By Kristina West
(Kristina West is from Pasco, Wash. and currently resides in Tokyo, Japan.)
On Jan. 29, The Tri-City Herald published an op-ed, entitled “Was the Relocation of West Coast Japanese Racist,” denying the racist motivations of Japanese American incarceration. I was shocked to see this in a newspaper. Some people would use Japanese American incarceration to justify the stripping of rights from Muslims. This kind of history revision would help allow that to happen. When I found out the author of the op-ed was an associate professor at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash., I was concerned that this man could be teaching these views. My fears were confirmed in Joseph Shoji Lachman’s Huffington Post article, “Don’t Let This Public School Teacher Lie About the Incarceration of Japanese Americans to His Students.” I contacted both the paper and college. The Tri-City Herald has refused to issue an apology. The college’s president has said Dr. Gary Bullert’s views do not represent the college’s. However, Bullert continues to teach these racist distortions in his classroom. Public funds shouldn’t go to any educator who teaches hate. I have filed an official complaint with the Washington State Board of Community & Technical Colleges, and am pushing the school to hold a panel with only Japanese Americans allowed to speak. While I am horrified this happened, I am sadly not surprised as anti-Japanese American sentiment has a long history in the Tri-Cities. I am from Pasco, and my parents are from Richland and attended Richland High School, a school with a bomb/mushroom cloud as its mascot. The Tri-Cities are proud of the Hanford Site and its role in producing the plutonium for the Fat Man bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki. It is beyond sickening that this is allowed to this day. Richland also has ‘The Bombers Drive Thru” and an “Atomic Ale Brewpub & Eatery” with some offensively named foods and drinks. As we observe the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, I strongly believe we must educate people about our nation’s past and make sure we learn from our mistakes. Our newspapers and colleges should be held to a higher standard. As an educator, I feel it’s our obligation to teach truth and solidarity. My roommate and friend, Clio Tanaka’s family was incarcerated. Her families’ stories are real, powerful, and their voices must be shared. She says, “History revisionism opens the door to things like the injustices my family suffered, happening to other people. I hope Dr. Bullert doesn’t continue to teach hate under the guise of being fair.”
— Kristina West