Scott Reynolds wrote:

> Are you seriously saying that your parents expressed no anger of dismay
> about My Lai?

In front of me? That's right. I have no idea what my parents thought of My Lai or any other
aspect of the Vietnam War. Or even of living as children during the WWII period. That my
grandfather from Japan considered life in Hawaii viewed with suspicion from military
authorities as the worst period of his life, is about the limit of what I am told.

> Perhaps they thought the way it was dealt with was
> appropriate, or perhaps you are referring to other discussions you had
> with them (about the rightness or wrongness of the Vietnam War in
> general, for example) and extrapolating their attitude to cover specific
> atrocities such as My Lai.
>
> In any case, you are quite mistaken if you think that there were not a
> very large number of people who were very upset and angry at the time.

That is not what I think or claim.

> As for contemporary attitudes, it is not surprising that the emotions
> have cooled after all these years.

A double standard of history.

> >>It's like Abu Ghraib.
> >
> > Indeed. Many do, but many still don't give a damn today about treatment of (suspected)
> > terrorists or insurgents.
>
> And many do. You would not use the contemptible attitudes and foolish
> statements of a few callous individuals to condemn an entire nation,
> would you?

"A few callous individuals" are not adequately outraged by Abu Ghraib or other such abuses
in even just Iraq?

Is that what you think there is? It is quite plain to media observers in Japan the
difference between what international audiences were able to see, and what Americans
(including soldiers) were fed during the active combat period in Iraq.

> > And what of what we do not know, or are not allowed to know, then or now, such as the
> > other atrocities in the region around even just My Lai, or in the rest of the country?
>
> What are we not allowed to know?

That's right.

> There is quite a lot of information out there, if you are inclined to look.

There's a lot about such as Abu Ghraib.

Can we get it all? Regarding Abu Ghraib, we are fortunate some were fool enough to send
photos to people at home. One can still hear fresh claims from detainees in Iraq, such as
the woman freed recently, about what happened to them, or at least what they saw. But how
many people are being investigated or court martialed, and how high will it go?

--
 "I'm on top of the world right now, because everyone's going to know that I can shove more
than three burgers in my mouth!"