Japanese World War II museum

[Curval]

Originally posted by midnight Target

I did learn how to pronounce Nguyen properly tho     .

And the food was very good.

lol...the wife's maiden name was Nguyen..kinda like the VN version of "Smith".

Food is good?  eeeks I disagree.  They eat some pretty weird stuff over there..in fact the Aquarium here is a living menu for my wife...she goes to the eel tank and all I hear out of her is "mmmmmm".

Anyway...sorry for carrying on a converation in someone else's thread...back to those awful Japanese!

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Dowding (Work)
I studied with several Japanese exchange students while at uni. I even had two living on my corridor. They were cool, decent people. Friendly and with an outrageous sense of dress, there was no ill-feeling towards us. I think that the modern Japanese people share very little in common with the bastards running the POW camps, in the same way modern Germans share very little with the bastards running the concentration camps.

Also, I’ve friends who are teaching English in Japan and they are loving it. Not once have they mentioned any negative reaction to them – in fact it’s been positive all the way. They don’t want to come back.

My biggest problem Dowding is the fact that they refuse to teach their own historic past...how can we prevent something like this occuring again if we do not learn from history.  Putting ones head in the sand and saying it never happened (the elders over there that make the school ciriculum) is simply rediculous.  In the US, we learn of idiotic things our Gov't has done, why not teach the historic past over there?

[Creamo]

My dating a japanese girl in japan ruined her.. literally. What she endured.. a Japanese, by god; just for being in my presence, under my escort as my companion is beyond belief.
-Hangtime

And this is diffrent from any woman, of any race, dating you?

[Hangtime]

Excellent point.. 'Exchange students'.

Find me a non japanese 'exchange student' that went to school in japan..

Anybody??

[Hangtime]

And this is diffrent from any woman, of any race, dating you?

henh. I fediddlein hate it when yer right. I withdraw my case.

[Masherbrum]

Originally posted by Curval:

lol on the "well worth not-nuking" thing...but I am curious about the comment regarding the Vietnamese. Where did you experience this? In Vietnam? Not judging you, or the comment...just curious. I haven't experienced this at all...and I'm married to one.

My brother was born in Vietnam.  He was on THE last plane as Saigon fell.  He is proud to be an American.  

Curval

[Curval]

Originally posted by Masherbrum
Originally posted by Curval:
 

My brother was born in Vietnam.  He was on THE last plane as Saigon fell.  He is proud to be an American.  

Curval

Mash..

The wife, her 5 siblings and her pregnant mother made it out on the last South Vietnamese navy ship...they couldn't get on the planes...too many people, so they went to the docks instead.  Six months of living in a refugee camp on Guam...then managed to get to Canada.  She certainly had a very different 1975 than I did!

[midnight Target]

One of my VN co-workers told me of his escape.

His father was a well to do factory owner in Saigon(made soap), and he had been educated in Paris. When the Communists took over he was placed on a crew digging a canal.... by hand! He said he would always try to stay behind the tractor, that way he avoided the land mines.

Since he was educated as an accountant he asked to help in the office and eventually won the trust of the communists. After almost 2 years of this he asked for a vacation to visit his grandparents.

 He then left his wife and son behind and walked across Cambodia (just like in the Killing Fields). He made it almost to the Thai border, when he was captured by the Cambodians. A Red Cross aid worker was nearby, and offered 2 bags of rice for his release.

My friend Tuan often jokes that his life is only worth 2 bags of rice. He is a wealthy man now, CPA & CFO. He purchased the freedom of his wife and son after 8 years in this country.

[Dowding]

My biggest problem Dowding is the fact that they refuse to teach their own historic past...how can we prevent something like this occuring again if we do not learn from history. Putting ones head in the sand and saying it never happened (the elders over there that make the school ciriculum) is simply rediculous. In the US, we learn of idiotic things our Gov't has done, why not teach the historic past over there?

Strangely enough, I never got to question them about it. It's not as though I could simply walk up to them and say "Nice weather we're having. By the way, what are your thoughts on the conduct of Japanese troops in Nanking during the war?" Or at the dinner table "Pass the salt, will you. Ever heard of the Bataan death march?"

Never had the opportunity. Although I would have been interested in what they had to say.

[Masherbrum]

Curval, I think YOU can imagine the fights and brawls my brother and I have been in.  It was usually arrogant amazinhunks trying to impress friends, lost in life, what have you.  Looking back I'm glad these happened, why?  We NEVER lost one fight, almost did once.  What for?  Because after all of these years, mankind has yet to face the hard cold fact in life.   There is still this "social hierarchy" based on the color of skin!

again to you Curval.

I might be at next year's con and hope to meet you.

Karaya2

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Dowding


Strangely enough, I never got to question them about it. It's not as though I could simply walk up to them and say "Nice weather we're having. By the way, what are your thoughts on the conduct of Japanese troops in Nanking during the war?" Or at the dinner table "Pass the salt, will you. Ever heard of the Bataan death march?"

Never had the opportunity. Although I would have been interested in what they had to say.

Understandably.  I've worked with some Japanese in the past that came to America as citizens, and I *did* have the opportunity to ask, none of them ever learned much of WW2, anything having to do with Japan and WW2 is basically non-existent in the Japanese schools, and I'm sure Mitzu and others could verify this (of course, this was 1989, so things may have changed)

[GRUNHERZ]

"I can't actually make out a question in that gibberish.

If you're asking if I (as a Liberal) would consider somebody a racist in the 1960s for describing the US the way Hangtime described Japan, the answer is no."


Of course you could Karnak, you made out the question perfectly, but thanks for the insult anyway.... Very much in line with the behavior of you liberals on the BBS the last few days.

[Karnak]

GRUNHERZ,

OK, re-reading your question now that I'm awake it does make sense.  At 2 AM last night it seemed to be lacking key parts of a question.

Sorry.

[eskimo2]

I lived in Hawaii for a year.  Hawaii has a very high concentration of Japanese tourist.  The one, and only tourist place that I ever visited in Hawaii that was void of Japanese was the Arizona Memorial...

You do the math.

eskimo

[GRUNHERZ]

I'm sure you just missed them them by a second......