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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGeorge Takei, Victim Of Japanese-American Internment, DESTROYS Mayor Suggesting It For Refugees
George Takei is uniquely qualified to take Bowers to task for this suggestions. The beloved actor and activist was a victim of the internment camps, where he was sent with his family as a young man. When news of Roanokes mayor reached him, he quickly penned a scathing response:
George Takei
Earlier today, the mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, Mr. David A. Bowers, in the attached letter, joined several state governors in ordering that Syrian refugees not receive any government assistance, or be relocated to their jurisdiction. Apart from the lack of legal authority to do so (under the Refugee Act of 1980, only the President has authority to accept or deny refugees), his resort to fear-based tactics, and his galling lack of compassion for people fleeing these same terrorists, Mayor Bowers made the following startling statement:
Mayor Bowers, there are a few key points of history you seem to have missed:
1) The internment (not a "sequester" was not of Japanese "foreign nationals," but of Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens. I was one of them, and my family and I spent 4 years in prison camps because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. It is my lifes mission to never let such a thing happen again in America.
2) There never was any proven incident of espionage or sabotage from the suspected enemies then, just as there has been no act of terrorism from any of the 1,854 Syrian refugees the U.S. already has accepted. We were judged based on who we looked like, and that is about as un-American as it gets.
3) If you are attempting to compare the actual threat of harm from the 120,000 of us who were interned then to the Syrian situation now, the simple answer is this: There was no threat. We loved America. We were decent, honest, hard-working folks. Tens of thousands of lives were ruined, over nothing.
Mayor Bowers, one of the reasons I am telling our story on Broadway eight times a week in Allegiance is because of people like you. You who hold a position of authority and power, but you demonstrably have failed to learn the most basic of American civics or history lessons. So Mayor Bowers, I am officially inviting you to come see our show, as my personal guest. Perhaps you, too, will come away with more compassion and understanding.
-- George Takei
Earlier today, the mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, Mr. David A. Bowers, in the attached letter, joined several state governors in ordering that Syrian refugees not receive any government assistance, or be relocated to their jurisdiction. Apart from the lack of legal authority to do so (under the Refugee Act of 1980, only the President has authority to accept or deny refugees), his resort to fear-based tactics, and his galling lack of compassion for people fleeing these same terrorists, Mayor Bowers made the following startling statement:
Im reminded that Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled to sequester Japanese foreign nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it appears that the threat of harm to America from Isis now is just as real and serious as that from our enemies then.
Mayor Bowers, there are a few key points of history you seem to have missed:
1) The internment (not a "sequester" was not of Japanese "foreign nationals," but of Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens. I was one of them, and my family and I spent 4 years in prison camps because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. It is my lifes mission to never let such a thing happen again in America.
2) There never was any proven incident of espionage or sabotage from the suspected enemies then, just as there has been no act of terrorism from any of the 1,854 Syrian refugees the U.S. already has accepted. We were judged based on who we looked like, and that is about as un-American as it gets.
3) If you are attempting to compare the actual threat of harm from the 120,000 of us who were interned then to the Syrian situation now, the simple answer is this: There was no threat. We loved America. We were decent, honest, hard-working folks. Tens of thousands of lives were ruined, over nothing.
Mayor Bowers, one of the reasons I am telling our story on Broadway eight times a week in Allegiance is because of people like you. You who hold a position of authority and power, but you demonstrably have failed to learn the most basic of American civics or history lessons. So Mayor Bowers, I am officially inviting you to come see our show, as my personal guest. Perhaps you, too, will come away with more compassion and understanding.
-- George Takei
https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei/photos/a.223098324386295.105971.205344452828349/1411997808829668/?type=3
MORE HERE:
http://www.bipartisanreport.com/2015/11/18/george-takei-victim-japanese-american-internment-destroys-mayor-suggesting-refugees/
http://theslot.jezebel.com/roanoke-mayor-bravely-inspired-by-japanese-internment-c-1743361352
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George Takei, Victim Of Japanese-American Internment, DESTROYS Mayor Suggesting It For Refugees (Original Post)
kpete
Nov 2015
OP
longship
(40,416 posts)1. George is a treasure. R&K nt
hunter
(38,334 posts)2. George Takei is an awesome civil rights leader.
Maeve
(42,289 posts)3. "I am officially inviting you to come see our show, as my personal guest. "
Class, pure class!
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,209 posts)4. Full speed ahead, George! nt
bullwinkle428
(20,631 posts)5. Beautiful. Such an amazing person!
EndElectoral
(4,213 posts)6. Terrific post...should be at the top of the board.
treestar
(82,383 posts)7. A point that needed to be made
Wow Republicans are awful
Rex
(65,616 posts)8. The capitan is always right.
Capitan Sulu knows his shit! Some can talk the talk...George Takei walked the walk.
yuiyoshida
(41,867 posts)9. subarashii dayo!
Rex
(65,616 posts)10. What is the new Supergirl show like?
I read it looks and feels like a big production...ie like a movie each episode. I'm going to look for it when it hits streaming media.
yuiyoshida
(41,867 posts)11. hope this helps.
I will watch it when I get home tonight! Domo arigato. You rock!
yuiyoshida
(41,867 posts)14. dou itashimashite
Duval
(4,280 posts)12. The Japanese internment camps were
a terrible mistake by FDR.
mountain grammy
(26,656 posts)15. Can he really suspend the actions of non governmental agencies..
like faith based and non faith based charities who are helping refugees?
geomon666
(7,512 posts)16. No he can't. n/t