Everyone here knows what happened to the Japanese American community in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  They were rounded up, herded into camps and generally treated in ways that we can look back on and see were grossly unfair.

So what was the response of the American Japanese community? Why, they sent their sons into the US Army, to form two units, the 442 Regt. from the mainland, and the 100th from Hawaii, and gave their country the most decorated for heroism units in our armed forces.

Now let's move forward 60 years. As in 1942, the previous year has seen a vile sneak attack by a foreign enemy, this time an Arab enemy.  So what is the response of the Arab American population, who have suffered few if any of the indignities accorded the Japanese citizens of 60 years ago?  Have they sent their young people to volunteer for service? Have they asked to be first in line to fight those who have discredited their people? Have they decided that they need to "go for broke", the slogan of the 442nd RCT, to prove themselves as Americans who love their country?

We all know what the answer is.  They've bitched and moaned about their treatment.  Few if any have condemmed in any strong way the events of 9/11.  And now they're complaining about fingerprinting their foreign relatives who come to visit.

Give me a break!

For some reasons nobody seems to remember that Americans of German and Italian descent were treated the same. While their sons served overseas, fighting Japan and Nazi Germany, many Americans were dragged into camps allegedly for being suspect of Nazi activity. The last German Americans imprisoned in camps in the US weren't released until 1948, 3 years after the war in Europe ended.

I might add details and urls later tonite if there's any interest.

i'd be interested in seeing your sources. i know that some germans and italians were imprisoned, but i was not aware of any attempt to round up all german-americans and throw them into camps.

OK, seems there actually /is/ some interest, will post details at around 8pm MDT. (when I'll have access to my own computer)

[b]getting back on topic[/b], shamayim did bring up a valid point. and i know in these politically correct times, what i want to say will either be construed as being racist or some other more vile term. so ill keep that to myself. however, let me say that i believe in fingerprinting ALL the non-citizen arabs. we can not trust them. most of the arguments have been or is still being hashed out on another post. a lot of my friends and i, do not trust middle eastern people. im not going to apoligize for that sentiment.  they brought that shit on themselves.

Re the arrest of German and Italian background people here in 1942, may I recommend a very old book.  If you can find it, read "Under Cover" by John Roy Carlson; published in 1942 or 43.

Carlson was an Armenian American reporter who became interested in the Fascist roups here in the US after his Bishop (I believe) was murdered by an Armenian Fascist organization.  When he began to investigate the group, he quickly discovered their links to the German-American Nazis, and the Italian American Fascists.  Adopting an Italian name and identity, he started going to their meetings. After WW2 started in Europe, he went to the FBI, turned over the info he'd gained and went back under cover at the behest of the Bureau.

While I'm sure that there were some otherwise innocent German and Italian Americans detained during the sweeps after Pearl Harbor, the vast majority who were picked up were in fact engaged in working for the Nazis before and after we got into the war.  As far as I know, any of them held after 1945 were in fact serving prison sentences after having been convicted of crimes.  If Kar98 has any info about anyone held postwar who wasn't serving a prison sentence, I'd be interested in seeing it.

Here we go:

[url]http://www.foitimes.com/internment/[/url]

AMEN BROTHER!
Something that most people tend to forget is the fact that these resident aliens and "visitors" do not have, nor do they deserve the the same rights as American citizens.
It is a priviledge for them to even be here... nothing more, nothing less. I'm sick and tired of being accused of being a "predudice right wing conservitive" simply because I believe in protecting my Family and the American way. I can honestly say that I am not a biggot nor will I associate with biggots.
Having spent a good bit of time traveling the planet while in the military and as a civilian,
I understand why people want to come to American and I don't fault them for it.
However, they need to remember that they are guest in our country. Would you let a guest from another country spend the night in your home without getting a little background information on them? If you answer yes, then you will probable get and deserve the worst possible outcome.
On a related subject, is anyone else bothered by the fact that many signs and literature that you pay for with your tax dollars are in two or more languages. Even voting ballots are now in other languages. I read that San Francisco has ballots in eight different languages. You mean to tell me that you want to vote, but you can't speak or read well enough in english to know which handle to pull in a voting booth!
SOMEBODY PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME BEFORE I GO CRAZY!

A salient point, but IMO the conditions are different.  This is not another WW2.  Military activity has been limited - theres no clear cut country to invade, no uniformed/insignia wearing enemy soldiers to target, no beaches to storm, and unlike an infantry intensive ww2 where EVERYBODY goes and fights our military has yet to be used in its full capacity as it is.  This, as I see it, is a war of policy (i.e. the 'war' on drugs, etc) and paperwork - not a full scale conventional Military War.  After 9/11, military enlistment didn't increase or decrease significantly - it pretty much stayed the same, regardless of the race of those enlisting.  If this was another WW2 and everybody but Arab Americans were serving, then yes I'd come down on them hard for that.  As of now, however, the need just isn't there.  JMHO.

while the link is believable and highlights reprehensible behavior by the US govt during and after ww2, it doen not speak directly to your point. the links are to proposals to INVESTIGATE allegations of internment, and the video is about arrest, incarceration and exchange of german nationals from LATIN AMERICA.

nevertheless, interesting and important. thanks.

Huh. I'll have to ask my grandfather if his father got any hassles over being a German immigrant after the US entered WWII. My grandfather was born here and enlisted in the AAC right after Pearl Harbor.

As Kar98 was saying.

My great-grandfather came to the US in the late 1800's. My home town had, and to a certain degree still, a large German population. While there were no internment camps, there were several men I knew who had to come to town once a week come hell or high water to check in with the authorities. After all, they may have been spies. Reporting on grain production (this was in SW Nebraska) to the fatherland or something.Probation if you will.

Correct. You won't find it any school history book however, because it belies the myth that the internments were simply racism directed against non-whites. In fact those textbooks make the point that whites were unaffected!

There was a PBS show on Italian-Americans last year that delved into it. It was just a nationalistic security impulse and not the overt racism it is portrayed as.

[edited to add: If I remember correctly from that show - PBS has put out a few of these on Jewish-Americans, Japanese-Americans, German-Americans, etc, etc. - none of the italian-americans interned were in the end prosecuted for anything.]