Bataan Death March?

Question

Why is it when people (liberals, I assume) label the U.S. as a war criminal for nuking Hiroshima, then let Japan off so easily for the Bataan Death March?

Answer 1

Good questions people tend to over look what the other countries during war time. It seems that people only want to see what they want to see when it comes to something like war. War is not pretty, people get captured. It's up those soldiers who capture enemy soldiers to take care of them. Rules of war were written up to make sure prisoners of war were taken care off The Geneva Convention. So since America has been looked about as a Military might and the developes of the atomic bomb people forget that the other side too did terrible things to the civilians of the countries they occupied and the soldiers they capture too. It's easy to point the finger at country like the US because they are a powerful nations forgetting that the Japanese weren't nice people either. Just now news stories are coming out that the Japanese did medical experimented on Chinese civilans and captured soldiers during World War 2 like the Nazi did to the Jewish People in the camps. The Japanese are asked to apologize for forcing white women staying in their prison camps and other women that lived in countries they occupied for forcing to sleep with Japanese soldiers during the war, they were called comfort women. All these things are slowly coming out in the open. But it will take time for people to see that the other side didn't play fairly either during the last major war this planet has seen. All you have to do is keep reminding these people of the facts I just gave you and tell people that war is heck and people do get hurt in it. Nothing you can do about it. War is a game of survival of the fittest unfortunately and because nuclear bombs do kill people a lot of them and whole planet it makes them scare to think of other things that went on during World War 2.

Answer 2

I'm not exactly a liberal, but I understand some of the viewpoints:
1) The soldiers of Bataan were, well, soldiers, they had made a decision, actively or passively, to accept death or capture. the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were largely civilians, and those cities were of the least possible military importance--a fact which spared them from much conventional bombing and so made the perfect, "virgin" targets to show the power of the A-bomb clearly.
2) The U.S. practiced the imprisonment of citizens of Japanese decent without trial, and thus, may have already forfeited at least some of the moral high ground regarding Bataan.
3) Oriental war customs did not really include the idea of the humane treatment of prisonners, but western diplomats had already outlined the kiling of civilians and killing on such a vast scale as unpermittable. Therefore, we knew better and they didn't.
4) The U.S. did not run a nuclear mission against Germany. (note: it was planned, but the Germans didn't last long enough for us to nuke them.) Some have misinterpretted this as the result of an acceptance of white mass-murderers, such as Hitler, over an oriental warlord)
5) The Japanese cabinet was, at the time of Hiroshima, making ineffective peace overtures to the U.S., though these failed tragically due to a misunderstand of one member's use of the word "mokusatsu"--interprettable as either "to remain in wise inaction" or "to hold in contempt"--to describe the cabinet's intended response to one American offer for surrender. Some, however, feel that the failure of the talks was due to alleged American unwillingness to make peace.
6) The after-effects of that bombing have included the possibility of the end of civilization--an effect worse than any other in history. Some have measured their judgement of the bomb by this fact.

Answer 3

What do liberals have to do with it? And what good does placing blame do? It won't bring people back. Years ago I knew a high school librarian, female, who was in the Women's Army Corps and survived the Bataan Death March or something similar. Also a history teacher whose hand was damaged in the war in the Philippines. This was 1954-55, and both were still obviously marked by their experiences. She was a skinny, frightened little lady, old before her time, and he was often embittered and sarcastic toward his students. War is Hell on everybody, liberals and conservatives alike. Kills 'em all just as fast, too.

Answer 4

I don't excuse the Bataan Death March, the massacres in China, or any of the other well-documented war crimes committed by Japan. Nor have I or anyone else I know ever "labeled" the decision to use the atomic bomb a war crime, per se. There may even be truth to the argument that it was the quickest way to end the war and thus ultimately save lives.

Being horrified by the effects of our 2 nuclear bombs ( you forgot Nagasaki) is not the same as declaring our country a war criminal. The bombs killed, scarred and contaminated thousands upon thousands of civilians, and survivors still have increased rates of cancer to this day. Why does being saddened by that cause some people (radical Republicans, I assume) to label others as unpatriotic?

Answer 5

Those who want to condemn the U.S. will always believe that the war started on August 6, 1945. Forget about Pearl Harbor and Bataan and China etc. The Japanese started the war so they got everything they deserved and they have no right to complain about victim status. Let them get in line behind the real victims.

Answer 6

There are some that believe that the U.S. is too nice of a country to do things like that. They feel guilty that so many had to die of something that the U.S. created. How many more Japanese would have died had the U.S. invaded Japan? Millions more would have died. Too many people cannot figure that out. Too many Liberals are those that protested the Vietnam War, now the Iraq War, and they still think in those terms instead of realizing WW II was a totally different war.

Answer 7

You're wrong about us letting Japan off the hook you know, the hate is the same, furthermore Japan started it!

Answer 8

Japan did not get off as easy as you might think

Answer 9

Hi,,,, because we have all these bleeding Heart Liberals that have No idea what went on,, and want to look good to others by cowering down and not standing up for what Our Men fought and died for..... Freedom...... They make me want to Puke!!!!

good luck