What? No! That Can’t Possibly be True… Was This True for Only Some Japanese People?
Believe it or not, this was true for almost all Japanese people. Whether first generation or third generation, if you even looked Japanese, you were brutally discriminated against. Even the police began to arrest the Japanese for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. At that faithful night at the Black Elks club, the FBI decided to barge in and see if there were any “spies” lurking within the said club. And the poor Japanese patrons that happened to be “in the wrong place at the wrong time” had their lives greatly changed. The zealous FBI agents did not waste any time arresting these people.
“The club seemed hollow without music, replaced by the barking of federal agents and the occasional clicking of handcuffs. The dimly lit dance hall still sparkled now and then as the candles on the empty tables flickered light on half-empty martini glasses.
The six Japanese patrons were handcuffed and taken to the door, the women sniffling, the men asking “Why?” in English. Henry heard “I’m an American” being shouted as the last one was arrested and taken outside…
“You leave them kids alone, they work for me!” Oscar slipped past Sheldon and barged through the remaining crowd, heading for the agents nearest Henry. “I didn’t leave the South to come all the way up here and see people treated like that!” (58-59)
Now I’m not trying to state that the FBI is a bad organization for doing this, but I do think they were overreacting, assuming that every single Japanese man or woman was a spy for Japan. It tells us that when something bad happens, people start to take things to extreme measures. It shows that people can become traumatized by a single event, forever paranoid. And it tells others that you can be melodramatic about some things.
