But what am I to make of Hanks' claims that America tried to wipe out the Japanese because of racism and that our current war is similar in motivation?
Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as ‘yellow, slant-eyed dogs’ that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what’s going on today?”
Why attack America in such a manner?
One, a little thing like the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor gave us a little more motivation against Japan.
Two, we did not actually attempt to wipe out the Japanese, instead forging a post-war alliance with Japan. Even on the battlefield, the fights often turned into a battle of annihilation because Japanese soldiers (and even civilians) would fight to the death, neither accepting nor offering quarter.
Third, our propaganda images of Germans portrayed them as monsters just as we portrayed Japanese as sub-human.
Fourth, Japan depicted their enemies, whether the Chinese or Americans as monsters, too. Like this:
The source of the above poster notes:
Japanese propaganda art did not neglect to target the enemy. In a manner similar to what American did by depicting the Japanese as subhuman apes, the Japanese countered with their own depiction of Americans (and the British as well) as hairy, demonic mongrels.
Yes, racism was part of our society back then. We've come a long way. But of all the things our more leftish citizens want to assert is American exceptionalism, racism is not one of them:
During World War II, propaganda produced by Japanese and American artists reflected and shaped the emotions and attitudes of that era. The messages that these two nations conveyed through their graphic propaganda reveal a good deal more about those cultures than was intended by either nation. Graphic propaganda on both sides revealed an undercurrent of racism that affected how the war was conducted and perceived on both sides.
And as for "differences" inspiring us to kill them all in our current war, WTF? Our use of firepower has been very limited and, in the current Afghan campaign, is so limited that we risk American casualties to avoid killing innocent (and not so innocent) "different" civilians. At home we debate what kind of rights that terrorists we capture should have! Indeed, it is our enemies who try to kill us because we are different. Though to be fair to our jihadi enemies, racism isn't involved since they kill far more Moslems than Americans in their war to establish their Heaven on Earth.
Somebody needs to go out and save Hanks from killing his reputation as a nice guy and a decent man.
It may be regrettable, but it is common for enemies in long and brutal fights to be dehumanized. But hey, Hollywood has been fighting those bitter God and gun clingers in middle America for so long that you can hardly blame them, eh?
UPDATE: An actual history professor gives it a shot.
