John, wow. The excerpts of your interview with your grandmother, the personal details and stories, the image of the government registry, the map of the internment camp, glimpses of the Manzanar Free Press and the co-op at work, plus your own photos from when you visited... all of it together made this a particularly powerful post. It underscores the reality that these things happened to real people in a specific time and place and that the effects reverberate into the present. I really appreciated the excerpt from the Pacific Citizen editorial at the end for the clarity it provides on what our common goals ought to be. While it’s hard to speak in generalities and still maintain accuracy, my sense is that the spirit of the age is one of seeking victory, whether for the aggrieved or for those who don’t wish to relinquish dominance. No matter who “wins,” in a pluralistic society, such victory can only be pyrrhic. So we have to concentrate our efforts on the things that will support peaceful coexistence and mutual thriving in shared space and time. I often think of what Dalia Eshkenazi Landau, whose family fled Europe and settled in Israel following the Holocaust, said: “Our enemy is the only partner we have.” (From The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan)
John, thanks for giving us a glimpse of your family's indignant and appalling internment. I'm really struck by the photos, and so glad you included them; they compound the bleakness to the story. The gratitude expressed by your grandparents in the ad says so much about their character.
John, thank you for sharing such personal and painful family history. I am freshly sobered and angry at the inhumane actions of our government toward your family and thousands of others. They acted without compassion and out of fear and ignorance which sadly are still major components of our political landscape. I’m glad your family left you such a legacy of integrity which you carry today.
Thanks for being willing to take us to that place with you... both geographically and emotionally. While I lament having such a place in our collective national past, I celebrate that at this point it is only in the past (and I pray it remains as such). Be well, my friend.
Thank you for sharing and walking me through this personal journey. I think it's such an important chapter to revisit and literally walk our history and experience it, as the journey, the feet on dirt, affords us the opportunity to feel what our elders felt and connects our past with our future. Thank you.
Thank you for opening up this thoughtful glimpse into your experience on Sunday, your lifelong journey of understanding your family’s experiences, and the concrete lessons about America and social/racial democracy you share. I’m grateful for how well you steward this history, how meaningful this pilgrimage was, and how it all informs your prophetic voice in this generation. I wish your grandpa Tai had lived as long a life as your grandmother—it’s clear our world would have been better in many ways if he had been honored appropriately as a citizen and hero and grown old in peace.
Thank you for sharing your family’s story and placing it in the context of where we find ourselves now. I can imagine the range of emotions you felt that day.
I needed to find a different kind of heart for this one; the standard "Like" wasn't up to the task. This ❤️🩹 mending heart seemed more suited, John; broken, wounded, but mending. Your description alone, the recollection of accounts from parents and grandparents...to say nothing of your own experiences in walking through those now hallowed grounds; thank you for reminding us of this shameful period in our nation's history. With you, we pray that we will never forget, and that God will break hearts that are too hard, and bring healing to those that have been broken by the remaining legacies of racial hostility.
John, thanks for telling your family story with so much helpful detail. I’ve been to Manzanar and it is starkly chilling. My family also were imprisoned at Tule Lake. We must keep telling our stories.
Thank you so much for sharing your reflections on the story of your family. Like you, my father and uncles and their immigrant parents were also interned (@ Gila River). The impact of what they endured lasted well beyond when they left camp. It’s a story of America that we must keep telling. Thanks and God bless.
John, wow. The excerpts of your interview with your grandmother, the personal details and stories, the image of the government registry, the map of the internment camp, glimpses of the Manzanar Free Press and the co-op at work, plus your own photos from when you visited... all of it together made this a particularly powerful post. It underscores the reality that these things happened to real people in a specific time and place and that the effects reverberate into the present. I really appreciated the excerpt from the Pacific Citizen editorial at the end for the clarity it provides on what our common goals ought to be. While it’s hard to speak in generalities and still maintain accuracy, my sense is that the spirit of the age is one of seeking victory, whether for the aggrieved or for those who don’t wish to relinquish dominance. No matter who “wins,” in a pluralistic society, such victory can only be pyrrhic. So we have to concentrate our efforts on the things that will support peaceful coexistence and mutual thriving in shared space and time. I often think of what Dalia Eshkenazi Landau, whose family fled Europe and settled in Israel following the Holocaust, said: “Our enemy is the only partner we have.” (From The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan)
John, I grieve the injustice and suffering inflicted on your family. Your sharing of their story honors them and honors God. Thank you.
John, thanks for giving us a glimpse of your family's indignant and appalling internment. I'm really struck by the photos, and so glad you included them; they compound the bleakness to the story. The gratitude expressed by your grandparents in the ad says so much about their character.
John, thank you for sharing such personal and painful family history. I am freshly sobered and angry at the inhumane actions of our government toward your family and thousands of others. They acted without compassion and out of fear and ignorance which sadly are still major components of our political landscape. I’m glad your family left you such a legacy of integrity which you carry today.
Thanks for being willing to take us to that place with you... both geographically and emotionally. While I lament having such a place in our collective national past, I celebrate that at this point it is only in the past (and I pray it remains as such). Be well, my friend.
Thank you for sharing and walking me through this personal journey. I think it's such an important chapter to revisit and literally walk our history and experience it, as the journey, the feet on dirt, affords us the opportunity to feel what our elders felt and connects our past with our future. Thank you.
This is really beautiful. Thanks so much for writing and sharing it with us.
Thank you for opening up this thoughtful glimpse into your experience on Sunday, your lifelong journey of understanding your family’s experiences, and the concrete lessons about America and social/racial democracy you share. I’m grateful for how well you steward this history, how meaningful this pilgrimage was, and how it all informs your prophetic voice in this generation. I wish your grandpa Tai had lived as long a life as your grandmother—it’s clear our world would have been better in many ways if he had been honored appropriately as a citizen and hero and grown old in peace.
Thank you for sharing your family’s story and placing it in the context of where we find ourselves now. I can imagine the range of emotions you felt that day.
I needed to find a different kind of heart for this one; the standard "Like" wasn't up to the task. This ❤️🩹 mending heart seemed more suited, John; broken, wounded, but mending. Your description alone, the recollection of accounts from parents and grandparents...to say nothing of your own experiences in walking through those now hallowed grounds; thank you for reminding us of this shameful period in our nation's history. With you, we pray that we will never forget, and that God will break hearts that are too hard, and bring healing to those that have been broken by the remaining legacies of racial hostility.
John, thanks for telling your family story with so much helpful detail. I’ve been to Manzanar and it is starkly chilling. My family also were imprisoned at Tule Lake. We must keep telling our stories.
Indeed.
Thank you so much for sharing your reflections on the story of your family. Like you, my father and uncles and their immigrant parents were also interned (@ Gila River). The impact of what they endured lasted well beyond when they left camp. It’s a story of America that we must keep telling. Thanks and God bless.
Your point about lasting impact is spot on. Thank you!