What is America's most shameful act in its history?

[LOLyourFace]

The slavery of African-Americans?
how about railroading building done by Chinese?
How about the things we did on THEIR soil?

I want to dispel the myths and face the facts why certain shut-ins still despise America today.

discuss.

 

[bradruth]

How about rounding up Japanese-Americans into concentration camps during WWII.

 

[MrBond]

I doubt it's the things we did in the past that cause a lot of the world to hate us. Look at Germany and the holocaust. That is WAY worse than ANYTHING anyone else has done and people don't hate Germany the way they hate America.

 

I think America's most shameful act is the brutality carried out by the Birmingham PD on black citizens, denying them the right to assemble. It's horrible to watch a supposedly tolerant nation as its peace officers turn fire hoses, tear gas, dogs and nightsticks on its enfranchised citizens.

 

[LOLyourFace]

waiting for the... (attacking iraq) post.

 

Originally posted by: LOLyourFace
waiting for the... (attacking iraq) post.

See, that's where I think you're wrong. I don't think there was anything inherently SHAMEFUL about what transpired in Iraq. Saddam was a cruel leader, and we fought his corrupt army to get him out of power. Good for us. It was the events LEADING UP TO the invasion of Iraq that could be construed as shameful. However, they're nowhere near as shameful as some of the earlier acts the government has committed against its own citizens.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: MrBond
I doubt it's the things we did in the past that cause a lot of the world to hate us. Look at Germany and the holocaust. That is WAY worse than ANYTHING anyone else has done and people don't hate Germany the way they hate America.

There's a "rule" in politics and business. "If it's 3 years, it's forever." If something has been the same for 3 years, then it's always been that. If it hasn't been done for 3 years, then it never was that way.

As the atrocities of other nations were committed more than 3 years ago, they never happened, while the US is everyone's favorite scapegoat right now.

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

slavery by far.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
slavery by far.

In general or of a particular race PowerMac4Ever?

 

[LAUST]

If not my father has a copy, I'll see if he can scan it in sometime

 

[Zim Hosein]

Originally posted by: LAUST
One of my fathers's best friends is a native American named Red Hawk. He is an artist and made a painting called "Trail of Broken Promises" it's a painting of an Indian made of of all the lies and treaties the US gov agreed with the Indians on then broke.

The list is much longer then most people today think.

Do you have a :camera: LAUST, that would be an interesting picture to see.

 

[Dragnov]

I'd say the Japanese concetration camps. While we're claiming to protect the rights of all humans and saying what the Germans did during WWII was horrendous, here we were doing the same thing on a smaller level albiet not as cruel. THis is in modern times where we definitely should have known better.

 

[bradruth]

I would have said slavery, but that wasn't a position taken by the government. If you say slavery, you're taking positions of individual landowners (many of them, of course). If we were to boil this down to acts of individuals, then wouldn't serial murder would be considered something terrible done by our country. I assume this means government-sanctioned action.

Slavery would be the worst thing that our country didn't do anything about for a long time.

 

[43st]

I think one of the worst things to ever happen in history was the targeting of civilians in WW2. Most of the major allied and axis players did it (London, Dresden, Hiroshima, etc...) but that doesn't excuse it in my mind. A pretty low time in world history, including the US.

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

Putting American citizens into internment camps during WWII. Not to mention seizing their land and property, it was never returned nor reimbursed, was it?

 

Originally posted by: Gr1mL0cK
I'd say the Japanese concetration camps. While we're claiming to protect the rights of all humans and saying what the Germans did during WWII was horrendous, here we were doing the same thing on a smaller level albiet not as cruel. THis is in modern times where we definitely should have known better.

They were DEFINITELY NOT CONCENTRATION CAMPS. They were INTERNMENT CAMPS. The Japanese-Americans were not forced to do work, were fed well, and did not face any sort of cruel medical experiments or other deadly experiences when they were interned. Please don't confuse concentration camps with internment camps. :|

 

[Pliablemoose]

Virtual genocide of American Indians.

 

[iamme]

Originally posted by: LAUST
One of my fathers's best friends is a native American named Red Hawk. He is an artist and made a painting called "Trail of Broken treaties" it's a painting of an Indian made of of all the lies and treaties the US gov agreed with the Indians on then broke.

The list is much longer then most people today think.

i think the treatment of Native Americans is right up there (if not the worst), along with African-American slavery and the Japanese camps.

 

[kritical]

Janet Jackson exposing her breast during the Super Bowl halftime show

 

[bradruth]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: Gr1mL0cK
I'd say the Japanese concetration camps. While we're claiming to protect the rights of all humans and saying what the Germans did during WWII was horrendous, here we were doing the same thing on a smaller level albiet not as cruel. THis is in modern times where we definitely should have known better.

They were DEFINITELY NOT CONCENTRATION CAMPS. They were INTERNMENT CAMPS. The Japanese-Americans were not forced to do work, were fed well, and did not face any sort of cruel medical experiments or other deadly experiences when they were interned. Please don't confuse concentration camps with internment camps. :|

You're making the camps sound like a summer resort. The conditions were horrendous and there is no excuse for rounding up AMERICAN CITIZENS like cattle and detaining them.

 

[CanOWorms]

the actions done to American Indians

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Virtual genocide of American Indians.

The US succeeded where Hitler failed.

 

[LAUST]

Lookin for a Pic now, my father has an actual copy and I'll see if he will take a pic of it with his digi cam and send it to me

 

[datalink7]

Slavery

closly followed by

Native American relations (their slaughter and general screwing over)

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: bradruth

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: Gr1mL0cK
I'd say the Japanese concetration camps. While we're claiming to protect the rights of all humans and saying what the Germans did during WWII was horrendous, here we were doing the same thing on a smaller level albiet not as cruel. THis is in modern times where we definitely should have known better.

They were DEFINITELY NOT CONCENTRATION CAMPS. They were INTERNMENT CAMPS. The Japanese-Americans were not forced to do work, were fed well, and did not face any sort of cruel medical experiments or other deadly experiences when they were interned. Please don't confuse concentration camps with internment camps. :|

You're making the camps sound like a summer resort. The conditions were horrendous and there is no excuse for rounding up AMERICAN CITIZENS like cattle and detaining them.

I think he's protesting the fact that you're comparing them to the extermination of people. Both were horrendous, but the Japanese weren't exterminated.