George Takei is on CNN talking about what FDR did to the Japanese including his family

[fun n serious]

It was a powerful discussion. He says Trump reminds him of that time. If "progressives" want democrats to go back to the time of FDR... I want NO part of it and will fight it in every way I can.

[HoneyBadger]

1. Let's not forget what FDR did to the Americans

As many were US citizens, not Japanese

[fun n serious]

2. Indeed.

FDR was a great president for white people.

[FarPoint]

3. I'm uncomfortable with your reference...

FDR was highly progressive for that ERA....It was what it was... Helped set the foundation for civil rights movement. We can learn from history as to not repeat what we know now as being unacceptable..That point is what George Taki was trying to make.

[fun n serious]

4. It was wrong no matter what era.

It was not the only thing FDR did to show his preferred race

[fun n serious]

5. He turned away 200k Jews.. Lets not be like repukes and ignore facts.

Internment[edit]
Further information: Japanese American internment
Executive Order 9066, which sent 120,000 Japanese expatriates and American citizens of Japanese ancestry to be confined at internment camps, has been charged by critics as being racist. The Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality.

Treatment of Jesse Owens[edit]
After the 1936 Berlin Olympics, only the white athletes were invited to see and meet Roosevelt. No such invitation was made to the African American athletes such as Jesse Owens, who had won four gold medals. A widely believed myth about the 1936 games was that Hitler had snubbed Owens, something that never happened. Owens said, "Hitler didn't snub me--it was [Roosevelt] who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram."[47] However, Hitler had left after Owens's first gold medal win and did not meet him. Subsequently, he did not meet with any of the gold medalists. Owens lamented his treatment by Roosevelt, saying that he "wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President."[48]

Hugo Black[edit]
When Roosevelt appointed Hugo Black to the Supreme Court he apparently did not know that Black had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan.[49]

Anti-lynching legislation[edit]
Roosevelt condemned lynching as murder but did not support Republican proposals to make it a federal crime, although his wife Eleanor did so. FDR told an advocate, "If I come out for the anti-lynching bill now, they [Southern Democratic senators] will block every bill I ask Congress to pass to keep America from collapsing. I just can't take that risk."[50]

Failure to do enough for the Jews of Europe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Franklin_D._Roosevelt#Accusations_of_racism

[FarPoint]

6. Yes learn from history....

They did the best they could with in the boundaries of that ERA. ..No malice intended. Today, we understand it was unacceptable and why. Then, they did not understand.. To repeat the travesty as with tRump Mafia. Now that deserves the outrage.

[fun n serious]

7. Yes. FDR did many great things but he also made many mistakes.

I would not call him a great president. More mediocre.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. Winning World War ll, ending the Great Depression, and creating the safety net is mediocre?

Along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln he is one of the three most consequential presidents ever.

Did he makes mistakes? Of course, but they need to be evaluated in light of his entire record.

[LanternWaste]

39. Your metrics certainly validate your narrative

Your silent metrics certainly validate your narrative, regardless of any objectivity they may lack.

[nikibatts]

8. Nothing is ever simple. Trying to save a nation from collapse takes uncommon nerve and

stamina. Less than perfect decisions and choice must be made. Unless you walk in those shoes and carry the weight of a nation on your shoulders we should not rely on the nobility of hindsight to condemn the actions of people trying to do good for as many as possible. Barack Obama faced the like dilemma of going for the good of many in the face of fighting for the perfect for a few. Bill Clinton faced much the same.

History always condemns the good that fails to usher in the perfect.

[fun n serious]

9. That's a good point.

I can agree with that.

[TrekLuver]

15. From what I understand he failed with taking Jews in and with the Jews in Europe...

because of populism at home. The good old American people wanted no part of that war...or it's "problems"... While Britain was getting bombed to shit...and Churchill & the English were literally dying for help... America didn't want to get involved. Good old populism is to blame for that. And looks at what's happening now...we've come on round back again but now it's Muslims.

The internment without question is the biggest stain on his Presidency. Please let me know which President was perfect. He did pretty damn well considering the times.

[fun n serious]

16. There is no doubt about it.

He was a white nationalist. That's the truth.

[TrekLuver]

18. I don't know about him..I don't think he was it was the American People who were. He saw

the dangers of what the hell was going on with the Axis but public sentiment was really against getting involved.

He's ranked as the 3rd greatest President and for good reason. I'm sorry you think so poorly of him. He did a lot more good than bad and like I said no President is perfect. It's important to remember the mistakes...but these mistakes don't define him.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

38. FDR would have got into WW ll a lot sooner if it wasn't for the America Firsters.

[fun n serious]

34. What would be wrong with speaking Japanese or German?

I don't have a republican bone in my body! I have a hatred for nationalist given the current climate. I am a proud globalist. I believe in globalization and strongly believe the people who do not will be indeed "left behind."

[DemocratSinceBirth]

36. " What would be wrong with speaking Japanese or German? "

Absolutely nothing as long as it's voluntary.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

35. FDR wasn't a white nationalist. He spoke of American ideals, not of a white race.

White nationalism is patriotism predicated on blood and soil. Patriotism is based on shared ideals.

[fun n serious]

37. You mean America first?

Seems I have heard that lately.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

40. The America Firsters were led by the anti-semitic aviator, Charles Lindbergh, who...

The America Firsters were led by the anti-semitic aviator, Charles Lindbergh, who spoke glowingly of Hitler and opposed U S intervention in WW ll. He changed his tune after Pearl Harbor.

[DeminPennswoods]

10. Japanese-Americans weren't the only ones interned

Years ago Terry Gross (Fresh Air) interviewed author Lisa Scottoline about her then latest book, "Killer Smile". Scottoline said the plot came about after she was going through things from her deceased grandparents. She said they kept virtually nothing so she found it odd that one of the few things they'd kept were their immigration papers. That lead her to research and find that during WWII, many Italians were also sent to internment camps (in Montana, iirc) and that the FBI often conducted raids in Italian communities during the middle of night, terrifying them. The justification for the raids and round ups was that Italians living along the east coast might be sending signals (by light, iirc) to enemy ships.

[yuiyoshida]

12. Also learned last night that there were some

Taiwanese and Koreans interned and they never dropped bombs on anyone.

[NutmegYankee]

14. There were just a handful of German Americans interned.

I imagine that knowledge of how they had reacted to the last world war and the logistics prevented any mass internment efforts. I say logistics because German Americans are the largest ancestry in the United States, both in 1940 and 2010, and there is a "German belt" from Eastern PA all the way across to Oregon. From 1820-1870, so many Germans came to the US that the countries population doubled.

Given that 1/6th of the country was German, FDR's hand was fixed on that front.

[fun n serious]

41. I see things much different than you do.

I believe it was FDR's Executive Order 9066 that made your grandfather fearful of speaking Italian. It's a crying shame. I can not defend it. I will not. I agree FDR did many great things but the bad things were real bad. I am USA born but English is not my first language. I speak 3 languages in my home daily, always have. I teach my kids to do the same.

[Rhiannon12866]

47. And that's an excellent thing!

In this increasingly global world, it's a definite advantage to speak more than one language. My mother was Polish, though she was born here, but Polish was her first language and she was fluent, actually went to special classes when she was a kid so she could learn to read and write it, too. I've often regretted that she didn't pass it on to my brother and me.

In other countries, speaking more than one language is more common than not. Children are taught languages in the grades while here it's not considered a priority. I took five years of French, but not having the chance to practice, I've lost most of it. As Americans, we tend to assume that everyone can speak English - and we're usually right.

[Maru Kitteh]

46. "He assimilated" insinuating he was better? That others did not? I guess having Asian features

Black hair, brown eyes and brown skin had nothing to do with it right?

In another post you say that if it were not for the very kind, benevolent actions of FDR for rounding up all the Japanese and putting them in camps they surely ALL would have been lynched!

So which is it? Was gramps some kind of superior being because "he assimilated?' or maybe did he have the choice of trying to "pass" while others did not.

[phleshdef]

11. "If "progressives" want democrats to go back to the time of FDR"... oh FFS

We want to go back to the economic / social safety net mindset of FDR and you KNOW thats what progressives mean.

What FDR did to the Japanese Americans was a horrendous stain on his legacy.

But if you don't want to go back to the following, you aren't worth a damn:

FDR's Second Bill of Rights:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.

[melman]

17. + 1 million

FDR is the greatest Democratic president of all time. To see this icon trashed here is unbelievable. I can't believe it's allowed.

[BzaDem]

19. "I can't believe it's allowed." Really?

FDR permitted an entire race of American Citizens to be imprisoned in detention camps, solely on the basis of their race. And you are saying that you can't believe criticizing him for that is allowed?

One can celebrate a president's actions when they deserve to be celebrated, and criticize a president's actions when they deserve to be criticized.

[BzaDem]

42. Yes, and the presidents you speak of (70 years before FDR) are roundly criticized.

Funny how only FDR seems exempt from such criticism.

[BzaDem]

43. If you think anything we are doing now is comparable in scope

then a common factual basis for us to continue the discussion is not present.

Have a nice day.

[phleshdef]

21. Well he can be trashed for Japanese internment. That is fair.

But defining him by it and using it as an excuse to turn away from his social safety net legacy is just dumb.

[BannonsLiver]

20. Agreed. It's always odd to me when presidents are defined by one thing

Presidencies are complex. We have the benefit of 75 years of hindsight. In the 1940's intelligence was in the stone ages. There were no satellites. Radar was in its infancy. FDR was operating under the assumption that the Japanese had eyes on attacking the west coast. There were fears that they could pull off another Pearl Harbor with the aid of spies already in the United States.

Those fears may appear overdone now, but I bet they didn't seem that way in real time. This in no way excuses internment. It's meant to add context. Takei has a damned good reason to hate FDR just as anyone would who lived through such a brutally unfair experience.

But I happen to love FDR for all of the other good stuff he did, like getting the country through the depression and defeating tyranny, among many other things. And all from a wheelchair.

[taught_me_patience]

44. We get it. You're better than us

Thanks for the patronizing diatribe.

[Maru Kitteh]

45. You call George Takei a whiny BITCH, and then you demand he apologize to the Chinese

and other Asians on behalf of Japan?

You do realize he is an AMERICAN right?

Just where is your claim to moral high ground against racism and misogyny? Because those are some outrageously racist, misogynistic statements you just set out there.

And then there's this nice statement you made in this thread:

Some people are ruled by spite. He did not save every Jew and interred some Japanese? Guess what, if he had not there is a very good chance they would have all been lynched.

George Takei is ruled by spite? Yes, of course. How dare he speak up about his unconstitutional detainment that the benevolent, kind, white government awarded him for his own good, the good of his family and everyone who looked like him?

I guess it's not that hard to figure out how we ended up with racist internment camps in this country after all.

[egduj]

33. Disgusting and unforgivable.

Saying he needed to get his "hands dirty" doesn't excuse these despicable actions.