Vengeful response to Japan tsunami defies logic, morality

Monday, March, 14, 2011; 10:20 PM | 31 | | Print

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TOPICS: japan tsunami

“F*** Japan, Remember Pearl Harbor.”

“If you wanna feel better about this earthquake in Japan, (G)oogle ‘Pearl Harbor death toll.’”

These are just two of the many social media messages littering the Internet days after a deadly earthquake-induced tsunami hit the nation over the weekend. Similar sentiments in an array of colorful words promote a level of hatred I’ve rarely witnessed and are increasingly spewing on the Web.

Americans, including a writer of the television show Family Guy (who tweeted the second quote above) appear to believe the deaths occurring in Japan are not tragic due to some political vendetta, some even claiming that the Japanese “deserved it” or to look at the “scoreboard,” which apparently is now 3-1 (Hiroshima, Nagasaki and tsunami).

In reading these messages, which left me wide-eyed with horror, I had to wonder if we’ve seriously come to the point when we openly and sincerely wish death upon innocent people simply out of spite. Some people’s vengeance has come to the point that they are discouraging the sending of aid or relief efforts to Japan as a sort of revenge for past acts of war, even criticizing President Barack Obama for encouraging Americans to help.

This level of hatred leaves me disturbed, confused and quite frankly shocked at my fellow Americans, who have so easily forgotten the many people American acts of war have killed as well. When it comes to humanitarian needs, regardless of what happened 70 years ago, I would like to believe that any human being’s heart would be wrenched at the sights of bobbling cars and buildings swept up by the ocean’s ferocity.

It seems as though the writer from Family Guy, along with the others, do not give merit to Ghandi’s warning that “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” Who ever decided that the death of one person nullifies the death of another? The death of innocent Japanese will not avenge the deaths of those 70 years ago, nor will their healthful lives deny the horror of the events of Pearl Harbor — the two sets of lives are completely disconnected.

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A version of this article appeared in the Mar 15 issue of the Collegiate Times.

Leave a comment 31 Comments Write a letter to the editor

Jochebed | # March 15, 2011 @ 12:04 AM — Flag Comment

Killing brown people in the desert for no reason also defies logic and morality, but Obama continues to do that...so it's not all that surprising actually.

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In Reference to the Hippie Above | # March 15, 2011 @ 12:27 AM — Flag Comment

First of all referring to them as "Brown people" is almost as disrespectful as the hate comments that the article is discussing. Obama got elected by saying he would "bring the troops home" and all of you hippies that don't understand the real world gobbled up every word.

Obama got in office and realized we are fighting overseas in order to not fight terrorism on the homefront. Something you can't even imagine THANKS to our soldiers and even Obama and Bush for these campaigns so you can live your presumably mundane day-to-day live without being scared 24/7.

As for the actual topic of the article I am also appalled that people are saying these things. The Japanese are a proud people who were stuck in a bushido code of undying loyalty to their country. Since World War II they have modernized (thanks in part to the US) and have become one of the most exemplary groups of people in the world. To wish ill on any of these people who have done nothing to any of us is downright disgraceful and these Americans should be ashamed. A testament to this is the lack of ANY reports of looting and crime that accompany every other country when a disaster strikes.

Also anyone arguing against the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki needs to understand we SAVED Japanese lives by doing so. The entire country would have fought to the death before surrendering due to their pride.

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Anonymous | # March 15, 2011 @ 2:04 AM — Flag Comment

You are delusional. Continue to let mother government tell you what to think, tell you what's good for you, tell you how to react.. remain a needy infant forever.

or, [you can]

w
a
k
e
up

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Jochebed | # March 15, 2011 @ 6:26 AM — Flag Comment

Mr. Warmonger, I am about as far away from a "hippie" as one could be. I simply realize that if we're going to be over there killing mothers, fathers, sons, daughters...perhaps there ought to be a REAL reason for doing so. Perhaps if we weren't over there causing so much havok for no reason, there wouldn't be so many people eager and willing to kill themselves just to take out an American or two as well.

My day-to-day life is not and has not been threatened by any of those people. The drunks stumbling into their cars downtown on a Friday night are a far greater risk to me than anyone in Iraq or Afghanistan.

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Anonymous | # March 21, 2011 @ 4:33 PM — Flag Comment

you gotta be kidding me if you think that the US actually SAVED Japan by dropping a Nuclear bomb on them...

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Hokie Vet | # March 22, 2011 @ 7:19 AM — Flag Comment

It's a fact that the bombing og Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved both American and Japanese lives. It's not even controversial. A land invasion would have ended up with much greater loss of life.

You obviously know how to use the Internet. How about using it for something useful? Go get your learn on.

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loltard | # March 27, 2011 @ 4:09 AM — Flag Comment

No looting. Is this a subtle way of saying that Japs are superior to all these Negroes in New Orleans and other inferior races of the world who don't have the same history of colonialism and homogeneity as Japan? Right, right, I get it. Anyone remember the Rice Riots of, 1918 was it, and how the Japanese burned and cause havoc before it was put down? Very few people tackle the issue of the "No looting in Japan" topic being used by people with racial motives/agendas. I applaud those folks and not these bleeding heart libs or conservatives pounding their chest in a show of "sympathy". But of course the society and life of one Jap carries much more value than all us inferior races. Yep.

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J.R | # March 15, 2011 @ 1:39 AM — Flag Comment

I couldn't agree with this article more. When I first heard of this "joke" (it hardly qualifies as a joke: it's seems like more a hateful statement) I just sat there with my mouth wide open, gobsmacked. To think that this man -- amongst others -- still wants "revenge" for WWII is ridiculous. America already had its "revenge" against the Japanese back in the 40s, and it was truly atrocious.

And since when was revenge acceptable between countries anyway? It's not a football game. I'd boycott Family Guy, if I already wasn't avoiding it due to its fairly unpleasant misogynist commentary.

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Anonymous, to prove a point | # March 15, 2011 @ 4:41 AM — Flag Comment

The internet is a safe haven of free speech in which the things people say will never be attached to the person offline unless they willingly choose to reveal their name. It's these kinds of people who abuse the loopholes and find it to be a safety net for any mistakes they make either morally or otherwise that seem to make the world a worse place, but I think you've really gotta be a hardcore hateful person to have the nerve to say half the hateful, discriminatory things you say online to anyone right in front of you in real life; take away the anonymity and you'll see a lot of people backpedaling on hate speech.

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Matty | # March 15, 2011 @ 7:10 AM — Flag Comment

"In reading these messages, which left me wide-eyed with horror, I had to wonder if we’ve seriously come to the point when we openly and sincerely wish death upon innocent people simply out of spite."

Yes. We came to that point on 9/11 when we wanted our government to slaughter a million+ innocent Iraqis and Afghans so that we could revenge the deaths caused by 19 Saudi hijackers. Welcome to ten years ago.

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Hokie Vet | # March 17, 2011 @ 6:24 AM — Flag Comment

Out government didn't "slaughter a million+ innocent Iraqis and Afghans." You can keep typing this nonsense all over the internet if you want but it won't make it true.

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reader | # March 18, 2011 @ 1:32 PM — Flag Comment

That's right, our government killed them one at a time with bullets or at most a couple dozen at a time with missiles, that hardly qualifies as "slaughter."

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Hokie Vet | # March 21, 2011 @ 6:03 AM — Flag Comment

The vast majority of Iraqis who were killed in Iraq were killed by their fellow Iraqis. The US did not kill a million people.

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Anonymous | # March 21, 2011 @ 4:36 PM — Flag Comment

TRUE...it wasn't MILLIONS, maybe a couple thousands but deff not MILLIONS.... what difference does it make?????

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Hokie Vet | # March 22, 2011 @ 2:26 AM — Flag Comment

If you don't know the difference between thousands and millions you're clearly at the wrong school.

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rook | # March 24, 2011 @ 6:47 PM — Flag Comment

he didnt say we killed a million plus people r-tard. He said we wanted 2...lear to read people.

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loltard | # March 27, 2011 @ 4:13 AM — Flag Comment

Yes, because every beheading and throat slitting incident was perpetrated by an American because that's totally how people roll in America is slitting throats and beheading with back and forth motions of an edged weapon. Didn't matter that radical extremists held the weapons and did the sawing themselves there's always an American to blame.

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common sense | # March 28, 2011 @ 8:01 PM — Flag Comment

LOL "innocent" Taliban

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Fred | # March 15, 2011 @ 11:13 AM — Flag Comment

I'm not surprised. That's what America's all about.

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Anonymous | # March 15, 2011 @ 10:14 PM — Flag Comment

do you remember Nagasaki a Hiroshima? it disgusts that you can think like that and look yourself in the mirror.

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Henry | # March 16, 2011 @ 10:33 AM — Flag Comment

Do you remember the Bataan Death March? Rape of Nanking? Medical experiments on Prisoners of War? If the Japanese didn't want to get nuked, they shouldn't have started the war and then dismissed the Geneva Convention.

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I | # March 16, 2011 @ 11:36 AM — Flag Comment

ignoring geneva conventions, eh? by that logic, america is deserving of being nuked like a frozen burrito.

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i | # March 16, 2011 @ 11:53 AM — Flag Comment

It should probably also be noted that hawaii was not even a u.s. state at the time, and that the soverign kingdom of hawaii had been overthrown by white businessmen in the 1890's.
in 1993, the clinton administration officially apologized for overthrowing the government of hawaii. the first and only time the u.s. government has apologized for overthrowing a sovereign nation.
dumb arguement for hatred

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J | # March 20, 2011 @ 11:32 PM — Flag Comment

It strikes me that Japan, ripped apart after atomic bombs were dropped on the country, is now again under threat by its own nuclear power plants. Thoughts?

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Rook | # March 24, 2011 @ 7:01 PM — Flag Comment

I am boycotting family guy and so is my immediate and extended family. I am a white american verteran that was station in japan. My fiance is japanese (from japan) and my kids are half. They live in japan and i am doing paperwork. They live south (thank god) so are ok. So yes, something like this pisses me off to no end. If you were anywhere close to me i would kick your ass into oblivion. As others have said, we bombed them with something that is hopefully never used again...let alone twice. They are a good people that are (in my opinion) overly nice. Random people have helped me on trains, planes, and new areas for no other reason than i looked like a lost white dude. I sent some money to help them over the playstation network as soon as i saw it. Live and love...i have seen enough death.

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Rook | # March 24, 2011 @ 7:05 PM — Flag Comment

Oh, i forgot. Read your history. They didnt attack pearl harbor for absolutely no reason.

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Anonymous | # April 29, 2011 @ 12:54 AM — Flag Comment

Probably none of the people that commented here have been through a true crisis like the people in Japan have experienced. Most of you bring up past events and use them to justify what nature ( whom has absolutely no conscious actions ) has done. I myself have not had to go through something as devestating as a 9.0 earthquake and the tidal wave which followed. All I can do is continue to live my life, work, and spend as much time with my family as possible and pray that nothing like this befalls anyone here. It is disgusting that anyone would poke fun at 27,000 dead and missing human beings who worked hard and tried to live their lives the best that they could. Although this was a very bad event, Japan will rebuild. Just as any other country would do. The tsunami will join history books along side with Katrina, the events of WWII, Haiti, and many other natural and human disasters. Go spend time with your family instead of arguing on-line about the government and all the conspiracy theories you have in mind, you never know when something like this may happen to you.

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Anonymous | # April 29, 2011 @ 12:54 AM — Flag Comment

Probably none of the people that commented here have been through a true crisis like the people in Japan have experienced. Most of you bring up past events and use them to justify what nature ( whom has absolutely no conscious actions ) has done. I myself have not had to go through something as devestating as a 9.0 earthquake and the tidal wave which followed. All I can do is continue to live my life, work, and spend as much time with my family as possible and pray that nothing like this befalls anyone here. It is disgusting that anyone would poke fun at 27,000 dead and missing human beings who worked hard and tried to live their lives the best that they could. Although this was a very bad event, Japan will rebuild. Just as any other country would do. The tsunami will join history books along side with Katrina, the events of WWII, Haiti, and many other natural and human disasters. Go spend time with your family instead of arguing on-line about the government and all the conspiracy theories you have in mind, you never know when something like this may happen to you.

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