Tom Hanks Clarifies: WWII & War on Terror Represent Wars of Terror and ‘Ignorance’
by John Nolte
—–
Later this week, Big Hollywood will address Tom Hanks’ comments in this interview about how long it’s taking for America to overcome racism. But for now, let us all pause and reflect on just how much more enlightened the actor is than the rest of us.
Back to the point…
In the above video, CNSNews does an excellent job questioning Hanks about his “war of terror and racism” comments. The reporter isn’t confrontational and allows the actor to complete his answers fully. And yet, under these perfect conditions, Hanks fails miserably in justifying the awful things he said about our country and veterans, past and present. For accuracy sake, let’s look back at last week’s full “war of racism and terror” quote from MSNBC’s Morning Joe:
“The Pacific” is coming out now, where it represents a war that was of racism and terror. And where it seemed as though the only way to complete one of these battles on one of these small specks of rock in the middle of nowhere was to — I’m sorry — kill them all. And, uhm, does that sound familiar to what we might be going through today?
When asked about this by CNSNews, the Oscar-winner doubles down:
“Well, I said it’s familiar with what’s going on today. You can walk into the National World War II museum in New Orleans, in the Pacific wing, and Steven Ambrose himself has made that very point. It’s up in black and white, that after Pearl Harbor, these people that were very, very different from each other, the Americans and the Japanese, who had different heritages, who had different theologies and different ways of government, had a different sense of society went at it tooth and nail.
What does that mean, exactly? The only rational explanation is that Hanks has somehow convinced himself that when two nations populated by different cultures go to war it automatically qualifies as a ”war of racism.”
Furthermore, if our mentality was “kill them all,” why didn’t we? We certainly had the opportunity to “kill them all” and “terrorize” the Japanese people after their unconditional surrender. Instead, at great expense, we rebuilt Japan and handed it back over to all those “different” people.
Hanks continues:
It would be naïve to assume that racism was not part of the quotient of World War II…
Fine. We used the words “yellow” and “Jap.” That doesn’t make it a “war of racism.” Of all the elements Hanks chooses to describe WWII, he chooses the very worst and must exaggerate in order to do so. You don’t have to be a history buff to understand that WWII was quite clearly a war of liberty vs. tyranny — a war of ideologies – which is why we also declared war on those white guys in Nazi Germany.
Here’s the defense of his “terror” comments:
…and it’s historical fact by way of just simply suicide bombers from the air and as well as the terror that was visited upon civilian populations throughout the Pacific that terrorism was not part of the equation as well.
Does he mean the Japanese committed acts of terror, America, or both? You would assume by his description of suicide bombers and what was done to civilian population throughout the Pacific that he’s describing the Japanese. So why doesn’t he say so? That might seem like me picking on Hanks for not stating the obvious, but as you’ll see below he does this same kind of mealy-mouthed moral equivalency a second time.
CNSNews.com: “Now, how about the racism and terror comments that you made about the Pacific. How does that connect at all to what is going on–since you did say that it was connected?”
Hanks: “Yes, I did. I did say that. Yeah, I did. And, in fact, I have talked to all sorts of people who have, in the vernacular, used incredibly racist terms about the people on the other side of the fence, and we can see all the time that comes over in the regular news media from their side, from the other side, terms that can only be viewed as racist.
So because he’s heard “all sorts of people” use “incredibly racist terms,” Tom Hanks goes on a national cable news channel and glibly announces to the world that the War on Terror is a “war of racism and terror,” you know, just like WWII.
In the next sentence he appears to have heard how stupid he sounds and backtracks a bit:
But let’s just take the word “racism” out of it and put “ignorance” instead, because it’s, racism, is a mere virulent form of what that ignorance is.
Gee, thanks Tom. Big of you to call our country and troops ignorant instead of racist.
But like his above statements defending his “terror” comments, once again Hanks refuses to distinguish between America and our enemies. Who’s he talking about? Who’s ignorant? Who’s spouting racism? Who’s on which side of that fence? More importantly…
Which side is guilty of waging a “war of terror and racism ignorance” during WWII and the ongoing War on Terror?
Is he describing America? The terrorists? Both?
Is it just me, or does Tom Hanks seem to have a difficult time seeing America as the good guys?
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214 Comments
Dig up stupid!
Blah, Blah, Blah. I've had it. Just because a celebrity has the opportunity to speak into a microphone to a national (and sometimes even global audience) it's a shame that his comments don't come with a "disclaimer" indicating, "the person uttering these inanities, is a fool, and you, the listener should ignore his virulent stupidity." Lacking a similar platform to spout MY OWN opinions, I will utilize the ONLY tool I currently have: my hard-earned cash. I will NEVER AGAIN pay a nickel to watch ANYTHING Tom Hanks has produced, or acted in. That is the only recourse I have, and I will utilize it with which ever celebrity clown insults my country and my own intelligence with their moral relativist drivel. Adios Tom. You've joined Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Susan Saradon, Harrison Ford, and the list will assuredly go on and on . . . .
Just another ignorant, self absorbed, overpayed actor! Yeah, there was plenty of racism at the time Much of it coming from the Japanese at the time. If the useful idiot actor ever read a book, he would have discovered that the Japanese at this time in history believed that they were a superior race much like the Aryan race theory that the Germans pushed. Their treatment of the Chinese is a classic example. There is a ton of propaganda literature on the racial superioty of the Japanese over the round eyed races created during this time..the innate superiority over other Asian cultures was actively touted as justification for empire building. The question is will there ever be a day that idiots like Hank are held accountable for these lies, insults, and slander?
The Japanese looked at every other race and nationality as inferior, the Chinese, Filipinos etc and they slaughtered them in staggering numbers. They also considered Americans a race of undisciplined mongrels. But noooooo, it's the Americans who abbreviated Japanese to "Japs" who are the real racists.
So, to clarify, given plenty of opportunity to make his points again, this man/boy who only plays war in dress-up manages to simply solidify the point that America is just as bad as anyone else it's ever fighting. I'm surprised he didn't drag in our muss-ups with England and Spain while he was at it.
Tom Hanks (and your Ron Howard pals), I gave up on your movies long ago. Oh, you'll still make some money, but you'll never have the respect of most movie goers today, the kind of respect the Hollywood veterans of WWII had in spades.
And who cares?
He's been established as an idiot, so there's no need for further clarification of this point.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Although, on second thought, it does diminish the performance of Hanks as Gump, since it seems he wasn't acting…
Let me add that despite the anger and destruction on both sides of the war with the Japanese, America was not racist but kind and respectful to the Japanese after the war. General McCarthur was loved by the Japanese..his leadership and help was gratefully applauded by the Japanese and when he finally left there was great sadness. Every business student has seen the original patent of the transistor sold to the Japanese for a dollar to jump start their economy in their textbook. We rebuilt and guided this nation in its efforts to rebuild. A racist nation does not do these things.
Hanks seems to be suffering from epic cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, he campaigned for the WW II Memorial and has been a vocal supporter of that war in film, and on the other, he undermines all of that with ludicrous comparisons of the "annihilator" US – the responder to Japanese aggression – with the more honorable Imperial Japan's supposed motivations. I wonder if his inner voice says be conservative and his super-ego simply can't help but buckle under the crushing avoirdupois of the Hollyweird leftard peer pressure.
Yeah, we pretty much rebuilt the nation. And Germany! Those darned racist Americans and their nation building.
To clarify. He's toast.
This actor is neither a veteran nor a historian. The sad thing is he has an audience.. He is a big time political donor and the powers to be listen to him. To be perfectly honest I can take the pretend veteran in him, what I can
not take is the pretend historian.
Cognitive dissonance exactly. Being a left winger is a lot like being in a cult. Your critical thinking gets completely dismantled. Groupthink dominates.
Still waiting for Tom to comment on the Rape of Nanking, among other Japanese atrocities. Still waiting, Tom. But, no, he sticks to his guns and declares the war was still about racism, xenophobia and the "ignorance" of the American people.
Oh how, Cultural Marxism and Howard Zinn-revisionism rots the mind.
So after he gets nailed for his dopey comments, he's given a chance to redeem himself and he digs himself even deeper? Thanks for leaving no doubt of what a complete hack he is.
As much as I disagree with Hanks here, at least he didn't hide from the question like Sean Penn. Hanks lives in the freest and least bigoted nation on earth, and all he can see is racism. He is very disconnected with the poor and middle-class, hence the need for being surrounded by bodyguards. He is extremely talented at what he does, but he has been bitten by the liberal hollywood bug, hence is irrational and incoherent remarks.
Not just you, John. Whereas most of our ilk love and cherish this great nation, admitted warts and all, Tom and his lefty buddies seem to only concentrate on the warts.
For those who have never heard Evan Sayet’s bit on alleged US imperialism (and Evan, my friend, sincere apologies if I somehow botch this in translation), he imagines someone from our leadership telling the Japanese to take our post-war re-building money, but wait a few years to kick our automotive industry’s [butts].
Yeah, that’s right, Buffy (or was Hanks Hildy?), we’re the big ol’ bad racist US of A. Have fun with your millions from this and Toy Story 3 later this year, ya big acting clown/history dunce, while I rest easily knowing it won't be any of my money helping.
Not just you, John. Whereas most of our ilk love and cherish this great nation, admitted warts and all, Tom and his lefty buddies seem to only concentrate on the warts.
For those who have never heard Evan Sayet’s bit on alleged US imperialism (and Evan, my friend, sincere apologies if I somehow botch this in translation), he nails it as he imagines someone from our leadership telling the Japanese to take our post-war re-build money, but wait a few years to kick our automotive industry’s [butts].
Yeah, that’s right, Buffy (or was Hanks Hildy?), we’re the big ol’ bad racist US of A. Have fun with your millions from this and Toy Story 3 later this year, ya big acting clown/history dunce, while I rest easily knowing none comes from my wallet.
Okay, call me a schmuck, call me a star struck small city rube. I buy it. Hear me out.
I think the main hang up with all of this is the Hanks using the term racist. He might mean the classical definition which is a racist, rather than modern liberal term, which means any one winning a debate with a modern liberal.
I am by no means a member of the WWII generation, but the elders as I was growing up under in the community were, and yes, there was a lot of racist language. But as I recall it wasn't against the Japanese in general, just the ones they fought on the battle fields. Probably because in those days there weren't any Japanese around these parts, so its not like anybody was going to get overly embarrassed.
But I've always chalked that up to the experiences these veterans had to endure, while praying they would survive. It never came off to me as basic intolerance. Not at all. As a matter of fact, I've found people of that generation to b e quite very accepting at the personal level, while yes, rattling off jokes about stereotypes. Trust me, I'm Polish, I've heard more than my share of the jokes.
At this point I will give Hanks the benefit of the doubt. Because the use of the term racist has been so mangled, and loaded with such unnecessary baggage as to render it explosive by even being mentioned. Which is why he probably shouldn't have even brought it up.
That being said, I do agree he was playing to the audience on MSNBC and Time. And that is not a sign of class.
Joe S., former Malibu resident here:
HANKS = JASFBAI (just another S.F. Bay Area Imbecile).
Someone please ask Tom Hanks why he insists on living in Malibu, the RICHEST WHITEST LIBERAL CITY in Southern California where the only people of color are those Latinos cooking up Tom and Rita's $35 veggie salad at Nobu.
The Herald of Scotland may have credible proof that a US-led attack on Iran approaches and could be just days away. Doubtful.
But Rahm may be running out of ways to twist arms in which a case he'll need a new crisis to forge ahead. Wonder what Tommy Boy would have to say to that.
"We were against it before we were for it."?
Ambrose himself was a huge leftist. and his thoughts on the Pacific, Hanks is simply regurgitating . The eurpope side of the D-Day museum is very well done and thoughtful. Walk into the Pacific wing and every kind of leftist impression of why we were in the Pacific hits you with some of our less than flattering propaganda posters . It is a subtle slap on the victors. Now, Hanks and Spielberg have dropped 7 figures each into this museum and that's fine. Unfortunately it has allowed them to have a fairly large voice. By the way, Doug Brinkley wrote a 2004 tome called Tour of Duty, this ws a hagiography about John Kerry, who, by the way, served in Viet Nam and had Christmas in Cambodis seared into his brain.
The Museun is still fabulous, no doubt, many rarities and a hell of a lot of great history. Just be forewarned .
TYPO time
Cambodia/Museum/was
I plead needing glasses ..
I dare Tom Hanks or Steven Spielberg to make a movie of "Flyboys" by James Bradley also the author of "Flags of our Fathers" and son of John Bradley, one of the Iwo Jima flag raisers. His book covers the history of Japan from the days of Shoguns and details their brutality. He covers the Japanese and their occupation and rape of China, how's that for racism for you Hanks? During WWII the Japanese sent thousands and thousands of troops to Rabaul with no logistical support which caused them to die of starvation, disease and cannibalism. Yes cannibalism. This book centers around the little island of Chichi Jima which is where the Japanese had a huge antenna situated to make radio contact with their fleet. The Japanese that commanded this island captured American pilots who were trying to knock out the antenna. This is where George Bush Sr. was shot down and if he would have been captured he would have probably met the same fate as his fellow aviators–execution followed by cannibalism. The Japanese officers had some strange idea that eating parts of your enemy would make you invincible and victorious in battle. These officers were tried, convicted and executed after the war. And Tom Hanks said we were fighting the Japanese because they were different. I've never read about Americans ever eating their enemies mixed in with soba noodles. Go ahead Hanks, make this book into a movie. I triple dog dare you. "Flyboys, A Story of Courage "is actual history, not twisted tales that you like to embellish and liberalize for your MSNBC watching low IQ followers.
Go read "Prisoners of the Japanese" by Gavan Daws. It'll open up your eyes. The Japanese treatment of allied POW's was nothing short of total inhumanity. "Racist" is how they viewed everything that wasn't Japanese. They felt themselves the "Prussians of the Orient" and everything else, especially "round eyes" were lower than dogs.
Hanks is right, global enlightenment is the future. United States of Earth. Deal with it.
EdSki, I thought maybe you were because of your screen name. So am I – so we've both heard the jokes. I always say that Polish jokes are the last bigoted jokes one can tell and NOT get into trouble. Which ticks me off no end. Not that I don't have a sense of humor, but most Polish jokes are not based on any cultural quirk that we can all chuckle about. It was started by the Germans apparently and was meant to be demeaning.
Anyway, I agree that many people back in that day used words we wouldn't use nowadays and yes, the military uses terms on the battlefield for a reason, sometimes just as a simple identifier, and probably also to buttress the troops for what they have to do – kill people they don't know. It's not an easy task I'm sure.
Cont'd
But his statements show that he is not talking in the full context of the situation – like how racist the Japanese really were as compared with the racism we may have exhibited on an individual level. As others pointed out – we declared war on the Germans and they were white.
He was looking to play to the Left and he failed miserably because he is completely incoherent. The more he says, the more this is obvious.
When everyone was doing cartwheels about 'Band of Brothers', I still looked at the names attached to the production and felt something was amiss.Not even Hollywood could tarnish your average GI Joe but they could always go after the cause and the politicians involved and now crafty showmen like Hanks and Spielberg weave together both the nice story with the ulterior motive and are plenty pleased they get their message out and at the same time get certain accolades from portraying the boys in a good light.
Tom Hanks is a heated competition with James Cameron for "World Citizen Enlightened Elite of the Year"…
…which means he has to ratchet up the America-bashing and 'racism' charges to absurd new levels…
I would like to use the vernacular to rebut Mr. Hanks and his comments.
Phewy!
Perhaps this will help save Tom's image and reputation: all wars involve very complex undercurrents involving philosophy, religion, economics, politics, power plays, fear, false notions, aggression, and grandiose ideas plans to control other nations and people groups, and all wars involve various levels of racism in various directions, and all wars are terrifying. But let's be clear. The Nazis sought world domination seeing themselves superior to everyone else. The Japanese did the same for the same reason. The Italians did the same. Today, radical Muslims in Iran and Afghanistan and elsewhere seek world domination because they deem themselves superior to everyone else. Therefore, Nazis, Japanese Imperialists, Italian fascists and Islamic theocrats are all racist terrorists. Should we defend ourselves against them as did our fathers during WWII? Well Tom, should we?
This dude just can't stop stepping on his own dick… Has this guy not read any of the current books written by our war on terror veterans? Michael Yons' blog? WTF Hanks?
Wow. Dude really needs a script.
War is not the answer! Surrender is….
And you're racist!!!
You schmuckski!!!
Drat. I was ready your post and getting excited because I thought the whole thing was going to read:
"The Herald of Scotland may have credible proof that a US-led attack on Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama could be just days away."
*sigh*
Spielberg bought the rights to "Flyboys"
Don't you mean to say nation REbuilding? Hanks, HA! the dog was smarter in Turner and Hooch than that bonehead!!!
I saw this interview yesterday. Hanks would have served himself better if he prefaced the interview, with his reference to being just an actor, and not an expert, instead of mentioning it near the end of it.
Or Ghost Soldiers which was watered down into the The Great Raid movie, a film which showed virtually none of the brutality mentioned in the book. Heck, So Proudly We Hail ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036367/ ) shows the Japanese atrocities more accurately.
Based on what government? Something from Star Trek or Sharia perhaps?
But that would have made himself sound like, well, just an actor.
He's a superior human being!
James Bradley blames Japanese atrcoities on the Americans. James Bradey believes we taught the Japanese that brutality was OK when we fought the Filipinos. I beleive hos latest book lays out his case for America being the cause of Japanese brutality even further.
Tom how sad for you that the bubble you live in have cut you off from the 'real' world! Get a clue moron!!
Haven't yet read Leckie's book yet, is there any historical eveidence for the scene at the end of Part I for the shooting of the Japanese soldier in the arm, hand etc? Is this described anywhere in the eyewitness literature? Having read many accounts of Guadlacanal I never read about that one. I did know about the marine injuring himself trying to open a can.
The basic thing Hanks fails to get is racism is a symptom of War not a root causation unless you are an inherently racist nation. Like Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan or the Islamic Terrorist nations like Iran, for instance. The nation of the United States has never been inherently racist in policy or national views. Individual Americans can become racist in their views due to the pressure of War and the atrocities committed by an inherently racist enemy, however. His portrail of racism in Pacific is proof of that fact. The scenes where American Soldiers supposedly expressed racism were disconnected from the root causation of the brutal and sadistic racist enemy atrocities committed by the Japanese against civilians and soldiers alike. Did you wonder why there were no civilians at Guadualcanal in the first episode of Pacific last night? That's because the Japanese killed them all because they were 'different'.
James Bradley blames Japanese atrocities on the Americans. James Bradley believes we taught the Japanese that brutality was OK when we fought the Filipinos. I believe his latest book lays out his case for America being the cause of Japanese brutality even further. (Spelling corrected!)
This is true, but I think he would have come off better. Quite frankly to me anyway, Hanks looked woefully out of his element.
Socialize the entertainment industry.
It is obscene that in a country as rich as the US people need to deprive themselves in oder to be entertained.
Act now!
Require that actors compensations be capped.
Price of in-theater popcorn should be regulated …
Cheap entertainment is a right!
If you read the Time magazine build up–he does believe that he is very well read in WW2 history. You can google it but it will disgust you.
Time agrees, of course.
No, he will never back off this. And, after all, it is his opinion (that the USA is racist, evil empire) and how would we persuade him otherwise.
I truly believe he has a character disorder.
I'm planning on reading the "Imperial Cruise" which I understand is primarily about Theodore Roosevelt's plans of expansionism into the Pacific theater and how his staffers and cabinet members helped light the fuses for WWII in the Pacific. The more I've read about Teddy Roosevelt, the more I dislike him. Bradley's books are very well researched and written and packed with logical historical information and interesting.
I think he, Hanks and HBO bought the rights about 6 years ago, but no plans as of yet. I can imagine how they'll modify the story that by the time they're done it will be a Japanese Cookbook about a Shogun chef.
Again a Follywood elite shows that even idiots can be good actors and Follywood is overrun with them. I go to see a movie in the theater about once a year. I think I will make that once every two years now and rent a DVD about once a year. Hanks is an absolute meathead.
I recommend War Without Mercy, Race and Power in the Pacific War by John Dower. There was racisim, to be sure but the war started over Japan's rape of China. The Japanese are just about the most racist nation in the world. I love 'em but racailly tolerant: they ain't.
I failed to mention that the Japanese Armey issued a general order concerning canabalisim. It outlined who the troops could or could not eat.
Somebody might want to take Tom aside and fill him in on Nanking, or the Bataan Death March.
I like the way you roll, g6loq
I always feared this day wuold come. The day that leftist hostory revision would become so far gone that even in World War II, America would be the bad guy. It's just a matter of time before publik edjukayshun indoctrinates kids with 'all the good ideas" Hitler had.
Or Japanese medical experiments and force prostitution.
He campaigned for the WW2 memorial before 9-11. He has the typical post 9-11 mentality that everyone in Hollywood has. I love the way your put your last sentence. Priceless!
Yeah, someday. But it's a bit premature to start talking as if the world is already living by globalist principles.
I wish all the people who hate America would leave. Or come on a hunting trip with me.
Off topic, but topical, Teddy was the first to attempt socialized medicine.
Forrest GUMP was smarter than Hanks.
It seems clear that Hanks might not have qualified for an Oscar for Forrest Gump. He may not have been acting at all. Even Forrest knew better than this awful drivel from his mouth these days. Where did his mind go?
Forrest needs Lt. Dan to straighten him out AGAIN. Buying him Apple shares so he can ride the ride'm mower all over town won't do it this time. Somebody has mown Hank's grass alright. Nothing left but dirt.
I watched the making of The Pacific and the first episode on HBO last night. I was not happy. It appears that the veterans whose lives on which this is based are happy with it. At least based on The Making Of special shown. But I was not happy with the way our marines are portrayed at all in the first episode. A lot of what they say and do they got right but I did not like the way they are portrayed as little more than bigots.
"Racism" while fighting a war can be just another strategy to win. This used to be universally understood, back when much of society had a more direct link to military culture.
To win a war, you have to kill the other guy. And throughout history, man has needed to dehumanize his enemy – in order to be able to kill him. Military cultures understand this, and make it part of the training. You spend too much time thinking about how the guy in your sights is a human just like you and you're going to be slow on the trigger. Unfortunately, it reduces your own humanity. The trick has always been getting your humanity back after the conflict is over. I'd say America has always done an excellent job at that. WWII is a prime example.
BEFORE Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese we had two countries with "people that were very, very different from each other,… who had different heritages, who had different theologies and different ways of government, had a different sense of society" and were living PEACEABLY on the same planet. How can he ignore that big thing that happened on December 7th and not see how it CHANGED the living peaceably part???
Hanks is a DOLT.
Wealthy and talented actor, but please Tom, you've removed the doubt about you being a moron.
Critical thinking and Tom, life long strangers.
Nolte,you might want to leave Hanks alone and bail out Breitbart. He said he'd bring down the institutional left in three weeks, you've only got a few more hours:
http://www.institutionalleftdoomsdayclock.com/
The Times article even mentions Tom Hanks "revision of history."
Tom Hanks should stick to acting. At least you don't need a brain to act.
MMM MMM MMM Obama MMM MMM MMM , all will be good with our Dear Leader, so nolotrippen, please do not spoil things by asking such a thing.
I wonder if Tom was always this dense or is he starting to slip a little bit around the edges.
"Mandrake, give me a hand, the Red Coats are coming"
According to Tom Hanks, the war on terror wasn't provoked by terrorists attacking and killing Americans and other innocent people around the world for the last several decades, but rather by racist Americans who don't like Muslims which, of course, doesn't include Hanks and his liberal pals in Hollywood.
What many of these actors, pundits, and writers seem to misunderstand is the context in which this "racism" exists. As a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom I can speak directly to hearing many of the terms Tom Hanks would deem as racist. And removed from their context, or viewed by someone who has never been in a vehicle targeted by insurgents, I can almost forgive Tom's ignorance. However, as anyone who has been shot at, targeted by combatants or had an IED detonate near them understands, these words and ideas come from a place other than ignorance.
33% of the Americans taken to Japanese prison camps never came home, it was 34% for the Australians. Tommy Hanks mommy never told him this fact.
Service men do not hate terrorists because they are Middle Eastern. Nor do we hate them because of the color of their skin or their dialect. We see the cowardly, despicable things they do to woman. We watch them strap explosives to children. We see them laying IED's on roads, hoping for the chance to kill a soldier. The men and women of the greatest generation may have used vile words to describe our enemies in WWII. But they were not motivated out of ignorance or racism. Unspeakable things, happening every day, stirred up powerful emotions. If these words are the greatest of our sins, Americans truly can be proud like no other nation on earth. Like many liberals, Tom Hanks' has directed his disapproving glance at the wrong people. Perhaps, the next time Tom is compelled to visit a WWII museum; he should instead travel to Pearl Harbor or the Holocaust Memorial.
Our cable channels muiltiply, they are on 24/7/365, they have to fill the dead air, as quantity goes up, quality goes down.
Most of us are glued to these channels. Who creates what we see? Hollywood types.
They make their living creating make believe worlds and live in make believe worlds. They should be realistic then?
It is no mystery that so many people today live in a make believe world listening to all these dull normals.
Hollywood types, like Hanks, claim to have wisdom when they only come across laughably pompous.
Excellent post, Patrick. Mr. Hanks seems to ignore the fact that members of his liberal Hollywood club use vile words to describe their fellow citizens with whom they disagree. Some go so far as to say vile things about the young children of people they disagree with. Are they guilty of ignorance and racism?
As demented and mealymouthed as Hanks has become I think I see what he is trying to say. The Japs were "racist" (felt superior) because they didn't dig the round eyes and their doing the democracy/freedom stuff. The Americans are "racist" (felt superior) because they didn't dig the Japs and their "we're the baddest cats on the block and our Emperor is a God" line. Hanks problem is that he tries to assign a moral equivalence between the "attitudes". It must suck to always feel the need to badmouth the U.S. just so you'll feel comfortable living in the greatest nation on earth.
I still have enjoyed his movies over the years, and I probably will continue to in the future.
If I had to swear off every entertainer who I didn't agree with their politics, I'd be stuck watching re-runs of the Andy Griffifth Show, listening to Josh Gorban and looking at my Norman Rockwell paintings.
Not that there's anything wrong with any of those folks, but after awhile…..
Isnt it odd that at the height of our power and prestige we had John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart. James Cagney et al and now at our nadir of power and prestige we have Tom Hanks, Michael Moore, Sean Penn et al.
It was interesting to watch the clip of Hanks on O'Reilly tonight, speaking with the crew of "Good Morning America" about how he might read Karl Rove's book once it hits the discount close-out bin in the local bookstore. What was interesting was how comfortable Hanks obviously felt, safe in the knowledge that the others on-set most likely agreed with his statement and certainly would not ask any questions coming off that statement.
Which is where Hanks made his mistake in the earlier interview. He felt comfortable that the people around him believed in the same things he did and wouldn't follow-up on the remark because nobody in his or their circles think much differently. But he wasn't making a degradating comment about Karl Rove; he was making one about the entire U.S. society 70 years ago (including, though not stated, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the American political leadership during World War II) while trying to get people to watch his mini series about those same people and what they endured in the Pacific Theater, a topic that tends to be of more interest to the rubes in flyover country anyway.
"Watch my production about these racist savages who were no different from the enemy they were fighting" is not a good way to draw an audience and not draw controversy, but making those claims among the folks Hanks hangs out with in Hollywood probably doesn't raise an eyebrow, and boiling down the U.S.-Japan conflict into purely racial terms may seem smart out there, but only because a powerful Hollywood celeb isn't going to get challenged by his simplistic beliefs.
Hanks is a ignoramus!
What I don't get is this is the same guy from "Saving Private Ryan" and behind "Band of Brothers". How could you produce something as golden as BOB and turn around and say something this silly?
Every time a celebutard pisses me off I never again put money in their pockets. And my list grows. Hasn't hurt me so far to not see their pictures or buy their CDs. Their art is tainted and I'm no worse off for no longer viewing or listening to it. *shrug*
And here, all these years, I thought the savagery of the War in the Pacific came to be as a result of Japanese barbarity:
Sneak attack on Pearl Harbor during peacetime; The Rape of Shanghai; The Rape of Manila; The Bataan Death March; Booby-trapped bodies; Barbarous treatment of POWs; Refusal to surrender causing horrific Allied casualties; POWs used as slave labor; Beheadings, torture, and mutilation of POWs; Medical experiments on POWs; and on and on and on…
I'm sure glad Doctor Hanks, Ph.D., Military History, University of Hollywood, College of Political Correctness, cleared all that up for me. I feel so much better now.
From "Yankees" to "Krauts", derogatory terms for the enemy have always been a part of war. It doesn't necessarily mean the war is racist in nature. One would think that Hanks, with all the work he's done for veterans, wouldn't be so simplistic in his thinking.
[...] a good time for socialists or America bashing in Hollywood these days. James Cameron’s expensive, anti-military film Avatar, while bringing [...]
If you don't have HBO you can go to the HBO website and register and watch for free. I watched the first episode today. Tom Hanks views aside they know how to make a war movie!!
Agreed. The Great Raid was a disappointment. It made the Japanese-occupied Philippines look like an okay place. Just a few Japanese soldiers running around…that's all.
Tom is right! He exercised his private demons and proved his (political ) correctness. After all he fought the good fight against other European peoples in Private Ryan. After all it is documented that even in the Galaxy spanning Star Wars, all the bad guys looked like Euros. Sarcasm off.
There is a lot more to war than racism, which becomes relegated to a very minor role if your allies are not of the same race. As evidence I submit Korea and Viet Nam; although the RVN's were inconsistent, there were enough brave Vietnamese to quash most racial epithets which were reserved for the VD and NVA.
My Dad used the term "Krauts" to his dying day. It wasn't racist or ethnic. It was code for the vicious Nazi SOBs who nearly kicked him to death after he had been badly wounded and burned while being shot down in flames. He barely survived and spent the rest of his life in pain that even the Mayo Clinic could not alleviate. "Krauts," IMHO, was too mild a term to describe them and I thought my Dad exercised admirable restraint when referring to those hideous demons.
People like Hanks who toss off such thoughtless statements should spend a little more time understanding their subject matter.
"VC," not "VD," although that could have been a Freudian slip.
There was plenty of racism, it was mainly the Japanese that were the racists.
Even now, the Japanese term for foreigner is "Gaijin." That translates into "barbarian." They don't seem inclined to change it either.
I spent time in Japan and was routinely referred to as a "Gaijin" in my presence.
I don't hear of any hand-wringing and fretting among Japanese cultural critics about their insensitive racism.
It's time for us to stop wearing these PC-sized hair shirts prescribed for us by a bunch of fuzzy-headed sociology and political science majors.
Effin' A, Bro!
A few well-placed rounds near one's person tends to alter one's perception of "those nice human beings on the other side" trying to kill oneself.
If a rattlesnake squirmed up next to Hanks and bit him on the ankle, I can guarantee you his main reaction would not be to describe the snake in gentle terms.
Hugo Chavez's ears are burning….
Tom Hanks is nothing but a big ass. The fact that every Aussie POW was beheaded by the Japanese is something they learned from who??? Only 10% of all allied POWs were spared only because we dropped two A-bombs on the bastards to end the war. The fact they would put American & British POWs on cargo ships with Japanese markings on them so, US subs would sink them thinking they were supply ships.
This is war TOM not sex you dumb idiot. Neither Hank, Stevie boy have the balls to make a film that shows the Vietnam Veteran as heros. We fought over 10,000 battles we won them all and not one of these leftist mad dogs have the guts to honor a Vietnam Vet. Now they are going after the greatest generation that saved their world so Hanks could make his way to Hollywood, make it rich and famous and then piss on the system that allows him to live like royalty. Tom you and the rest of your kind are nothing more then blue collar working class ingrate trash with multi-millions
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