Just because it is not readily found in the mainstream media does not mean it did not happen. Dan Jolivet, in the September 2006 issue, cries racism before the facts are fully known. This is a common tactic of those who look for it in every corner of America. Thousands of Italian and German immigrants residing legally in this country were interned during World War II. Granted, it was not to the degree and extent of the Japanese living here, but they too lost years of their lives and property for which they were never remunerated. Racism is inconsistent with the American ideal, but crying racism before all of the facts are known cheapens the meaning of the word and degrades the argument. Joseph Pellicano, ’73 Sammamish
A Knee-Jerk Reaction
Judging the past can be a knee-jerk reaction. I wouldn’t be so quick to judge American decision makers in the decision to intern Japanese Americans. This quick judgment seems like a knee-jerk reaction to the arguments raised by Chris Jolley in his editorial with regard to “The Stolen Years” articles [Dec. 2005 and March 2006]. It is often too easy to criticize these leaders for decisions which seem to lack merit in hindsight. The question raised by Dan Jolivet, “Why else were German Americans, Italian Americans and others allowed to remain free?” is very pertinent to today as well. I am not a history buff so call me ignorant if you must but I think that the Japanese fighters were a very different breed from the German and Italian fighters. This difference I believe also was due to cultural differences. The Japanese fighters were willing on many occasions to sacrifice themselves in a way that was very surprising to Americans. I speak of the Kamikaze fighter. Today we find that there are fanatic religious opinions that seem to motivate similar actions. This I think causes a higher decree of fear on the part of Americans. Am I wrong here? These are complex issues now and in the past. I say lets learn from the past but withhold judgment. Please don’t characterize my ideas as ‘pabulum’ if you disagree with them, just tell me where you think I have erred in judgment.
William Andersen, ’99 Milton, Vt.
No Home in Political History
In the letters appearing in the Sept. 2006 issue, reader Paul Nutkowitz declares he never read or heard of any “facts or evidence of Japanese American terrorist activities in the United States.” Perhaps he would be satisfied with a personal anecdote.
My father grew up in Bellingham. In 1941 he was 17 and for years had gone to school with the son of a local barber, who was Japanese. The family was well regarded. However, just prior to U.S. entry into the war, the father was arrested by the FBI for espionage. It turned out he was a lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Bellingham was an excellent location from which to collect intelligence on naval traffic into and out of Puget Sound. My father joined the Navy in the fall and never learned what happened to the barber or his family. Espionage does not sound as alarming as terrorism, but espionage is always the equivalent of sabotage, so far as it relates to the conduct of war. I regret I can add not further detail, my father having passed away years ago.
In the same issue, reader Dan Jolivet asks rhetorically why German and Italian Americans were allowed to remain free during World War II. He might recall that German Americans had quite vicious suspicion thrust upon them during World War I. Today, it is typical for any mention of German descent to include a reference to the Nazi party. As one who is a quarter German from first-generation immigrants, I am quite conscious of this.
In other letters, there was lively expression of umbrage by liberals against the rationale for internment. I find this ironic, in consideration of the fact that the program was initiated and executed by the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and administered by (later Supreme Court Justice) Earl Warren. If these men are not heroes of liberals, they have no home in political history.
Michael J. Dunn, ’72, ’73, ’74 Federal Way
Illiberal Studies
I am a member of the UW Tacoma Class of 1993. My degree is in “liberal studies.” However, I was dismayed to read the article “Spreading the Word” in the September Columns. Kidder is quoted as saying, “I think that college kids, at least some subset of them, are just hungry for something that resembles meaning in this incredible age of consumerism.” I find this statement strangely ironic in a discussion that attempts to explain the virtues of requiring the entire freshman class to read a “common book.” The article [includes] the line [that the book] “...is a one-volume liberal arts education.”
I guess that a “subset” of students justifies making the rest of the entire class read it, thus … forcing on them … a liberal arts education despite their own opinion. People with [this] interest probably have already read it. People with no interest, at best, will possibly read the Cliff’s Notes. Forcing a “liberal arts education” on people at the school’s expense is not a value that I was taught in my education back in 1993. Reg Mathusz, ’93 Federal Way
Correction We incorrectly identified the photographer who took the picture at left of a UW dancer in the September 2006 Columns. The photographer was Joel Levin.
We usually receive more letters than we have room to print. To read these additional letters, please visit our Web site at UWalum.com/columns.
Letters to the editor are encouraged. Brief letters are more likely to be published; longer letters may be edited due to lack of space. Please include a daytime phone number and send all correspondence to: Editor, Columns Magazine, 1415 N.E. 45th St., Seattle, WA 98105. You may send e-mail to or send a fax to 206-685-0611.
Correction