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Monday, February 10, 2014

Interment Camps Again ?

Supreme Court justice predicts internment camps in America’s future

"You are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again," said Justice Scalia.


Americans exit train cars and are "evacuated" into the fenced compounds that would be their new homes.  (Source: Dorthea Lange, 1944)
Americans exit train cars and are “evacuated” into the fenced compounds that would be their new homes. (Source: Dorthea Lange, 1944)
A distinguished member of the U.S. Supreme Court gave a sobering reminder of how history can and likely will repeat itself when the conditions are right.  Justice Antonin Scalia said that he would not be surprised if Americans were once again imprisoned in concentration camps by the federal government.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (Source: H. Darr Beiser / USA Today)
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (Source: H. Darr Beiser / USA Today)
The 77-year-old justice was answering questions after giving a classroom lecture to a group of law students in Honolulu.  One student asked about the deplorable 1944 Korematsu v. United States decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court verified the constitutionality of the president ordering the mass-imprisonment of Americans in the name of national security.
Scalia cited the wartime “panic” as a reason Americans accepted President Franklin Roosevelt’s hostile treatment of citizens of his own country.
As the Associated Press reported:
“Well of course Korematsu was wrong. And I think we have repudiated in a later case. But you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again,” Scalia told students and faculty during a lunchtime Q-and-A session.
Scalia cited a Latin expression meaning, “In times of war, the laws fall silent.”
“That’s what was going on — the panic about the war and the invasion of the Pacific and whatnot. That’s what happens. It was wrong, but I would not be surprised to see it happen again, in time of war. It’s no justification, but it is the reality,” he said.
The Korematsu case stemmed from President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which divided the country into “Military Areas” and in a real sense instituted martial law in the United States.  Control of civilian territory was granted to to military commanders and the Secretary of War, who were authorized to take any freedom-restricting actions they deemed necessary to secure the homeland.
A U.S. Soldier stands ready to shoot any who would try to escape FDR's concentration camps.  (Tule Lake, California)
A U.S. Soldier stands ready to shoot any who would try to escape FDR’s concentration camps. (Tule Lake, California)
In enactment of the order, several segments of the U.S. population were labeled as “enemies” or “enemy aliens.”  They were:  (1) people suspected of “subversive activities” (which included speaking against the war); (2) Japanese aliens; (3) American-born Japanese; (4) German aliens; and (5) Italian aliens.
These so-called enemy groups were ordered to report to military prison camps for an indefinite sentence — a process that was dubiously referred to as “relocation” or “evacuation.”  The reality was that the targeted individuals were stripped from their homes, their lives, their jobs, their families, and their freedom and placed into cages surrounded by barbed wire and U.S. soldiers who were prepared to shoot them.
Fred Korematsu was born in the United States, and as such was considered a naturally-born U.S. citizen who had two parents who were from Japan.  Even though his loyalty to the USA was not questioned, the President had labeled him (and 120,000 others) as an enemy.  Korematsu, who resided in Military Area No. 1 (California), was one of the few who did not report to the prison camp to which he was assigned.  The government’s response was to have Korematsu hunted down, arrested and convicted of disobeying military authorities.
“It was wrong… But you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again.”- Justice Scalia
The Supreme Court upheld his conviction, ruling that the 5th Amendment guarantee of “due process” did not apply, and that his conviction was allowed to stand.  The needs of homeland security were considered to be preeminent over individual rights.  To date, the decision has never been explicitly overturned.
Scalia’s statements would suggest that its legal precedence matters less than many would think.  The Latin phrase he quoted, Inter arma enim silent leges, dates back over 2,000 years and has been proven true in every culture since.   During times of crisis — especially during great wars — people are naturally prone to embrace government efforts to empower itself in the name of security and order.  Americans have proven this maxim to be true many times over, notably with the mass roundup of political prisoners during the American Civil War, World War 1, and World War 2.
“The reality,” as Scalia pointed out, is that the next time Americans feel great fear of a foreign threat or a terrorist, they will not only accept the destruction of civil rights — they will demand it.

1 comment:

  1. Funny thought, internment camps. A SO in San Francisco, and old attorney, Jacob or Jake Goldenflame like that, actually suggested to the Governor a few years ago that California establish a specific town for SOs. Knucklehead idea, but he has spoken against the registry, and residence rules on Dr.Phil, Dr.Drew, CBS, etc... His interviews are easy to look up and good reading. There are some states that are better than others. I did time at Salinas, Lancaster. I did my parole in an early 3, one of the last to do so, no violations, but I was in NorCal above Sacto, and housing was cheaper and easier to find, and I had family to help. My PO was top notch, too. I was there in 2008 when they first started the ankle bracelets, too. The homeless guys would get nabbed on battery problems all the time. It was horrible. When I discharged my number I moved to PA, after months of research. They have no residency restrictions, while Alabama, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, California, Iowa, etc... all have bad rules. I was born in LA but I can't live there anymore. But I was able to buy an old house here in PA cheap, fixed it up, and will actually fall off the register in 10 more years. Not the best neighborhood I'm in, but I own my place outright, and the neighbors know I'm not here to make trouble after 4 years. Even the cops are courteous here, no shit. There is hope, not bright, or easy, but things do get better. Best of luck.

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