US - China war inevitable?

[CKwi88]

(07-12-2017, 05:12 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Since there was some discussion of Japanese atrocities, I thought it might be apropos to mention I just finished volume one of Barefoot Gen, a semi-auto-biographical graphic novel of a Japanese survivor from Hiroshima. Definitely an interesting piece of art if anyone is interested. Beware, though, there are ten volumes in total.

I visited Japan and the Hiroshima memorial this year. 

Makes you realize that we like to throw a lot of stones from our glass house sometimes.

[GMDino]

(07-12-2017, 05:12 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Since there was some discussion of Japanese atrocities, I thought it might be apropos to mention I just finished volume one of Barefoot Gen, a semi-auto-biographical graphic novel of a Japanese survivor from Hiroshima. Definitely an interesting piece of art if anyone is interested. Beware, though, there are ten volumes in total.

I've always been a history guy.  But not so much war stuff.  I did take an interesting course in warfare in college.  Our teach was a Screaming Eagle and he knew how to tell a story!

But when it came to WWII I was always more interested in the European theater mostly.  Until I toured the WWII Museum I mentioned above.

When I got back to our hotel room I called my dad and told him that I had two thoughts after spending the day there:

1) Seeing what those soldiers went through, what the world and civilians went through, you either come out believing in a god or believing there is NO god.

2) The Japanese were awful, horrible people.  Evil. And while I have remorse for the innocents that were killed when we dropped the bombs it was the nly way to defeat them.  And if they had to have had to drop one more or four more it would have been worth it.

[Belsnickel]

(07-12-2017, 05:17 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: I visited Japan and the Hiroshima memorial this year. 

Makes you realize that we like to throw a lot of stones from our glass house sometimes.

I've never had the pleasure of visiting Japan (though one day I will visit the Ginza Itoya store) but when I was younger I met a Hiroshima survivor and heard her talk about what happened. I also visited the UN which has items that were in the blast, including a stone statue that was toppled over and the back was rippled from the heat that melted it. I ran my hand along that surface (I think back on that now and have a feeling I was not supposed to) and it was a powerful thing to imagine the destructive force that was let loose.

I know that Japan is not blameless in the war, and imperial Japan was a very nationalist and aggressive nation. But what happened to that nation was tragic. Japan and Germany have had one hell of a turnaround after what happened, I just wish that the nationalism wasn't returning as strongly in Japan as it is.

[Belsnickel]

(07-12-2017, 05:24 PM)GMDino Wrote: I've always been a history guy.  But not so much war stuff.  I did take an interesting course in warfare in college.  Our teach was a Screaming Eagle and he knew how to tell a story!

But when it came to WWII I was always more interested in the European theater mostly.  Until I toured the WWII Museum I mentioned above.

When I got back to our hotel room I called my dad and told him that I had two thoughts after spending the day there:

1) Seeing what those soldiers went through, what the world and civilians went through, you either come out believing in a god or believing there is NO god.

2) The Japanese were awful, horrible people.  Evil. And while I have remorse for the innocents that were killed when we dropped the bombs it was the nly way to defeat them.  And if they had to have had to drop one more or four more it would have been worth it.

I think what concerns me most as I learn more about imperial Japan is that I could see North Korea trying to emulate that. I don't think they'd get nearly as far, but in the nuclear age it could be even more devastating.

[ballsofsteel]

Dropping the bomb saved thousands and thousands of our troops. Japan started the fight and we finished it. The atomic bomb is a terrible weapon but all those civilians killed by it were the same ones who worshiped their emperor who perpetuated the war and all the atrocities that his troops did to our troops. Too bad we weren't able to drop the bomb sooner and save more Americans from dying at the hands of those rotten bastards.

[Belsnickel]

(07-12-2017, 06:55 PM)ballsofsteel Wrote: Dropping the bomb saved thousands and thousands of our troops. Japan started the fight and we finished it. The atomic bomb is a terrible weapon but all those civilians killed by it were the same ones who worshiped their emperor who perpetuated the war and all the atrocities that his troops did to our troops. Too bad we weren't able to drop the bomb sooner and save more Americans from dying at the hands of those rotten bastards.

I understand the sentiment you express here, but not all Japanese civilians, and not all of those that died as a result of the two atomic bomb blasts, were sympathetic to Japan's war effort. For example, the father of the author of the book I mentioned was burned alive under his collapsed house on 06 August, 1945, and he was previously spent a year and a half in jail for activities that protested and were critical of the war. This isn't me saying the bomb did not save lives, but not all of those that died as a result fall into the category you claim.