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| | ==Get in== | | ==Get in== |
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| − | Independence is one of several small towns along US 395 through the Owens Valley in California. Pretty much the only reasonable way in is either from the north using US 395, or from the south using US 395. | + | Independence is one of several small towns along '''US highway 395''' through the [[Owens Valley]] in [[California]]. Pretty much the only reasonable way in '''by car''' is either from the north or south on US 395. |
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| | ==Get around== | | ==Get around== |
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| | In time of war, it is normal and accepted practice to imprison or confine citizens of an enemy country who reside in the opposing country. The Japanese Internment of World War II went far beyond these reasonable bounds. During World War II, all people of Japanese descent living on the west coast of the continental United States ''including American citizens'' were stripped of property and most belongings and sent into imprisonment at remote locations in the West. | | In time of war, it is normal and accepted practice to imprison or confine citizens of an enemy country who reside in the opposing country. The Japanese Internment of World War II went far beyond these reasonable bounds. During World War II, all people of Japanese descent living on the west coast of the continental United States ''including American citizens'' were stripped of property and most belongings and sent into imprisonment at remote locations in the West. |
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| − | To properly understand why this improper internment happened, one first needs to understand one basic fact: California had a significant history of racism against Asian peoples including preventing Asians from participating in the gold rush, blaming Asians for economic bad times and getting Japan to voluntarily reduce emigration to California, and forbidding Asians from owning land. | + | To properly understand why this improper internment happened, one first needs to understand some background: California had a significant history of racism against Asian peoples including preventing Asians from participating in the gold rush, blaming Asians for economic bad times and getting Japan to voluntarily reduce emigration to California, and forbidding Asians from owning land. |
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| | The Manzanar Relocation Camp is the best preserved example from this deplorable episode in American History, and is slowly being turned into a National Historic Site. | | The Manzanar Relocation Camp is the best preserved example from this deplorable episode in American History, and is slowly being turned into a National Historic Site. |
Manzanar was the site of an Internment Camp for people of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
In time of war, it is normal and accepted practice to imprison or confine citizens of an enemy country who reside in the opposing country. The Japanese Internment of World War II went far beyond these reasonable bounds. During World War II, all people of Japanese descent living on the west coast of the continental United States including American citizens were stripped of property and most belongings and sent into imprisonment at remote locations in the West.
To properly understand why this improper internment happened, one first needs to understand some background: California had a significant history of racism against Asian peoples including preventing Asians from participating in the gold rush, blaming Asians for economic bad times and getting Japan to voluntarily reduce emigration to California, and forbidding Asians from owning land.
The Manzanar Relocation Camp is the best preserved example from this deplorable episode in American History, and is slowly being turned into a National Historic Site.
In some Asian cultures, there is a severe injunction against being a troublemaker or being out of step with good behavior. For such Asians, to be interned or jailed is a mortifying embarrassment. If you should happen to meet someone who may have been interned, keep in mind that this embarrassment may (or may not!) apply.
