LAD/Blog #35: Home was a Horse Stall

Home was a horse stall is a story about a Japanese American named Sox and her family, who were personally affected by Executive Order 9066, and the Civilian Exclusion Order No. 27 which kicked out Japanese American from the West Coast and forced them into internment camos which were governed under Marshall law. The story's name comes from the tiny, crowded living quarter which the Sox's family was forced to live in after their forced move. It was disheartening to see the Land of the Free which gave equal opportunities in the pursuit of happiness wrong this family based on racist ideas and the actions of people on the other side of the world. Another issue I had was the condemnation and widespread awareness of the holocaust and the actions of Nazi Germany, while these atrocities were taking place at the same time at home. That's not to say that Holocaust awareness is a bad thing, I'm just angry that so many other horrible things like this and the Armenian Genocide occurred without much publicity due to conflicting interests. It was sickening to see US citizens degraded and abused, just because of their race. This is especially sad since Sox's family had no commitment to the Japanese and never criticized the US government either. I feel that children were the most impacted by this as they were ripped from their friends, school, and lives all because of the actions of a country they might never even have set foot on.  In 1988, the US government realized its mistake in its actions and proceeded to put a band-aid on a bullet hole by awarding up to $20,000 dollars and an apology for their actions. The money could never fix the permanent damage caused by these experiences or make up for the time lost in these camps.

Internment Camps
 

These action reminded me of the Patriot Act which was signed into law in October 2001 as a response to the tragedy on 9/11. This act, which was designed to prevent any future terror attacks, instead ended up eroding the liberties of US citizens by allowing the government to search telephone, email, and financial records without a court order. It also allows Sneek and Peek Searches, which allows government agents with search warrants to enter a house, apartment, or office while the occupant is away and search through property and even seize property, all without the knowledge of the owner. It has been criticized as an opportunistic bill that took advantage of a mourning nation, just like the emotional actions taken by FDR with the internment of Japanese Americans.