Letter: Internment of Japanese Americans was assault on liberty

The recent guest editorial, “Was the relocation of West Coast Japanese racist?” (TCH, Jan. 29) looks back approvingly at one of the most notorious over-reaches of government and largest assaults on liberty in our history.

It lists a paltry handful of individuals who acted against America, while ignoring the tens of thousands who did not, as well as the nearly 10,000 Purple Hearts awarded to the Japanese-Americans of the 442nd Regiment alone.

It sets up the false comparison between U.S. treatment of Japanese Americans and Japanese treatment of others. Our nation has never based its morality on the behavior of tyrants and oppressors. The worse actions of Imperial Japan in no way excuse the actions of the U.S. in imprisoning Japanese.

The letter attempts to use statistics about the patriotic feeling of those interned to justify the crime. It is no wonder to a reasonable person that those whose families have been arrested without due process by a government would not all be willing to die for that government.

It is a testament to the character of Japanese American servicemen that so many of them were willing to die for our freedoms. It is a warning to us all that fear could incite such reactionary injustice.

This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 4:17 AM with the headline "Letter: Internment of Japanese Americans was assault on liberty."