Week 5: Kyrene Giezl Gutierrez - A01

In Week 5, one of the readings was from the book, Masters of War: Militarism and Blowback in the Era of American Empire, specifically Chapter 12, titled, “Empire of Death and the Plague of Civic Violence.” The author of the chapter, Darrell Y. Hamamoto discussed the various types and kinds of murder that have occurred throughout U.S. history. The subsection on “Marriage Material” emphasized on the role Asian American women played in the imaginations of white sex criminals. Hamamoto used the example of the story of Warren James Bland. Warren James Bland was known for the murder of seven-year-old Phoebe Hue-Ru Ho. While awaiting trial, Bland’s fellow inmate shared that Bland confided in him, stating “What I did to the kid was no different than what we did in Chu (Vietnam) Lai in 1968 to the women and children when we burned their huts” (Boggs, 2003). Although the actual name of the place was wrong, it didn’t change the fact that this is what American soldiers did during the Vietnam War. During times of war, women are always the first to be killed, raped, or imprisoned, especially those in Asia. These women were referred to as comfort women. During World War II in the Philippines, over 200,000 Filipina women were tortured, sexually abused, raped, and imprisoned under Japanese soldiers. They were forced to watch their family members die in front of them. The stories of the comfort women rarely see the light of day, just like the stories of the many Asian American women who have suffered the same way. They are still awaiting their reparations. It is up to us to share their stories. Their population is slowly decreasing, so we must advocate for them. We must remember their stories and be the voice for those who don’t have one.

Question: What are some possible reparations for the comfort women?


Photo Source: The Chronicles of Today

References:

Boggs, Carl Ed. 2003. Masters of War: Militarism and Blowback in the Era of American Empire. New York, New York: Routledge.