December 7, 1941 is a day that will never be forgotten in U.S. history. The horrific attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii not only entered the United States into World War II, but it also started a smaller scale war on American soil. The surprise attack was by the Japanese and only by them which later in turn raised uncertainty in the safety of American soil with Japanese living there. February 19, 1942 was the start of Japanese internment camps where 120,000 Japanese were forced to relocate to ensure the safety of American soil.
The internment camp went on legally existing for three years and ended in 1945. The lives of all Japanese did not return to its original form as the perspective of them was forever changed after Pearl Harbor. Post camp era was a struggle for the life of a Japanese even when the rules and regulations were changed again for the Japanese. There was still a bit of friction between the Japanese and the United States. The U.S. officials may have removed the rules and regulations for the Japanese, but their terror affiliated identity remained the same to the people in the United States. Most Americans eventually developed a fixed image of the Japanese from all the past events and probably even a chance of fright. This image initially developed from the white house and eventually it was spread throughout the United States to become the societal view of Japanese. The Japanese would continue to live their lives tackling all racially influenced obstacles that came their way. There were many aspects of their lives that were greatly affected by this societal view. The main aspects were the treatment they received, the additional rules that only they needed to follow, and the image of the kind of people they are. It is unfairness when others are able to influence others on the view of another without giving the victims a chance to influence them for themselves. Treatment towards the Japanese was without a doubt influenced by an one's fixed perspective of them.
There has been a lot of riots and community gatherings for multiple injustice events that has occurred within the United States within the past ten years. In the 1940s, the target racial group was the Japanese. It is now the African-American people here in the United States. The Japanese have lived their lives and organically changed the perspective of the American people's fixed image of them. The African-Americans are now fighting the same battle the Japanese once did here on American soil. In America, it seems that once a racial group makes an impact with their behavior and actions, that is all they are known for. Authority figures would then react a certain way and an image of the group would be forever cemented with them for the time being.
The African-American community in the United States realized the American perspective of their people when the fatal incident involving Oscar Grant occurred on Jan 1, 2009. A Oakland BART police officer was in the process of arresting Grant and decided to take out his handgun instead of the taser when the arrest turned physical. It was the moment that the American people realized how African-Americans were treated on American soil. Before this event, there were many protests and gatherings for African-American rights and equality. The unequal actions taken then by authority figures were seen again in the early morning arrest of Grant. It appears a fixed perspective of a racial group is truly fixed and unbreakable. After this event, there were many more similar altercations involving authority figures and the African-American group. Each involved immediate force escalation because of the nature of the racial group that pre-existed. It is evident that there is a different treatment towards African-Americans and a fixed perspective of the kind of people they are. It is understood now, that the authority in the United States has the capability of spreading a societal view of racial groups.
Barry Huang
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