Thread by @paularcurtis

True to form, @sachihirayama shows us she does not actually value accuracy in her attacks against "foreign" scholars, she is simply trying to foment as much anger as possible, even if it means lying to her thousands of followers. This is why there is no meaning in debating them.

Rather than accurately translate, she would rather see words related to discrimination in the content, ignore the actual meaning, & accuse the writer of being racist. Ethan posted a historical cartoon, EXPLAINING how it was racist, & they attacked him.

https://twitter.com/EthanMarkLeiden/status/1464133640913395713?s=20

She relies on followers being willing to accept what she says at face value. She either knows they will maliciously agree with whatever she says, or she that they are too ignorant to interpret it themselves. Perhaps they are too scared to call her out for her misinterpretations.

It's actually incredible to see someone so bluntly say "I think it's important to accurately translate things that support ultranationalist views, but we can entirely ignore the real meanings of counterarguments." They are not interested in truths unsupportive of their narrative.

I'm not afraid to say that she is a bad person. She knowingly mistranslates & misinterprets things credible scholars have said so that she can get attention. She uses that rage to incite others to try to get us fired, to stop work that gives voices to victims of wartime violence.

Frankly, it's sad.

What she does is also insulting to Japanese people, leading them down misguided paths of hate & discrimination using manipulation & lies. And for what? Attention. The attention *she* craves. Her desire to be a savior of a Japan that can never love her back, because it's an idea.

Maybe the trolls really do love Japan & want it to represent something good. But their every action tarnishes its image instead. No country is without its sins. But it's not by erasing them that they become better & move on, it's through acceptance with humility and doing better.

But why do we care? Why don't we just log off? Because of people like this, who use social media as battleground to recruit through ignorance and hate and untruths with great ease. Historians and others would be foolish to cede this ground. apjjf.org/2021/22/Curtis…

And now, coffee. ☕

Caffeine acquired. Here's some more resources on this topic.

I just released a podcast ep with @olliemox & @CJS_Uea on Japanese ultranationalists and echoes of these historical denialism tactics across the globe: japaninnorwich.org/2021/11/25/s2e…

The original fact-checking work so rigorously and expertly done by @astanley711 @SayakaChatani @SzendiChelsea @hannahjshepherd and @dambaras can be found here at @apjjf : apjjf.org/2021/5/Concern…

The thoughtful and fair work of @JeannieSGersen on this topic was done back in February of this year: newyorker.com/culture/annals…

Putting the ultranationalist movements in historical context, @SzendiChelsea published in The Nation: thenation.com/article/world/…

And @astanley711 has written a number of thoughtful personal essays on how this has absorbed our lives and the damage of hateful rhetoric: amy-stanley.com/blog-1/breakfa…

amy-stanley.com/blog-1/7xr8dvz…

I could go on for tweet after tweet--the digital footprint of these communities and their negative impact is vast. Michael Chwe has been compiling much of the content here: chwe.net/irle/

But as I note in my article, one good thing all of this bile & vitriol has done is embolden more of us to reach across disciplines, specializations, & virtual spaces to ally with one another and be more engaged. Solidarity. Fight where you can, block where you need. Take a walk.