So solly, so solly

[Bucky]

It seems that an American Jesuit priest has taken it upon himself to apologize.


Cranes made for the delegation to take with them

A delegation of Americans, most from the Tacoma, WA area, will travel to Japan later this summer to issue an apology for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The group will leave on July 31 and visit the two cities on the anniversaries of the bombings.Most of the participants are long-time peace activists. They hope their visit helps heal some of the deep wounds left over from the attacks and generates support in the United States and around the world for abolishing nuclear weapons.

So solly, so solly. More here.


A response from a Seattle commentator

[Midwinter]

It should go something like this..

Japan.
We, the American people, are truly sorry you attacked us and then forced us to use the atomic bomb to force you to surrender because you were willing to sacrifice all of your people and our soldiers in a war you had already lost.

However, we thank you for having the intelligence to surrender after the second bomb.

America.

LOL truer words have never been spoken. I'm offended by this "priest"'s actions and I'm not even American.

[kagemusha]

Here is a less romantic and more realistic, somber and factual way to look at what happened:
http://www.pjtv.com/video/Afterburner_/Jon_Stewart%2C_War_Criminals_%26_The_True_Story_of_the_Atomic_Bombs/1808/

[Samurai_Jerk]

That priest and anyone who accompanies him should not be allowed back into the US once they leave for Japan.

[hu5h]

ew, how pretentious to try and speak for an entire nation like that. but nothing wrong in making tsurus..

the right to dislike nukes is something everybody should be able to.

[Gilligan]

That priest and anyone who accompanies him should not be allowed back into the US once they leave for Japan.

From reading the article, SJ, I'm not sure that I can agree with you. Nowhere does it say that they are claiming to be speaking on behalf of America or Americans. It sounds (to me) more like they are expressing their personal feelings about what happened. I can't think of anything MORE American than being willing to express your opinion about something regardless of how others may feel about it. Isn't that what WWII was all about, freedom from fascist government oppression?

And for the record, I disagee with their sentiments.

[Socratesabroad]

[Gilligan]

[Socratesabroad]

[soulboy]

Personally I the dropping the bomb on already destroyed cities was a crime rivalling the holocaust. You could use the same arguments used to justify nagasaki and hiroshima for justify the bombing on washington and new york to prevent the american wars in vietnam and iraq.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRts4EEGqqo

[Bucky]

[waruta]

Ah.. the aroma of Tacoma....sweet memories of SeaTac popo...

[Adhesive]

It seems to me that people get caught-up on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki simply because it involved novel technology.

I don't mind hearing arguments against the bombing as much as I am bothered by the fact that there were a zillion other things done by the US that, to me, seem like much better candidates for condemnation.

Perhaps I am a bit less morally attuned than most...but I've never quite understood why the A-bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were any worse than the fire-bombing of Tokyo and Osaka.

[omae mona]

Perhaps I am a bit less morally attuned than most...but I've never quite understood why the A-bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were any worse than the fire-bombing of Tokyo and Osaka.

If you're not morally attuned, perhaps numbers tell a better story. Take a look at the death toll figures. If I am not mistaken, accounts are that more civilians died in Hiroshima than the sum of all the Tokyo bombings. And Hiroshima's population was much, much smaller. I believe something between 1/3 and 1/2 of Hiroshima's population perished (including eventual deaths from radiation).

[nottu]

[Mike Oxlong]

[yt]pmJDj-oLYyM[/yt]

[nottu]

[Bucky]

Perhaps these peaceniks should visit some countries in SE Asia or Shanghai and inquire with survivors of WWII about their thoughts on the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

"We had to kill, kill, kill," barks 89-year-old Matsuyoshi Fujita through a toothless mouth. "We killed the Chinese children, their mothers, everything. There was an order that we had to kill them all if they were Chinese, good or bad. You understand? We had to kill the children."
Fujita, who served in Singapore before being transferred to Burma, was the same soldier interviewed in Imamura's 1971 documentary. He is well known in Japan for having built a memorial tomb and, over a 40-year period, buried the remains of more than 800 of his fellow soldiers.
"I built the memorial because the Japanese government wasn't doing anything for the fallen," he said.

. . . more . . .

[hundefar]

[nottu]

[nottu]

[hundefar]

There was a very interesting interview on NHK last year with Hasegawa. One of his main points was that the Soviets were impeding Japan's effort to surrender previous to the use of atomic weapons - cold war strategy.

Yes, and he makes a pretty good case for it in his book. It caused quite a stir when it came out.