Japanese film points out injustice

This week Colfax was the location for the filming of a Japanese mini-series. The series will trace a Japanese-American family from 1912 to the present.

The Colfax segment involves how the Japanese were treated after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and America’s entry into World War II.

The Japanese immediately suffered abuse, hostility, discrimination, physical assaults and boycotts. Many of them quickly ended up in government internment camps. As a result, they lost their homes, businesses and livelihood.

The treatment of the Japanese has been condemned. It has been called a black stain on our national history. Many years after the war they received reparation payments from the U.S. government.

Fear played a big part in the treatment of the Japanese. So did racism. On the other side, some have defended the internment of the Japanese-Americans as simple prudence in time of war.

The episode is now generally seen as a grievous national mistake.

To use a modern term, it was racial profiling at its most extreme.

The same elements that existed then exist now. Today, middle eastern people are looked upon with suspicion as possible terrorists. Hispanics are seen as likely illegals.

These situations are born of fear and suspicion, too.

The internment of the Japanese serves as a reminder that blanket racial profiling can lead to injustices.

We need to be cautious not to go down that same path again. Caution and awareness need not lead to injustice.

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