The Power of Words
In 1942 the United States military put up posters in Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona that read: “All Japanese persons, both alien and non-aliens will be evacuated...”
If an “alien” is defined as someone who is an immigrant who is not a naturalized American citizen, then who is a “non-alien?”
There are a number of words that were used in reference to what took place shortly after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that have been termed as euphemisms. A euphemism is defined as the use of a word or phrase that is more neutral, vague, or indirect to replace a direct, harsh, unpleasant, or offensive term.
Over the years, especially since the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan, which formally apologized for the injustices that were committed upon those affected by Executive Order 9066, more accurate terminology is being used.
Those who were “evacuated” were incarcerated like prisoners because their mail and newsletters were censored, and only those with passes were allowed to leave the camps to work in the fields because there was a labor shortage or to “relocate” to other parts of the United States but not return to their homes and businesses on the West Coast.
The preferred and more accurate reference to the confinement sites administered by the War Relocation Authority could include “American concentration camps,” “incarceration camps,” or “illegal detention centers.”
Some examples used to describe the Japanese American experience during World War II are “evacuation,” “assembly centers,” “relocation” or “internment” camps, which were used because they were “more neutral, vague, or indirect” than the more “direct, harsh, unpleasant, or offensive term.”
When you look up the word “evacuation” you will find it defined as “an act or the process of emptying a dangerous or potentially dangerous place of people or a removal of people from a dangerous or potentially dangerous place to somewhere safe.”
However, questions arise such as, why were there barbed wire fences erected at the centers and camps? Furthermore, why were sentries posted in guard towers that surveilled the interior of the centers and camps, substantiating that it was much more like a prison than a fort? And finally, why were some detainees shot and killed by the guards for being too close to the barbed wire fences?
It is important that whenever you read or hear something, especially in times of crisis, to be aware that the use of one word may make a significant impression on others and you should be careful in how you react or respond.
Had the word “citizen” been used instead of “non-alien,” perhaps more people would have recognized the violations of the Bill of Rights and more people would have questioned the incarceration of 120,000 individuals during World War II.
It is up to each of us to ensure that similar violations of civil liberties do not recur and that no more illegal detention camps are created. The Commission of the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians determined that the incarceration was a result of “wartime hysteria, race prejudice, and a failure of political leadership.” We must understand the words engraved on the statue in front of the National Archives in Washington, D.C.: “The Past is Prologue.”