Ben by Daniel Shelton for May 04, 2022

All quiet since the comic strip digged into history ?

There’s also a nice reference in today’s Pearls Before Swine: https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2022/05/04?ct=v&cti=110457

Banzai!!

I’ve been enjoying the history but saddened by it too.

The silhouettes of the two officials reminds me of the practice of “banning” in the old South Africa. https://www.britannica.com/topic/banning-South-African-law

THAT is a person you have the greatest respect for.

There’s love, and then there’s passion.

I’m really enjoying this story arc. I have friends whose parents were imprisoned at Mazanar and other " internment camps". I visited Manzanar located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Owens Valley< California. Ansel Adams photographed daily life of our US citizens incarcerated there in 1943. It was extremely educational and emotional. This was a gross injustice to loyal American citizens who happened to be of Japanese ancestry that were incarcerated. Please note that the US government also imprisoned German American and Italian Americans, but not to the extent that those of Japanese descent were. They were so easy to identify because of racial discrimination. California has a long history of bigotry against Japanese and Chinese immigrants starting with the gold rush up to WWII and after. Unfortunately most American citizens agreed with imprisoning their fellow citizens out of illogical fear that they were enemies. If you think this won’t happen again, think again.

Never realized Canada had reacted like the US. But…..the British forces in the far east were captured by the Japanese who comitted terrible atrocities against them and British civilians as well. While it seems doubtful any real Japanese “Sleeper” spies (and I’m sure there were some..Hawaii had quite a few) could do much significant harm from Western Canada…there was a realistic concern that any harm at all was too much harm…a ship lost, a secret passed on….who could tell. Over-reaction when you are burying your young men killed fighting the Japanese is understandable. Failing to put in the resources to judically sort the sheep from the goats (patriots from sympathizers) is what seems unconsciousable to me. But just a few years out of the depression, with scarce resources pulled into war production, money and people to be “fair” to everyone might seem possible to us now, but entirely a different matter at the time

And now our Government is letting anyone from who knows where, cross our border, and they are flying them to all states, and supporting them in a manor they only dreamed about in the countries they came from… some were even put up in hotels with swimming pools!… and including health care and even lawyers to fight for THEIR “rights”!!!

I admire this storyline. I enjoy Ben but this is more interesting than most of the Ben strips.

I think its because it’s a history few were aware of. Sobering.

I didn’t know Canada did this as well. Good history. Love this arc