In my 9th grade geography class, we learned that a person’s “race” is nothing more than a human construct. Merely a term for society to further divide itself. The truth is, no matter how much people preach that there is one race, “the human race,” stereotypes and racist remarks have developed throughout history regardless. One person or a group of people commits a horrid act of violence and everyone alike is affiliated in the eyes of society. A statistic gets released and everyone alike is affiliated in the eyes of society. There are many examples of this in the past such as the devastating attack of 9/11, The Holocaust, and the daily torment of all sorts of people. Recently I read They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei and Steven R. Scott which highlights the disgraceful American hate towards Japanese-American citizens following the Pearl Harbor bombing.

George Takei tells the story of his family’s struggles from his perspective as a child during this time. His father, an intelligent and loving real estate agent who later becomes a politician, must do all he can to ensure his family’s safety. It is important to keep in mind that the Takei family had lived in America for a very long time establishing themselves as loyal U.S. citizens and clearly had nothing to do with the bombing. But that didn’t matter. People saw that they were Japanese and resorted to violence and scapegoating to channel their strong emotions developed by the bombing. President Franklin Roosevelt issued Order 9066 in 1942. All Japanese-American citizens were sent to harsh camps and had to often pack their bags for transit. It didn’t matter that all the afflicted were irresponsible for the incident; America chose to only see colors between the lines of virtue.

Fast-forward a couple decades later and the Roosevelt administration apologized and made amends to George Takei’s father as well as all other Japanese-Americans afflicted. However, the damage will always leave a scar on the heart of humanity.