When Buddhists Were a "National Security Threat"

[Major Nikon]

Religious discrimination stoked the fear behind the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans as much as racism did, explains scholar and Zen priest Duncan Ryuken Williams.

Duncan Ryuken Williams

On February 19th, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive order designating military zones along the West Coast and laying the groundwork for US authorities to remove citizens of Japanese descent from their homes and imprison them in camps. While it is widely acknowledged that racism was central to this shameful chapter of American history, the role of religious discrimination cannot be overlooked, says scholar and Soto Zen priest Duncan Ryuken Williams.

“There was a time in our country’s history when Buddhism was considered not only un-American but . . . anti-American,” explains Williams, the director of the Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture at the University of Southern California. “Buddhist priests, Shinto priests—they were designated as national security threats.”

https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/japanese-buddhism-internment/

It's important to remember that German and Italian immigrants and their descendants weren't imprisoned during WWII, almost certainly since they were predominantly Christian.

[Voltaire2]

1. Well of course the USA is a secular government

This sort of intolerance would never happen in a theocracy.

Or something like that.

[Major Nikon]

3. Even if it does, that's just "human nature"

Unless of course we are talking about something benevolent. In that case religion gets all the credit.

[MineralMan]

2. The word is "Alien."

Alien in the sense of being different, non-conforming, and visibly not part of the vast majority. The Japanese-American citizens who were sent to the camps looked different, behaved differently, and worshiped differently. Despite many of them being native-born US citizens, they were treated as "aliens," and fear of what is different led to their imprisonment and confiscation of their property.

Chinese immigrants were excluded by law, as well.

If you are different, you are an "alien" in people's minds and therefore considered to be dangerous. This is a common pattern in human societies. We fear what we do not understand, and make very little effort to improve our understanding. The United States is no different from any other country in that regard, to our shame.

[Major Nikon]

4. I think the US is a bit different

The history of the US is written with diversity. It's that diversity which made us strong. The problem is diversity eventually evolves into a national identity. This then subjects us to the same forces of demagoguery which so easily affect other nations with homogeneous populations.

[MineralMan]

5. There is much diversity in the US. That's true.

However, we operate on the principle of majority rule, at least psychologically. What that means is that any identifiable minority group can be identified and demonized by the majority. That's also a part of our history, and it's not a pleasant part of our history to consider.

The tyranny of the majority is a real thing. It shouldn't exist, based on our founding principles, but does exist, due to the belief on some people's parts that the majority rules in all things. It's a paradoxical element in our society.