Thread by @theprez98

The most prominent portrait in President Biden's Oval Office is of a man who put 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry (including many who were US citizens) in concentration camps during WWII. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

Some people object to calling the Japanese World War II experience in America as "concentration camps" but the Korematsu Institute prefers "American concentration camps" rather than government euphemisms such as "Assembly Centers" or Relocation Camps." korematsuinstitute.org/terminology-1

There is no evidence that I'm aware of that, before his death in 1945, FDR ever experienced any regret at what he did to those people during the war. And yet politicians of the left continue to lionize him.

According to this WaPo article, Trump's Andrew Jackson portrait "reinforced allegations of racism emanating from the White House," but FDR at the center of President Biden's wall is just...there. washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/…

The Cesar Chavez bust on the table behind the Resolute Desk is also curious, given Chavez's views on immigration and the derogatory language he used toward Mexican immigrants.

The Wikipedia article on Cesar Chavez explains his views on immigration and the language he deliberately chose to use. A curious choice indeed. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Cha…

This wasn't a case of words that were generally acceptable then and not acceptable now. The documentation clearly shows the words he deliberately chose were considered derogatory then, too.

The examples of FDR and Chavez aren't too dissimilar from how many view Lincoln. People believe in a myth that never really existed and that washes away, justifies, or only mildly acknowledges their activities.

In this case, FDR was directly responsible for illegal detaining 120,000 people and perpetuated ongoing discrimination against Japanese--on what we now know what zero evidence. It should make you think twice about the platitudes President Biden is using now.

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