Reaction 7

Why were the Korean Comfort Women “silent” so long? To answer this question, one thing you will need to think about is how much women’s “worth” is tied to their status as virgins or “sexually pure” and how women who are not “pure” are shamed in societies. You also need to reflect on how rape has been characterized as simply an “unfortunate consequence” of war—this is not true, of course; rape does not “just happen.”
Why could the words and actions of Japanese officials and government be interpreted as attempts to further silence them?

During World War II, 80,000 to 200,000 Korean women were tricked into leaving their homes for what the Japanese government told them would be factories in which to work. Most of these Korean girls were in their teenage years, yet some were as young as twelve. They were chosen from their families to go work for the Japanese government in what they thought would be factories. Little did they know, but soon each girl would succumb to rape, abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, drug addictions, unbearable miscarriages, and death. These girls would later become known as Comfort Women, who were chosen as sex slaves to Japanese soldiers fighting in the war. Girls would be raped up to thirty times a day, satisfying one soldier right after the other. They were beaten and slapped until nearly dead by soldiers and officers who took pleasure in raping them. Those who did not commit suicide barely survived and/or were brutally murdered by soldiers. As this occurrence was wide-spread and well known throughout all of Asia, surprisingly, no Comfort Women chose to tell of their grievances or stand up to the Japanese government for doing this to the women of Korea. It was not until the late 1980's in which these traumatic stories started to be told.

Korean Comfort Women were silent for so many years because they were frowned upon in society as "unpure" if they had admitted to being a sex slave, or having sex with hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers. Another contributing factor could also be because it is not a woman's place in society to stand up and become verbal in any situation. A woman's role is to stand behind her husband, and never to question his authority. Past Comfort Women most likely chose not to expose their experiences simply because it was too painful emotionally to recollect and tell of their horrific experiences. 

In Asian cultures, a woman's worth may be based on her purity sexually. Women who are not virgins are looked down on in society, no matter the circumstance as to how they became "impure." At these camps, the girls who were virgins had the highest status, until after about five months, in which their status just dwindled after that. They were made to look like prostitutes. Even today, the Japanese government tries to portray the idea that the Korean girls became Comfort Women because they needed the money. So why would a woman want to put herself in the position of being shamed in society? That is why they stayed silent. The girls were stripped of the purity in which their culture so greatly valued. And to make matters worse, the past Comfort Women who tried to become normal members of the society once again after WWII could not assimilate comfortably despite their efforts. This is because many couldn't even have children, since the Japanese made conceiving nearly impossible. 

What appalls me the most is that the cases of the Comfort Women of WWII don't seem to be of any concern to the Japanese government whatsoever. They have been caught red handed and still are denying all accusations. They have used the excuse that they did not all know what was happening, or that these Korean women were not forced into prostitution, but more or less, they volunteered for the job. The pride of the Japanese government is over their heads and justice needs to be served to the Korean Comfort Women. The Japanese government has made it seem as if the rapes were just an "unfortunate consequence of the war," but nothing about this passive statement is moral. It is most definitely an understatement, by all means. I believe the Japanese refuse to admit their ties to Comfort Women because they initially lost the war. I feel they are sympathetic to themselves, and no one else. They could care less about the women who were scarred physically and emotionally for life. To be put into easier terms, the Japanese soldiers felt that everyone lost the war, so everyone was effected negatively somehow. And unfortunately, the Korean Comfort Women were caught under this umbrella of most traumatic experiences. I feel that still even today, the Japanese government attempts to silence the Korean Comfort Women because it would hurt the reputation of the country as a whole. They cannot risk admitting their mistakes in WWII, and therefore, must continue to deny all accusations made.Of course the Japanese government has given some compensation to the Comfort Women and their families, but all efforts were made towards individuals, and not to the Korean Comfort Women as a whole. They have yet to receive a public apology from the Japanese government, and being paid individually just further supports ideas in these women actually being prostitutes. 

Justice must be served to the Korean Comfort Women of WWII, as well as to all other girls who were tricked into sex slavery by the Japanese government. And most of all, these women deserve  a full acceptance back into society, as they were forced to have sex and should not be blamed for it. Their "impurity" is at the fault of the Japanese government, and they do not deserve to be excluded from society.

Freedom from Want & Freedom from Fear

Of FDR's four freedoms, the goal of freedom from want and freedom from fear especially reflect American and European experiences during the 1930s and 1940s. Briefly explain what FDR meant by "freedom from want" and "freedom from fear" and explain how the desire for these freedoms was the result of American and European experiences during the 1930s and 1940s.

On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his State of the Union Address to the United States Congress. In this speech, also known as the Four Freedoms speech, he proposed four points as fundamental freedoms humans "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy. His inclusion of the latter two freedoms, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear, went beyond the traditional American Constitutional values protected  by the First Amendment, and endorsed a right to economic security as well as an internationalist view of foreign policy that have come to be central tenets of American liberalism today. They also anticipated what would become known decades later as the "human security" paradigm in social science and economic development.

Freedom from want, straight from Roosevelt's mouth, means "economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the world." I believe that FDR is trying to say that there should not be any international trade barriers. FDR is trying to protect the future standard of living for the American worker and farmer by hoping to prevent another Depression after war. He wants to eliminate Americans feelings of need they experience during times of economic instability. For example, during the Great Depression, more and more people tended to go the movies and take part in more leisure activities because, although it was only causing them to become more in debt, they could escape the harsh reality of Depression through these films and other forms of entertainment. Roosevelt wanted to stop the foolish spending of money on unnecessary activities for American families. If Americans could share this freedom from Want, they could pull out of Depression, somewhat at least, and stop Americans desire for things they do not need. Internationally, this means that countries shouldn't trust each other whole-heartedly because at any given time, a country's considered ally may turn on it.

"Freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world." The main goal behind this fourth freedom was to decrease the amount of arms so that nations may not go against each other. If two neighboring countries strongly disliked one another, what better way to take the other out than to use weapons? But if the weapons have been removed, there is no way to be aggressive against the enemy, therefore, removing all possibilities of war. FDR used this as a goal to benefit "the future days, which we seek to make secure." Ultimately, freedom from fear was strongly desired, as Americans didn't want to live in fear of being attacked or of loved ones at war being killed.

During the 1930s and 1940s, the Great Depression caused banks to collapse, industries to go bankrupt, and many people to lose their jobs in America. In Europe, another Depression took place which was far more devastating than in America, as countries were in debt and still recovering from WWI and agricultural land was destroyed, causing many to starve. As Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, fear was instilled in all Americans. FDR wanted nothing more than to destroy all feelings of fear and of need in America, as his job was to not only physically protect all American citizens, but also to keep a country in which all Americans should feel safe and secure. He further promoted this idea for Europe, and desired for international stability. It was war that cause the desire for freedom from want, and freedom from fear, for freedom from want would stop the American people from distracting themselves of the war and freedom from fear would help all nations to feel secure once again.

Alain Locke's book of essays, entitled "The New Negro," is a literary work in which came to symbolize the Harlem Renaissance. During the Harlem Renaissance, not only was African art, jazz, blues, dancing, and poetry flourishing, but so were the people who created it. In an excerpt, Locke describes many of the ways in which the "New Negro" has formed and is taking a new stand in society. For African Americans, it was a time of "rising racial self-consciousness, growing awareness of the interconnections between black Americans and persons of African descent elsewhere in the world, and of a vibrant black cultural community that established links with New York's artistic mainstream." Blacks were on their way to re-establishing stereotypes and were discovering ways in which they could take pride in their heritage. Locke describes the younger generation of the "New Negro" as being "vibrant with a new psychology." African Americans truly had their own Progressive Era as a race. They were working towards a newer, more contemporary, lifestyle. The reason as to why Locke refers to "The day(s) of 'aunties,''uncles,'and 'mammies'" as being "equally gone" was because of the numerous changes being made within the African community during the Harlem Renaissance. I believe Locke was, more or less, trying to support the idea of "out with the old, and in with the new." This makes sense because Locke writes about all the changed attitudes and lifestyles of the "New Negro," which would imply that some traditional habits would cease to exist. One of these old habits would be the title of family members. As opposed to the traditional, "auntie," "uncle," and "mammie," the "New Negro" may begin to use other, more proper, names such as "aunt" or "mother." Locke writes, "The popular melodrama has about played itself out, and it is time to scrap the fictions, garret the bogeys and settle down to a realistic facing of facts." Locke goes on to discuss that while many changes have been made in creating the "New Negro," some traditions have remained. Yet "the traditional lines of opinion drawn have rendered these quite obsolete." Furthermore, Locke states key points in describing the "New Negro" and does so successfully. His excerpt was factual and to the point. His support in "rehabilitating the (African) race in world esteem from that loss of prestige for which the fate and conditions of slavery have so largely been responsible" was noble and justified.