It seems to me that it's you who is constantly ignoring my arguments.
Those differences in treatment is much more nuanced - japanese by their actions were much more secretive and seclusive than any other nationality, not only in US but other places as well. Their actions of preferring people of their nationality much more so than other ethnicities is a fact, not to mention once again their mentality is vastly different in terms of how they view the world.
The Hawaii Japanese were not interned, and yet, whatever their national mentality is, their relatively free existence didn't lead to any substantial Bad Things. In fact, the non-internment of Hawaii Japanese only proves the irrationality of FDR administration's actions towards those who were on the American Continent.
Besides, it was internment, not extermination or 'deportation aka let them die working in siberia'. Being alive or dead, I think, is a big difference, not to mention relatively well fed, allowed all kinds of amenities and allowances is not a concentration camp, no matter how fervently those wishing to catch smallest excuse to criticize US tried to do as you have done.
I have already answered that argument. Shall I make that clear? If an action is unjustified in its very principle, then it is unjustified, even if it's relatively mild. Its mildness may matter in other discussions about it, but not when we're deciding if it is justified at all.
Also, discrimination against other nationalities existed, and some have faced severe enough reactions that it equaled to internments in a sense. Just because something is not recorded does not mean they did not exist.
Of course it existed, and it is not a Good Thing. Yet I have a hard time believing that the Italians or the Germans suffered discrimination equal to internment. Any evidence of this?
Your presumption to overlook this simple fact and reach facile conclusions based on incomplete official history in an attempt to make japanese internment in US as an 'exceptional crime' is infantile at best.
Exceptional is the sense of being the worst atrocity ever? No. Exceptional in that it was worse then the treatment of other 'enemy nationalities'? Yes. I'd rather suffer unofficial and semi-official discrimination then be interned.
As for how such nationalities are dealt with in other countries, I think you need to know that what is recorded and written down is often a very small piece of what actually is taking place.
It's a bit of a truism. It's true - in Russia during the WWI times there were some mob repressions of German shop owners, for instance - but these shop owners weren't forcibly interned by the Russian Government! Just saying that "well, maybe they did much worse but we don't know about that" is just pathetic. You're also exaggerating the "we don't know" aspect - the German and the Japanese atrocities in WWII are known, despite their governments' obfuscation.
who deny deny deny scream and moan and otherwise like to pretend nothing bad ever happened to begin with, because they are too fearful to expose potential weakness or give others an excuse to criticize them.
Are you sure you aren't describing your own attitude to anyone who raises the issue of Japanese Internment?
I hope you are not deluding yourself to thinking US is worse than other nations in this dimension just because it happens to be more willing to look at its faults in comparison. They have no right to criticize US on these grounds, while busy whitewashing their even more blatantly unjustified actions with any historical or ignorance-masked as-cultural right excuses.
Wait. So Japanese internment is actually unjustified, only there are actions which are even more blatantly unjustified? Well, no one in this thread disputed such things. In fact, I acknowledged that the Holocaust and the Stalinist deportations were worse (though the former was worse then the latter). Let's add Japanese treatment of SE Asian peoples they invaded in WWII to the list of "worse then the Internment" list, too. I certainly wouldn't object.
By the way, I've seen quite patriotic conservative Americans severely criticize the Internment. After all, it happened under the administration of a moderate-liberal icon.
Indeed US cannot be blamed for the internment - if japanese like to keep to themselves so much, what's the reason not to oblige them? They merely met appropriate reaction for their refusal to submit as part of the society, where they are not entitled to any special place, only as another member of american society.
This argument can be used to repress any national or religious minority. I reject your assertion that merely underlining the difference of your culture is "refusal to submit as a part of society". There
are actions which I would term this way - violation of actual laws, for instance - and for which some kind of punishment is appropriate. Admittedly, it's possible to violate perfectly reasonable laws under the pretext of "keeping your culture alive". But so far, I haven't seen any arguments that the interned were doing that.
I hope you are not deluding yourself to thinking US is worse than other nations in this dimension
Good thing I never made such a claim, then! The US always seemed to be middle-in-the-pack to me.
If you want to nit pick similarities in reasoning, so is pure eye to eye punishment versus punishing a criminal with restriction of freedom, incarceration, or death; where there is action, a reaction - act, and consequences.
Either I genuinely don't understand what are you trying to say, or it is a complete truism. Even the most unjustified actions have some external reasons on the part of the "actee", so to speak.
It is interesting you keep on suggesting implications and presumptions where none exist
These were analogies, not presumptions. And I fail to see how your reasoning disqualifies my examples.
