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AnonymousPHOTOS: Thousands Protest Against U.S. Military Presence In Okinawa, Japan by Merrit Kennedy
Another story of interest to me in the news is of the Japanese protest against the Military in Okinawa a few days ago. This protest centers around a 32-year old, former U.S. Marine who worked on an Okinawa military base who raped and killed his victim. One quote that I found interesting was by a protester Chihiro Uchimura, whom told The Japan Times, "As long as there are U.S. military bases, this kind of incident will continue to happen." The U.S. presence has been in Japan for about 70 years, and as we have discussed in class, rape is has historically been used as a weapon of war to create fear. Considering that we are no longer at war, I think the protesters pose a very valid question: when, if at all, does the U.S. plan to remove the military from a now "ally" to this nation? This is a question I too have been wondering based off discussions in my classroom, but now this question is coming into public discussion world wide. I doubt much will change soon, but it is something we as a nation should be considering, especially in thinking about the effects of a military presence on the citizens of Japan.
edited by kluna on 6/21/2016
AnonymousKriztian, thank you for sharing these current events. I also heard about the protestors in Japan a few days ago in the news, and found it quite interesting, especially since I will be traveling to Japan this summer. Definitely will keep up with this story as I am there.
A current event that caught my attention is in the article here: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/21/asia/north-korea-missile/. I remember in lecture how Professor Clay mentioned the North and South Korea are still technically in war (which seems so surreal) since they are at a cease fire. For those that teach high school history, this article would be a great article to share with students how tensions continue to exist between the two countries (when teaching the Cold War unit in 10th grade). I would also use it when teaching on dictatorships in ancient times, and use it as a way to connect to Kim Jong Un's rule as a dictator, as well as to emphasize the continued tensions between the two Koreas.
Anonymoushttp://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/06/20/482439785/yes-theres-a-summer-camp-dedicated-to-learning-about-north-korea
This article in NPR talks about a 2-day summer camp in which South Korean students learn about life in North Korea. The idea behind this summer camp is for South Koreans to learn more about their neighbors to the north with the ultimate agenda of unification. My overall impression is that the premise and structure of this camp is very limited. For instance, it seems to me that the camp does very little in the way to dispelling stereotypes South Koreans might have about North Koreans. For instance, the article talks about some of the notions these students have about North Koreans as they see them as defectors and/or “handsome” spies. Students have the opportunity to “quiz” North Koreans on their life in their country. This seems to me that a lot of the learning continues and there is not much of an effort to dispel the preconceived notions people have that might be incorrect. A component that is missing in my opinion is on cultural sensitivity.
edited by nramon on 6/23/2016
AnonymousThis sounds like an interesting article! I wonder to what extent the curriculum has been shared? I think this is probably one step towards gaining more cultural sensitivity, but of course this is just the tip of the iceberg. I know that there are programs where teachers can skype with students in Palestine, I wonder if there is anything like that to get real life testimonies of people in North Korea (I highly doubt it, but it would be an interesting topic of research!).
I believe this is the website for the Palestine connection: http://www.edukid.org.uk/countries/palestine/. I personally have never tried it, but I met a teacher at a PD who had. I wish I had more information to share on this resource.
Rob_Hugo@PortNWSource: A Rocky Time in U.S.-China Relations As Leaders Meet in Beijing by Elise Hu
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/06/06/480806146/a-rocky-time-in-u-s-china-relations-as-leaders-meet-in-beijing
I will be leaving to China in a few weeks and this has led me to be increasingly more and more interested in U.S.-China relations. In reading about China, I found the article above that states that we are enduring rocky times with China. The article states that China and the US have to "deal" with each other. I thought this was an interesting way to describe the relationship! America wants more access to the Chinese consumer; however, China has made it harder for foreign companies to provide technology for the Chinese population. According to the article, the Chinese have their own domestic problems because they are seeing limited GDP growth. But eyes, at it seems around the world, are on our current election race. According to NPR, Donald Trump has stated "China and other counties have drained us. . . China has created the greatest theft in history of the US." In response, Senator Lu believes that we must continue to communicate openly with China by arguing that "the US-China is the most economic relationship in the world." It will be very interesting to see, where November will take us, for our economy, the Chinese, economy and the rest of the world!
edited by cgao on 7/6/2016
AnonymousHello kluna,
Thank you so much for sharing that article about protests in Japan against U.S. military. I agree with you that this is the Japanese have a valid point in questioning U.S. military presence today. What is the purpose of have the U.S. military present not only in Asian countries but also around the world were threat and war are not an issue. We often like to criticize third world countries for their corrupt governments and inhumane acts. However, we rarely stop to reflect on our own practices and the effects of increased militarization in Asian countries that pose no threat.
A novel that I read prior to this class with a similar story from the article was about a village in Africa where women were raped and often killed my the military. Rape as a weapon is an issue that still occurs today. It is an important topic that we should discuss in our classroom and relate it to social injustice, dehumanization, gender inequality.