tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13716931.post112532364351933053..comments2023-06-23T18:28:12.061+10:00Comments on Bowling for Illidan: Race and Power: Tales of the South Seasboy_fromOzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12354698665016613894noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13716931.post-1125360534755420432005-08-30T10:08:00.000+10:002005-08-30T10:08:00.000+10:00I've deleted the first 4 comments, which were unfo...I've deleted the first 4 comments, which were unfortunately the first spam that this blog's attracted. <BR/> <BR/>Lone Ranger - I don't have contempt for the society I live in (Australia), as would have been obvious if you'd read the whole article. The people who hold our democracy in contempt are the ones who whitewash its past, such as those who respond to reasoned argument with infantile cliches like 'why don't you go live in [substitute 3rd world country]'.<BR/><BR/>CJ - every society likes its history in black and white. The Asian countries are hardly blameless in this department, as noted in the post. But I don't live there, I live here, so I'm grapppling with our history and self-conception in the West. <BR/><BR/>I don't believe that US or Australian history is solely a narrative of white dominance, an impression readers may have mistakenly taken from the post - I was merely noting that this is how it's been deconstructed by some postmodernist critics. Nor do I think that a constructed 'other' is indispensable to the US or Australian national identity (why should it be, for societies based on principles of secular liberal democracy?). But I do think that historically there have been strong strains of this in the self-conception of both countries, and that we need to acknowledge and deal with this if we're to move past it.<BR/><BR/>As to the internment of Japanese-Americans, I think it's become something of a whipping dog for US conduct of the Pacific War itself, partly because it happened on US soil to US citizens and partly because it's less nakedly barbaric. We had a similar episode down here with the internment of German Australians during the war, but it's lucky to get a sentence in our history books.boy_fromOzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12354698665016613894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13716931.post-1125349509792277412005-08-30T07:05:00.000+10:002005-08-30T07:05:00.000+10:00The fact of the matter is that most Americans like...The fact of the matter is that most Americans like their history in black & white. No grays need apply.<BR/><BR/>When the Cold War ostensibly ended, so too did a large part of the American identity. That is why so many people on both sides of the political fence have taken such a shining to the War on Terror (incidentally, the first war on a feeling that I think this country has ever declared). <BR/><BR/>There is still debate as to the merits of the Japanese-American internment camps of World War II. With that in mind, don't expect any large scale soul-searching on our behavior in World War II, a much more slipper topic.Gray Flannel Suithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01705957477850554642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13716931.post-1125329945576501972005-08-30T01:39:00.000+10:002005-08-30T01:39:00.000+10:00If you have so much contempt for the society in wh...If you have so much contempt for the society in which you live, why don't you just leave it? I'm sure North Korea would be happy to take you. How do you like tree bark stew?Lone Rangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13278448546799358207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13716931.post-1125329831741355402005-08-30T01:37:00.000+10:002005-08-30T01:37:00.000+10:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13716931.post-1125328810311179022005-08-30T01:20:00.000+10:002005-08-30T01:20:00.000+10:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13716931.post-1125328107733465942005-08-30T01:08:00.000+10:002005-08-30T01:08:00.000+10:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13716931.post-1125327228833046672005-08-30T00:53:00.000+10:002005-08-30T00:53:00.000+10:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com