The Typist

The Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 unleashed the full fury of the American government against Japanese Americans, both citizens and immigrants.

The rationale these people were relocated for their own protection was a lie.

The justification used to persuade the American public these people represented a threat to the security of the nation was a lie.

The promise their property, businesses, and homes would be held in safekeeping was a lie.

By late afternoon on 7 December in the cities of the territory of Alaska the FBI began arresting members of the Japanese American business community - mere hours after the attack. Due process was but a pretense. Due process was a lie.

President Bush, on the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, stated, "The internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry was a great injustice, and it will never be repeated."

This was also a lie. It is happening again.

I have coffee most every morning at my "office" - a small table in a 1920s style restaurant and hotel called the Olympic Club in Centralia, Washington. Visitors assume I work there, some think I am the manager. I direct people to the bathrooms - the urinals in this place are a tourist attraction all by themselves. This is where I write. The chaos and atmosphere prep me for the day, and everyone in town knows if you need to talk to me, just drop by the "Oly Club." I cherish my role as author-in-residence, or that crazy guy at the table by the urinals - it depends on your perspective.