Three weeks ago, GOOD reported on actor and activist George Takei’s open letter to David Bowers, the mayor of Roanoke, Virginia. In the letter, Takei corrected Bowers’ inaccurate statements about the Japanese internment during World War II. This week, Takei had to teach another lesson, this time to his former Celebrity Apprentice costar, Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.
In a recent Interview with Time, Trump said he wasn’t sure what he would have done about the Japanese internment had he been in office during World War II. “I certainly hate the concept of it. But I would have had to be there at the time to give you a proper answer,” Trump said before going into another one of his hyperbolic rants about the current state of the United States. “It’s a tough thing. It’s tough. But you know war is tough. And winning is tough. We don’t win anymore. We don’t win wars anymore. We don’t win wars anymore. We’re not a strong country anymore. We’re just so off.”
Takei and his family were taken to an internment camp in Arkansas for four years during World War II. In total, more than 11,000 Japanese-Americans were taken to camps during the war years. After hearing Trump’s remarks on an issue that’s very personal to him, Takei created a video to encourage the candidate to stand on the right side of history. In the video, Takei says, “You’ve said some things that have many people worried, not just because you’ve said them, but because of the number of Americans who seem to agree with you. Recently, you told Time magazine that you might have supported the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.”
Takei went on to discuss his experience in the camps, “You said that it was a tough thing and that you would have had to be there… Well, Mr. Trump, I was there and there’s a way you can be there, too.” Takei then invited him to see Allegiance, the Broadway musical Takei is currently performing in, to “get a glimpse of what it was like for families like one who were unjustly imprisoned thanks to politics of fear much like the one you’re campaigning on.”
Allegiance is inspired by Takei’s family’s experience in the internment camps.
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(H/T Facebook)
