
American Conservative: Don't Whitewash the Hiroshima Bombing - RodericDay
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/dont-whitewash-the-hiroshima-bombing/
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valuearb
I don't have any comment on Mosul or what we are doing in the Middle East
because it simply doesn't connect.

But there is no chance in hell that the two bombings killed more Japanese
civilians than the invasion of Japan would have. And an invasion was very
likely. Most likely Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved a million Japanese lives.

~~~
RodericDay
The idea that the USA bombed Japan to spare Japanese civilians from a worse
fate is just absurd.

The underlying logic is extremely controversial, and relies a lot in
"othering" the Japanese, and talking about them in terms like "they would
fight to the last man, woman, and child" like they were wild dogs or
something.

A much stronger theory is that Japanese were sacrificed in order to flex
muscle against the Soviet Union.

~~~
mcappleton
Another way to think about it is this. How many American soldiers would be
killed in the invasion? The American soldiers who would invade are every bit
as innocent as the women and children killed in the A-bomb attacks. Estimates
are that Around 500,000 American soldiers would be killed or seriously wounded
in an invasion. Every American soldier was an innocent man, defending his
country from the Japanese who brutally attacked st Pearl Harbor. Do the lives
of these innocent men not matter to you? This perfectly demonstrates what's so
screwed up about liberals in America. They would literally rather send many
more of their own countrymen to get their arms and legs blown off and killed,
rather than kill the enemy. It's sickening, awful and evil how they would
gladly sacrifice more of their own innocent fellow Americans to save the wives
and children of attackers. Send 500k Americans to get murdered by the
japanese, plus their dead, or kill 250k with the a bomb.

The choice is clear once you have the facts. Of course maybe you don't think
it matters if American soldiers die. Maybe you think it's better that they die
than the enemy. Try telling that to the wife of a soldier lost in battle. Try
explaining that to a kid who wonders where his dad is. "The Japanese who
attacked us at Pearl Harbor and want to kill us are more important to keep
alive than your daddy".

You see think pictures of the a bomb with horror. And rightly so. But you
forget the horrors of Okinawa. The terror of Kamikaze pilots literally suicide
bombing the Americans.

The a bomb was not only better from a military and casualty standpoint, it was
better for Japan in the long run. It completely broke the back of their
military empire in a way that not even an invasion could. It was complete and
utter defeat that crushed their delusions that they would gain greatness
through military strength. That enabled them to move on and rebuild focusing
on the right thing, economic power

~~~
RodericDay
I definitely don't think terrorism is more justified if it saves your own
peers' lives.

The narrative that it saved Japanese lives is based on wrong premises (they'd
never surrender, etc.), but tries to build a persuasive argument that it was
for their own good.

I can't understand why you think "the american military saved their own lives
by killing foreign civlians" is at all a more persuasive justification.

~~~
mcappleton
Ok so you literally think that it's better to have 500k Americans killed than
250k Japanese, when the Japanese attacked us. And you consider defending
yourself terrori sm???

How are the Japanese civilians any more innocent than the Americans? Can you
answer this?? No you can't. You are just confused and have no comprehension of
how evil Pearl Harbor and the Japanese rulers were. You have obviously never
heard of the Bataan death march.

I literally think you are a horrible human being. You would rather sacrifice
_more_ of your own countrymen to save the wives and children of the attakcers.
You are a straight up evil human being. There are no other words to describe
it.

Thank you for proving to me beyond a doubt that liberals hate this country and
would gladly see it burn.

~~~
RodericDay
It's gonna be great busting out this comment next time dang or another mod is
crying that I'm being too mean and hostile to some duped liberal or
conservative.

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kartD
Hmm... from a cursory glance American conservative seems like a good website,
any readers care to comment on the quality of the site?

~~~
RodericDay
I'm very left wing, with my favourite publication being Current Affairs, and
American Conservative often has decent stuff.

Best takes on the Hamilton musical, curiously enough.

