‘Diversity isn’t a weakness’
George Takei may have stepped onto the Victory Theatre stage with the Vulcan salute held high, but his speech touched on much more than his years as Lt. Sulu on Star Trek.
Takei used his time as a speaker with the Evansville Diversity Lecture Series Tuesday evening to discuss his childhood spent in a Japanese internment camp, his decision to officially come out as gay and his social activism.
Takei said that after the bombing of Pearl Harbor there was an instant change with how Japanese-Americans were perceived.
“Overnight we were looked at with suspicion…and outright hatred,” Takei said, “simply because we looked like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor.
Takei remembers when curfews were passed for Japanese-Americans and when bank accounts were frozen. Shortly after his fifth birthday Takei’s parents woke him up early in the morning. That morning he and his family were loaded onto trucks with other Japanese-Americans and transported to internment camps.
“When (my mother) emerged from the house she was carrying our baby sister in one arm, a very heavy duffle bag in the other and tears were streaming down both her cheeks,” he said. “I will never forget that horrible morning.”
Abigail Suddarth, a university sophomore said the portion of the speech about Takei’s childhood really struck her.
“I don’t cry because I don’t have normally functioning tear ducts,” Suddarth said, “but I got close at a certain point. Especially when he was talking about his childhood growing up in Japanese internment camps.”
The marketing major said in school she never learned much about internment camps during World War II. She always felt it was brushed aside or discussed with a smaller focus than other topics.
Kate Grudzinski a sophomore political science major said the part that really got to her was when Takei discussed how long he kept his sexuality hidden.
Takei said he knew around 10-years-old that he was “different” from the other boys. Despite this awareness he followed along with other guys his age when it came to dating and talking to girls.
But it was not until 2005 that Takei publically came out after a discussion with his long-term partner and now husband Brad Altman.
“I just can’t imagine living like that for so long,” Grudzinski said.
She said she originally came out to the speech because she is interested in diversity and making sure Evansville is an inclusive city.
I certainly fit into several different groups that are influenced by diversity. It’s very close to me.
“Diversity isn’t a weakness, it’s actually a strength,” Grudzinski said. “In southern Indiana, we are kind of close to the Bible Belt, there can be the idea that we are not very inclusive but as a city, we’ve moved so far and we just keep going.”
Arthur Jacobs • Oct 3, 2016 at 2:20 pm
Moderate pleAse you are not moderating comments
Frances Ott Allen • Oct 2, 2016 at 9:57 am
Mr. Takei spoke about his World War II experiences from his point of view as a Japanese-American, but he leaves a false impression of World War II internment. German-Americans and Italian-Americans were affected as well. As a German-American (born in Chicago) and former internee of the internment camp in Crystal City, Texas, I think this has to be acknowledged. For more information on this please see on the web at foitimes.com.
Not all German-Americans were interned in World War II, and unlike in World War I, when German-Americans were demonized, the government selectively interned “Enemy Aliens” and press releases of internments assured the public that the government had control of the situtation. The large German-American ethnic group, about one quarter of the population, was needed to fight and work for the war effort and they did.
The US Government has formally apologized to the interned Japanese-Americans, and paid restitution to all former Japanese- American internees. The US Government has formally apologized to former interned Italian-Americans, but paid no restitution. The US Government has never apologized to former German-Americans who were interned, nor acknowledged their internment.
In the family camp in Crystal City I lived in a multi-cultural society: Japanese-Americans, Italian-Americans, German- Americans, and South and Central American citizens that the US “kidnapped” and brought to Crystal City. Those children spoke Spanish.
Some internees were traded via neutal countries, one for one, for Americans that the US wanted to get out of those countries. Some German American children, born in the US, were sent from Crystal City to Germany during the war and there saw American bombers dropping bombs on them.
Arthur Jacobs • Oct 2, 2016 at 9:12 am
I would think that those who discuss diversity would for sure include the diverse ethnic groups which also suffered internment. For example, German Americans and Italian Americans were also relocated and interned. Why, or Why, do we continue to cover up this aspect of internment?
The time has come to tell the complete story of relocation and internment.
Arthur Jacobs • Oct 1, 2016 at 8:06 pm
Why do writers like you always forget to mention that German Americans and Italian Americans also were victims of internment.