War.

While I was at work today, I got a call from a gentleman wanting to know where one of our products was made. The product he was asking about is manufactured in Korea. As it turns out, this gentleman was a WW2 veteran. He informed me that he was a P.O.W. and that because of his experiences from that, he would never forgive them for what he claims they had done to him and the other soldiers they had captured. He then asked if I understood his reasoning for that. I told him I did not fully understand that as I have never been a P.O.W. but that I did understand his feelings on a small degree. He didn't appear to like that answer very much, as he went on to explain that they dramatically tortured him. He said he would never buy any product manufactured in Korea or China. He also said he would never forgive them for that. It got me thinking.

So I went and asked Burt and Marc from the warehouse, If they would ever forgive somebody for torturing them in the same manner as the P.O.W's were in WWII. They responded that it would be difficult if they were able to do it at all. Burt then explained that in the vietnam war, one of the most used methods of torture included taking a long glass rod, inserting it into the bladder of the captured men, and breaking it. This would cause the men to bleed everytime they used the bathroom. And there is nothing you can do for somebody who's been through that, It never goes away. The second most favorite form of torture was to take bamboo sticks, and shove them under the P.O.W's finger nails. I cannot immagine the pain that would cause. I can see how it would be hard to forgive them for doing that....I can understand what it's like wanting to hold a grudge. I have held grudges. I know what it's like not to Want to forgive people. But compared to why I hold grudges, and why this man was holding a grudge, is worlds apart. He was tortured, I was given a splinter in comparison. But what about what WE did to our P.O.W's?

What about what America did to our own citizens? Citizens of Japanese descent were thrown into "Internment Camps". Or what about the Atomic Bombs that we dropped on two Japanese cities AFTER they surrendured? The way I see it, there is something wrong with us. Just as much as other people see problems with other countries, I see problems with ours. And in this we are just like the Germans. The Germans do not teach their students about what happened in WWII, They do not teach them what they did to their citizens. A lot of Americans think that is crazy. Yet we are not taught enough of what We did to our citizens either. Or like Guantanamo Bay, we are taught nothing. Way to go America.