Jap hunts: Difference between revisions
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To understand where the word “Jap” comes from a comparison to the “[[ |
To understand where the word “Jap” comes from a comparison to the “[[Nazis]]” as it left space for the recognition of |
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the “good German,” but scant comparable place for “good Japanese.” Magazines like ''Time'' hammered this home even |
the “good German,” but scant comparable place for “good Japanese.” Magazines like ''Time'' hammered this home even |
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further by frequently referring to “the Jap” rather than “Japs,” thereby dening the enemy even the merest semblance of pluralism.<ref>Dower, W. John. War without Mercy. New York: Pantheon Books, 1993.</ref> |
further by frequently referring to “the Jap” rather than “Japs,” thereby dening the enemy even the merest semblance of pluralism.<ref>Dower, W. John. War without Mercy. New York: Pantheon Books, 1993.</ref> |
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The Executive Order 9066 authorized the military to exclude any person from any area of the country where national security was considered threatened. It gave the military broad authority over the civilian population without the imposition of martial law. Although the order did not mention any specific group or recommend detention, its language implied that any citizen might be removed. In practice, the order was applied only to Japanese Americans. |
The Executive Order 9066 authorized the military to exclude any person from any area of the country where national security was considered threatened. It gave the military broad authority over the civilian population without the imposition of martial law. Although the order did not mention any specific group or recommend detention, its language implied that any citizen might be removed. In practice, the order was applied only to [[Japanese Americans]]. |
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Revision as of 06:20, 16 October 2007
After the Pearl Harbor attacks, "Jap hunting licenses" were spread and circulated in the United States. The licenses included pictures and made use of racial stereotypes. The licenses declared it “open season” on hunting the Japanese in the United States and abroad. Many of them reminded holders that there was “no limit” on the number of “Japs” they could “hunt or trap.” The most common characterizations of the Japanese were those of animals. Many of the “Jap Hunting Licenses”, for example, depicted the Japanese in animalistic fashion.[1]
To understand where the word “Jap” comes from a comparison to the “Nazis” as it left space for the recognition of
the “good German,” but scant comparable place for “good Japanese.” Magazines like Time hammered this home even
further by frequently referring to “the Jap” rather than “Japs,” thereby dening the enemy even the merest semblance of pluralism.[2]
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 plunged the United States into war and planted the notion of Japanese treachery in the minds of Americans. The hysteria that enveloped the West Coast during the early months of the war, combined with long standing anti-Asian prejudices, set the stage for what was to come.[3]
The British embassy in Washington commented in passing one point on the popular American perception the Japanese as a “nameless mass of vermin.” The implication was clear vermin must be exterminated. Especially during the last few years of the war “exterminatonist” figures of speech did indeed become a stock way of referring to the killing of Japanese not only in battle but also in the cities of Japan’s home Island.
The Executive Order 9066 authorized the military to exclude any person from any area of the country where national security was considered threatened. It gave the military broad authority over the civilian population without the imposition of martial law. Although the order did not mention any specific group or recommend detention, its language implied that any citizen might be removed. In practice, the order was applied only to Japanese Americans.
Approximately 1,500 west coast issei were taken into custody by the FBI on suspicion of disloyalty; since most of those arrested were community leaders the Japanese-American community was increasinly atomized and fearful.[4]
References
- ^ Boggs, Jeremy. Open Season. 06 Mar. 2004. 15 Oct. 2007. <http://clioweb.org/openseason/index.html>
- ^ Dower, W. John. War without Mercy. New York: Pantheon Books, 1993.
- ^ A More Perfect Union. 1990-2001. 15 Oct. 2007. <http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/non-flash/removal_crisis.html>
- ^ Johnson, K. Sheila. The Japanese Through American Eyes. California: Stanford University Press, 1991
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