2 OCT. 2-15, 2009 LETTERS/WHAT'S INSIDE PACIFIC ill CmZEN ••••••• * •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •• ••••••••••••••••• ·. ' . PACIf1~ IICmz~N . ',' ~LETTERS . -.-. : TO THE E'DITOR "; HOWTO REACH US E-mail; Pc@p1;IeifiCCitizen.org .. i; Online: www.pacificcitizen; Words are Powerful Funding for Minidoka Reasons for :;i: ". :,. Needs Support ReSisting , Te!:(80j:l) %6·6157. ....... Finally someone is • .. Fax: (213) 620-1768 ' '. I C(')liHftlt~ • doing something that It seems that monies provided in a • Mail: .250 E. First Street, $ulte301 i Power of Words When I was 11 years old, I ' .. los Angeles, CA 90012 . .. should have been done House Bill (PL 109-441) for the l ... -JAO...-I........ ...... recall the FBI took Mr. Morita, a · ! =-=.t;t: ... _ ... many years ago. I total­ acquisition of land bordering the STAFF ~ . Japanese schoolteacher, from his Executive Editor '{ .,- ly agree with her Minidoka National Monument, was ...... home and family. The Moritas' : . caroline Y Aoy~j.Stom _. __ .... _­ not included in the Senate version. ........... _­ movement. It is now home was ransacked and Mr. - ......- ... --....... over 67 years and peo­ The acquisition of this property Assistant Editor ----.,._ Morita was jailed. This left the Lynda Un . ---..-___IIt..-_ .....- Pacific and its inclusion into the Minidoka .-.. ........, ... .. ple are still using rest of the family members to fend .... Citizen, National Monument is important. Reporter --_.. -_ ... euphemisms perpetrat­ for themselves. The oldest son, NaleaJ. Ko 01&..................... .... Sept. 4-17 It is important for future genera­ -------- ed by the U.S. govern­ who was about 17 or 18 at that tions to appreciate the size of these ment during wwn. time, became the head of the Business Manager camps. By allowing the inclusion in Kristin Iwata As the Maleo Nakagawa's commentary states, the government did delib- household. erately use words to distort the unjust treatment of Japanese Americans. the Senate bill, this property ~ Circulation : What is sad to note is that people still use these terms as if they are still about 130 acres - provides a way Eva Lau-ling : brainwashed by the U.S. government. for people to have a better perspec­ The Montas' home : Aiko Yoshinaga-Herzig, the former principle researcher for the CWRIC tive of the camp's size. was ransad<ed and The Pacific Citizen newspaper (ISSN: : (The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilian) who Second, it provides a buffer for 0030-8579) is published semi.monthly : discovered documents with her late husband Jack on the U.S. govern­ the monument area where no other Mr. Monta (except once in December and : rnent's deception in the Hirabayashi, Yasui and Korematsu wartime cases, use of this property can occur. This jaiJed. ' January) by the Japanese American was , Citizens league. : has long ctunpaigned in effect to say it as it is and not as it was. will help keep some of the original brainwash~ scale of the camp. : To you, Ms. Nakamura, keep on. And to the Nikkei: stop the When the oldest son was in . JACL : ing and say it as it is. Third, land adjacent to thecamp is 1765 Sutter St. , Heart Mountain, he was one of not always available. The opportuni­ San Francisco, CA 94115 the draft resisters. Near the end of · ty to acquire this bordering property JACL President Larry Oda · STANLEY N. KANZAKI the war, Mr. Morita was allowed may not occur again for a long time. National Director: Floyd Mori NEW 'YORK JACL to reunite with his family in Heart .: To preserve what everyone has Mountain, Wyoming. In the • Pc. BOARD OF DIRE.CTORS. agreed on is worthy of national meantime, the oldest son was Margie Yamamoto, dlairperson; Paul monument status and seems a wor­ Niwa, EOC; lisa Hanasono, MDC; incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth 'Internment Camp'is the Best Description thy investment for the future. Kalhy Ishimoto, CCOC; Judith Aono, Penitentiary in Kansas. He was We are asking all JACLmembers, NCWNPOC; Justine Kondo, PNWOC; released after several years in Jeff ltami, IDC; Ted Namba. PSWDC; I think "concentration camp" is a In my opinion, I believe "intern­ especially those who had family in prison. This experience, what this Naomi Oren, Youth : rather harsh term, especially corn­ ment camp" best describes the Minidoka, to call their senators and : pared to the Jewish camps. I also forced move and the camps we son went through, is understand­ ask them to reinstate funding for this SUBSCRIBE think the terms "relocation" and were in. ably why he resisted. property. Get a one-year subscription to lhe : "evacuation" are too watered down Pacific Citizen newspaper at : and do not reflect an accurate BILL KOBAYASHI KARLENDO MITS MIHARA www.paci1iccitizen.org or call : description of the forced move. FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA POCATELLO-BLACKFOOT JACL SANTA CRUZ, CA : (BOO) 966-6157 ~ +. • •... ...............•..............•................•.....................•............•... , ........•........•...........................••....... ADVERTISE To advertise in the Pacific Citizen, call APAWedding (BOO) 966-6157 or e-maU: ~if7' '. ,'. ~ 1'~""""' 4 in,,, ~J,.,,,, .. <' -#2 "v/~,., .qn, ItS.. .. Columnist Yum( Sakugawa explores the complications [email protected] that can arise in a multicultural weddings. PAGE 8 LEGAL No part of lhis publication may be repro­ INSIDE duced without lhe express permission ........................................................................... :...................... _....................................... _............ .... THIS ISSUE of the Pacific Citizen. Editorials, news and the opinions expressed by columnists other than the national JACL president or national director do not necessarily reflect JACL policy. Event and products advertised in the Pacific Citizen do not carry the implicit endorsement of lhe JACL or this publication. We reserve the right to edit articles. Personal Hero James Kyson Lee talks life, love and 'White on Rice.' PAGE 9 . yoo've moved, please PHOTO: RICH IWASAKI Successful Gala send new information to: JACL holds a successful D.C. gala to National JACL Finding Strength in his Identity honor JA veterans. 1765 Sutter Sl PAGE San Francisco, CA Rev. David Weekley, a Portland JACL member, says he found strength in the stories of WWII internees. 10 94115 Allow 6 weeks for Racial Bias address changes. FeeHikes Family'Ii'adition A Muslim American teen is suing • University of California APA students recently took The Matsumoto family are part of an extraordinary Abercrombie & Fitch for discrimination. avoid interruptions to the streets to protest planned increases in tuition. legacy at Washington University. PAGE 11 delivery, please your postmas­ PAGE 4 PAGE 6 include periodi­ Belated Degrees in your change S.A.M. Resigning California State University votes to grant honorary address (USPS Q &A with 'Secret Asian Man' creator Tak Toyoshima. The Army is allowing 1st Lt. Ehren Watada to resign. degrees to WWII internees. Form 3575) PAGE 5 PAG~7 PAGE 12 PACIFIC II CITIZEN TOP STORIES ocr. 2-15, 2009 3 Finding Strength in His Identity A Minidoka pilgrimage inspired Rev. David "Beloved of God." Weekley, a Portland JACL member, to share Weekley had previously stayed away from church due a secret he kept for 27 years. to the hateful things he had heard regarding homosexuals and other minorities. But after feeling a connection to the By Christine McFadden United Methodist Church, he joined. Special to the Pacific Citizen However, once he entered the Methodist church, he reentered the closet. For the Rev. David Weekley, a pilgrimage to Minidoka "One of the greatest ironies and pains is that the church outside of Twin Falls, Idaho was more than a just chance is the place I've had to go back in the closet," he said. ''I've to visit history. It was a visit that ran emotionally deeper stood with colleagues who have said horrific things to me, than the river that,cuts through the now-barren land. and they don't even know it.'~ The site of the former Japanese American internment Gay rights within the Methodist church are undoubted­ camp once held packed barracks of JAs during World War ly political, he said. While the church has its own official n. Despite his lack of Japanese roots, Weekley's trip stance, progressive members are tolerant toward gay inspired him to share a secret that he had kept for 27 years. rights, which clashes with the conservatives' beliefs. Just over a year after returning home to inner Southeast The majority of Methodists in the U.S. reside in the con­ Portland, Oregon, Weekley - a married man in his late servative Bible Belt. At the last general conference, there 50s and father of five - told his congregation of 221 was talk of the church formally splitting. members at the United Methodist Church that he was bom Besides opposing the ordination of gay clergy, the female. Methodist church also has the power to withhold church Until now, there has been just one openly transgender membership from openly gay people. Methodist clergyman in the U.S. to retain his ordination. Phoenix had charges filed against him from the clergy That man, Drew Phoenix, 50, had his ordination chal­ in his conference and was brought before the Judicial lenged by members of the church after coming out pub­ Council, the church's equivalent of the Supreme Court. licly in 2007 to his congregation in St. John's of Baltimore The charges proved to be unfounded and Phoenix was United Methodist