#VelshiBannedBookClub: George Takei's 'They Called Us Enemy' - Velshi - MSNBC

[Rhiannon12866]

George Takei’s “They Called Us Enemy” is a powerfully crafted graphic novel about finding strength in pain – using the clear language and expressive, comic-book style drawings of a children’s book to tell a very adult story.

In response to the deadly strike on Pearl Harbor in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 – systemically stripping Japanese-Americans of their civil rights, their homes, their property, and their dignity. 120,000 Japanese Americans, including the Takei family, were forced into barbed wire-lined concentration camps across the nation simply for having Japanese heritage.

The book moves effortlessly between the naivete of a young boy in the internment camps and the more complex and darker reflections of older Takei today. While “They Called Us Enemy” is a poignant memoir and commemoration of this brutal time in America’s not-so-distant past -- it also honors heritage, community, and family. - Aired on 05/13/2023.

[GP6971]

1. I didn't realize he wrote a book.

Ordered it today just in time for an upcoming trip.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Oh, good timing!

And you're right, I should check into ordering the book too. He's managed to turn something that could cause bitterness into a positive lesson. When I was a kid, my best friend's mother came from Japan - presumably post WWII - and I never gave it a thought. My own grandmother came from Poland, so I figured that everyone came from somewhere. And the nationalities change over time, but it seems like there's always some group that's unwelcome.

[hydrolastic]

3. Saw the interview this morning, my weekend days start with Velshi

What I liked the best was Velshi truly respects George.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. Agreed, that he does.

Ari Velshi is just terrific, often covers important issues that we don't see elsewhere on the news. And this was a must-see segment, a part of our history that many would like to forget.

[young_at_heart]

5. Thank you, George

Your continual good work to raise awareness and prod cognitive thinking is always appreciated by the decent people!

[burrowowl]

6. K&R