19 June 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Executive-Order-9066. Ricard, Matthieu. “The Alchemy of Suffering.” Pursuing Happiness: a Bedford Spotlight Reader, Bedford/St. Martins, a Macmillan Education Imprint, 2016, pp. 36. Takei, George/ Eisinger, Justin/ Scott, Steven/ Becker, Harmony (ILT). They Called Us Enemy. Random House Inc, 2019.[CSUN Adapted Rube 7 i 7 assignment and is sustained troughout the paper. 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