Don’t be manipulated by Linda Hutchinson
By
Kathy Wilson
Posted: 2024-10-27T00:00:00Z
Don’t be manipulated
The purpose of disinformation is to manipulate us into doubting what we know to be true.
During World War II, the United States interned approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent. Two-thirds were American citizens. They were denied their civil liberties of due process and equal protection. They were interned simply because of their Japanese heritage and not for any illegal action they had taken. They were interned without being charged with a crime, without access to an attorney, and without a hearing before a judge. The Commission on Incarceration of Japanese Americans concluded that no act of sabotage or espionage was committed by Japanese Americans during World War II. President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, acknowledging the injustice of the internment, providing reparations, and establishing a public education fund. (National Archives — archives.gov.)
On Jan. 6, 2021, we all watched as insurrectionists voluntarily committed illegal actions that included assaulting police officers, entering restricted areas with weapons, and destroying government property. Those illegal actions were taken to interfere with an official government proceeding. Approximately 1,500 defendants have been charged with crimes related to actions they chose to take in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection. Regardless of the outcome in individual cases, each of those American citizens was afforded their civil liberty of due process under the law. They were offered attorney access and received a hearing before a judge. (U.S. Department of Justice — justice.gov
Japanese internment is completely different from prosecution of Jan. 6 insurrectionists. One was the denial of civil liberties and was based solely on heritage rather than illegal actions. The other was prosecution for illegal actions taken voluntarily, and in each of those cases, the defendants were afforded due process. To equate these two historical events is disinformation intended to manipulate.
— Linda Hutchinson, Loveland