Thread by @Satellite_09

Fuck it. I try to keep this account as clean of political and social commentary as possible. But this shit has me furious. According to TIME, the current U.S. Administration is planning to use a fort that was formerly used as a JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMP to house immigrant children

Let me tell you something about "internment". "Internment" is just a word that was used so that they could make a concentration camp without calling it a concentration camp, ok? So at this stage, we're gonna take that word and toss it out the window

I'm what's known as yonsei. That's fourth generation Japanese-American. My great grandparents came to this country over one hundred years ago. My family had already been in the states for years when Pearl Harbor happened. My grandparents were American citizens. It didn't matter

All their property was seized and they were carted off to Heart Mountain Wyoming, where they were subjected to terrible living conditions. I think many of us know the stories by this point. However; not so many of us have actually gone and looked through the camp rosters. I have

It's a really intense thing to see that paperwork. The most unsettling bit was that it had my family's given names listed, then the western names they went by (Because no one could pronounce their given names). However; before either of those, they were referred to by a number.

Now if that doesn't raise some red flags and very unflattering comparisons I don't know what does.

Now let me tell you a little about the consequences of these camps. Did you think that, oh, everyone who went to a concentration camp came home after, and everything was fine and they weren't traumatized at all?? Did you really think that??? Guess what: that's not what happened

When my family went to the camps their property was seized. It was not returned when they got out. All of these AMERICAN CITIZENS had to start over from scratch with nothing in a country that was extremely suspicious of them. The camps tore my family apart

My grandfather became a raging alcoholic. Almost all of my family members who went to a camp became chronic hoarders, because WHO KNEW WHEN EVERYTHING COULD BE TAKEN AWAY AGAIN? I still have vivid memories of cleaning my aunt's home after she passed. That shit is fucked up.

The camps heavily influenced my father's upbringing, which in turn, influenced my own. There were many values he instilled in me that were directly related to how the Japanese Americans were treated during the war. This kind of trauma influences families for generations

Now think about all these children. Innocent CHILDREN. That are being locked away and treated horribly. These practices aren't just traumatizing them. They are directly influencing their entire family line for the next century. Think about that.

The trauma inflicted on these immigrants will in turn affect their children, and their children's children. I can't believe I live in a country that is so willing to cause that kind of long term damage to innocent people

I'm not a politician. I'm in no way qualified to suggest a solution to the influx of immigrants into our country. However; I know that we can do better than this. I fucking sit here and read about children dying in concentration camps in a country that is so proud of its freedom

And I just can't do it anymore. I can't sit in silence. This is happening again. We tried so hard to make people aware, but despite the memorials, and the museums, and the books, it didn't matter. Nobody listened

You know one of the very first books I had as a child was about internment? A children's book, written by a Japanese American who had lived through it. One of my VERY FIRST BOOKS. It's so easy to educate people. It's so easy to see why this is wrong.

Children aren't just important because they're innocent. They're important because the impressions placed on them will stay with them for the rest of their lives. What we are doing is instilling fear and hatred of our country into these kids. That's not going to go away

By committing these atrocities we're going to make generations of families who hate America. It seriously hurts me. They're just kids

Anyway yeah that's my fucking opinion. I could go into more detail about the effects on my family but I'm a pretty private person and even this much is a lot. Also you can take any dissenting options and shove them way up your ass.

Even if only a fraction of what is reported by the media is true then we've still done enough to these families to NEVER deserve forgiveness.

This thread is getting a lot of attention, so here's a some additional resources to educate yourselves on the history of concentration camps in America. These are books written by people with firsthand experience.

amazon.com/Farewell-Manza…

amazon.com/Only-What-Coul…

I know it feels like there's nothing we can do about the situation at the border, but there is. You can call your representatives. I know that this is something that everyone is saying these days, but seriously, call them . Express to them how unacceptable you find these policies

Tell them that a new solution needs to be found. Tell them that you will not vote for their re-election unless something is done. Not just empty words, not just opposition. Tell them that this has to stop or you will tell everyone you know to never vote for them again

That might sound harsh, but let's face it. Every day that this is allowed we are complicit. And anyone who allows a concentration camp to happen in their backyard without fighting tooth and nail to do something about it deserves to never have a political career again