14 April 2009
The Rape of Nanking
Tonight I watched the movie "Nanking." I know there are visitors to TYWKIWDBI who consider the generic topic of "war" to be exciting, who view retribution as an honorable activity, who consider death and suffering of civilians to be "collateral damage" in the pursuit of higher goals.
Embedded above is a segment from the movie. Begin at the 2:15 mark, watch the next 4 minutes, and please feel free to offer commentary as to the admirable characteristics of war.
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I cried
ReplyDelete--I know there are visitors to TYWKIWDBI who consider the generic topic of "war" to be exciting, who view retribution as an honorable activity, who consider death and suffering of civilians to be "collateral damage" in the pursuit of higher goals.--
ReplyDeleteYou mean I should look at the worst possible example of such an activity, ignorant of its historical context, and then condemn the activity altogether?
You got it! Nuance hurts my brain.
That was the most horrible thing I ever watched. I feel so sorry for that man. How can man seriously think that war is the answer? I'm crying. That poor man.
ReplyDeleteYou guys should read the book 'Tokyo' by Mo Hayder. It has another name - I think 'The Devil of Nanking'.
ReplyDeleteIt deals with the rape of nanking, and is a pretty dark read, but a good one. Its set in modern Tokyo about a girl looking for a film rumoured to have been taken during the nanking massacre.
I also gotta agree with Darren.
But the video has a lot of impact.
I also think its really hard for us to speak for and condemn everyone who fights in a war, even something as horrific as nanking, without consideration of a context and how these people did what they did.
In fact, maybe its impossible. Unless I'm a Japanese soldier in China in WW2, I dont know. I can apply all my modern morals and comforts, but I've never been to war and never know.
I can't imagine any visitor to this blog which consider human life as expendable "collateral damage" with no sadness or deep regret.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we are left with a quandary if we reject fighting altogether. As an example, we can use the war this video deals with. Japan attacks China, raping towns and cities. What is the correct response? Should we reject retaliation and merely ask the enemy soldiers to stop?
War is horrible, but defense of others is honorable, and sometimes necessary. At least until human nature changes (which will be "never" of course)
this is brutal. I have read about the rape on Nanking before. Even by the brutal standards of war the Japanese Army were appaling. Their culture is completely different from that of occidental countries - non-japanese were considered les than animals. One only has to watch their gameshows to see that even now, pain and endurance are part of their national identity. May God forgive them. Those poor people. If ever there was an indictment of war, we have seen it here, and in the Holocaust. No excuses
ReplyDelete