[richlevy]

Originally posted by slang


Though this was a terrible thing, they were not tortured and killed as I remember. IRC they did lose their businesses.

So you're saying that the American people do or did have much of the same complacency toward certain minorities in times of war or crisis as the German people did during the Nazi regime? And that we should see that as a warning to ourselves....that even we, the great believers of truth and justice, fell into the same trap?

I don't know if complacency is the word I would use. Animosity and racial prejudice are more accurate, IMO. The irony is that I read a book about active German spy cells in the US during WWII. In some cases, pro-German sympathizers were given a great deal of freedom. This should not be surprising in a free country, except when compared to the treatment of Japanese Americans.

As for losing their businesses and homes, that is another byproduct of prejudice. It can be very profitable for groups willing to prey on those disenfranchised by prejudice. Anti-Semitism has made many people and institutions rich.

As for a warning, I do believe that we should scrutinize every action taken on our behalf. Secret trials are a very dangerous precedent. I can see a dozen men being so dangerous that they must be tried in secret courts to prevent the downfall of this country. When it approaches hundreds, I'll know that we have entered a very dark place.