superoutland@aol.com (SuperOutland) wrote in message news:<e91ad9af.0403252139.53078b8c@posting.google.com>...
> I've heard it quoted that MAcarthur said "the japanese should be
> treated like they're 12 year old".
> 
> This may be a paraphrase of his speech, in which compared to the
> "modern germany" japan was a "12 year old boy".
> 
> However, it is clear that Macarthur somehow though of japanese as
> being immature, and probably not solely to them not being modern or
> even and enemy because i do not believe he made similar remarks about
> Koreans or Chinese.  Or his duties as an administrator, for I do not
> believe he made similar remarks about the people of the Phillipines.
> 
> 
> 
> I just want to know your opinions on why you think this, both japanese
> and otherwise.

mccarthur, when he returned to the US, gave an account of what he did
in japan to the congressional committee.
mccarthur compared the japanese with the germans. he said japanese
were less guilty than the germans because whereas germans belonged to
a mature and advanced culture and should have known better, japan
during the military era had been like a 'boy of thirteen'.

it was a condescending but was said to explain the rise of japanese
militarism, not to insult the japanese. japanese did feel insulted
however.

read john dower's 'embracing defeat'.  good book and it's all there.