Tom Hanks insults our troops in Pacific interview

[rickrock305]

Hanks and the rest of the Hollywood retards need to understand that when one is in a killing war with an enemy, in a fight to the death, it is not conducive to one's survival, let alone victory, to view that enemy as a beautiful and luminous human being. Instead you see him as the dirty subhuman animal that he is, who will tear our head off, reach down the neck hole, and eat our heart raw.

i think thats all he was really saying.

[rickrock305]

But, the point is, that is not the reason we went to war against the Japanese. They attacked us.

but he never said that was why we went to war.

the bit about racism...well there were Japanese internment camps here in the US.

[Belmont31R]

Actually, there were some significant Americans in the 1930s who did exactly that and urged Roosevelt to sign a neutrality agreement with Germany. Anyone remember Charles Lindbergh?

I was going to say the same thing. We had (and still have) lots of communists and nazis in the US supporting our enemies, and wanting us out of the war. Communism wasn't really a dirty word and political position until the Cold War, and since that ended communism is becoming what it was in the 20's and 30's.... FDR was a huge socialist who was running rampant in the 30's instituting socialism in the US, and his failed policies were "bailed out" by WW2. Pretty much the entire 30's under FDR was a depression, and a couple recessions. The war on the Supreme Court, court packing, the new deal, Social Security Act, etc. A lot of the entitlement mentality comes from FDR's terms as president. But anyways there were huge open rallies around nazism (national socialists) and communism right in the streets. Read up on some old unions like the AFL-CIO.... a lot of these big unions came about from communist organizers trying to mass people together to push for "change". ACORN and SEIU are same thing different name and people.




In regards to Tom Hanks he is a typical liberal who will say and do anything to disparage people he doesn't like. Why "conservatives" toss money at these people is beyond me. I don't subscribe to HBO because its full of anti-America full on douche liberals. Check our Bill Maher on HBO. These are the types of people HBO employs. I wouldn't buy a cheese burger from a stand that had employees talking about how much America sucks and how we're all just racists for defending the country let alone pay them for entertainment.

[jtb0311]

The Pacific War was indeed tinged with racism on both sides, far more than the war in Europe. This has been widely acknowledged amongst historians for many years, it isn't some insult that Tom Hanks came up with.

[xrayoneone]

The Pacific War was indeed tinged with racism on both sides, far more than the war in Europe. This has been widely acknowledged amongst historians for many years, it isn't some insult that Tom Hanks came up with.

You're right about that. The whole concentration camp thing had nothing to do with racism or bigotry.

Tom Hanks is an idiot. Anybody watch Greenzone? Makes you wish they failed when they saved Private Ryans dumbass.

[Iraq Ninja]

Can you image our Government putting out these kinds of posters today?

[travistheone]

We shoulda used the big bomb earlier.

I thank the lord, everytime the atomic bomb comes up. I am alive today because of that bomb.

Both grand fathers served in WWII, one in the pacific, and one as a bombardier over germany and france.

A closed mouth gathers no foot. These celebs are movie stars, not political analysts or historians, so they should keep their opinion out of the public. No matter what they say, someone will be pissed.

[dmancornell]

You're right about that. The whole concentration camp thing had nothing to do with racism or bigotry.

Tom Hanks is an idiot. Anybody watch Greenzone? Makes you wish they failed when they saved Private Ryans dumbass.

What kind of response is that? The concentration camps had nothing to do with the fighting war, they were creations of political terror.

There was plenty of racism going both ways in the Pacific war, and whoever instigated the conflict does not change historical fact. The racist rhetoric on both sides was encouraged by government propagandists for morale and financial reasons.

[thopkins22]

Every single nation did horrible things during that war. The Germans, Americans, British, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, and so forth. We won so our terrible things are considered less terrible.

A couple of people mentioned the nuclear bombs, but let's not forget the firebombing...we too slaughtered hundreds of thousands of civilians and injured millions.

BTW...just because some actor says something doesn't make it worth listening to, nor does it automatically mean he thinks poorly of veterans nor those currently serving.

[CGSteve]

The article to me read like Hanks is trying to compare the Pacific theater of WWII to the war on terror today, mentioning suicide attacks. Modern jihadists are fanatics, as were the Imperial Japanese. The similarities really end there.

The part he said about racism however is true, and as a former serviceman, I don't think he is making a disparaging remark on them, or their service. He is simply acknowledging the line of thought of the time.

Our very own service was segregated, as was everything else in the country at home. Mind you, the War offered millions of jobs to women, and ethnic minorities, but that doesn't mean they were "accepted" as your average "white" Americans.

Like the Germans, the Japanese also thought they were the superior "race" in the East, and their cruelty to the people of the Asian nations they occupied is well known and documented.

It is true that there is a psychological tactic in dehumanizing the enemy with embellished physical/personality traits, slurs, and exaggerated caricatures in propaganda, but I would not doubt that these sentiments fell far from the mark even before the war started for Americans.

A racial type slur was derived for the enemy in all major subsequent wars (typing them would get me in trouble but think about Korea and Vietnam and you'll figure it out), and there is a term for the people in Afghanistan and Iraq today. In fairness, there was a term for the Germans too, and they were white. That term however doesn't resonate as strongly as terms for the Japanese for that reason in my opinion. Also, you can apply a lot more of the romanticism of WWII to the European campaign, whereas there was none at al in the Pacific.

I think we are all racist in some way, and that's fine, none of it bothers or offends me. There is however, "true racism", "friendly racism", and just being "situationally aware" given your environment, but I won't go into what I mean for the three to not hijack the thread.