It was two decades ago....

That around 2,000 people were killed about a 15 minute cab-ride from where I live. Here I sit, and none of the younger people in this country seem to give a shit. I can't even explain the way they talk about it. It's like they just want it to be forgotten as much as those who did the killing want it over and done with. People I know at work barely mention it. If they do it is spoken about as if it's some kind of ghost.... like it never really happened. Or that it happened far away. I was on a date last night and I broached it in an intelligent way. She changed the subject like she'd never heard what I'd said. I really do like it here... but it's so FUCKED up sometimes.

i guess its the way that someone from antartica would look at penguins as being problematical in regards to their stealing apples from the garden whereas you see penguins as nice creatures who go well on ciabatti bread.

I've met the occasional person with courage enough to tell me what they really think, those who don't buy the bullshit just want an apology.

Actually it's no different there than anywhere else.

Here in the US we'd just as soon forget the Japanese internment camps of WWII.

Most Germans would rather not talk about the holocaust.

And people everywhere who were not born when these outrages occurred have no sense of the enormity of the crimes.

Some day it'll be like that here when the subject of Cheney/Bush war crimes and torture is brought up.

Because while people may not want to talk about internment, or the holocaust or Nanking, they acknowledge these events occured and were terrible. Here people won't talk about them PERIOD. I have a german roomate and if I bring up WW2 he talks about it. He doesn't look down and say, "Got plans this weekend" or some stupid shit. THAT'S the difference.

not everyone wants to talk to everybody about everything, they may not be comfortable with you which you alluded to in the earlier post about someone confiding in you.

Maybe hotmail, twitter and flicker were blocked tonight by the powers that be, maybe youtube was blocked months ago.... maybe the people that want to say something are too fucking scared to say anything. Maybe I already told you the ones who HAVE spoken to me say all they want is an apology, which is noble considering the current climate yet it won't be delivered and it is demanded they all bury their heads and say nothing.

you are demanding that they stand up and demand that apology, mayby they remember the tanks etc and thats why their fucking scared, wait until you have to face a tank then you can comment on whether they are scared or not.

I completely understand their positions as I said earlier. My issue is with how fucked up the situation is in general.

was still in charge? The Japanese don't like to acknowledge Nanking even today - would they even go that far if the militarists still controlled their government?

A lot may have changed in China, but at its core it is still an authoritarian regime which brooks no dissent - some things are only discussed with family, and maybe not even then.

My point is it's fucking retarded. That said, yesterday we actually had a good, long discussion about it with a few people at work. Even they had complaints about how the young people don't even know the history of it.

China is not as strict as you think. You won't get hauled away for talking about shit.

I don't know what you are talking about?

tahitinut

:shrug:

Driving through there creeps me out.

The world's response was disappointing, to say the least. The US response was disgusting.

Cause there's too much money involved. It makes me sick.

consequences of talking about the event.

When i lived in Spain as a kid, the locals NEVER talked about the civil war - the fascists were still in power. After Franco died and the country was allowed its reforms to become the country it is today, THEN people talked about the war and life under Franco.