Why I love a country that once betrayed me | George Takei

[@davidkosa]

My uncle fought in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. As the oldest living survivor of that regiment, he recently died at 103. He was an amazing man. A police officer at one time, then a surgeon. I salute you, Uncle Y. Kudos to George Takei for this wonderful speech.

[@Paraselene_Tao]

Thank you for sharing your story. I am not a religious theist, but I bless the folks who serve our community and do good while they're alive on this planet. Bless your Uncle Y, and may we all emulate his great character.

[@darkhank942]

The real hero in this story is George Takei's father. He is the one who set fundamentals of the current Mr. Takei's views. The amazing man that didn't blame US and stopped the poisonous hatred chain. The story did make me tear up. I can only imagine what happened at that day in the camp. Great speech

[@Redpoppy80]

We need to hear more of these speeches! It would do all of us good.

[@nelson-al4663]

I wonder if the fight that Japanese unit won were against Japanese Army. Not sure if they would kill other Japaneses because they traditionally have strong culture roots, even remotes descendants. Imprisonment of Japaneses was practiced for several countries during WWII because in that time to reveal Army, Air Force or Navy position for a enemy inside your territory was a huge disadvantage. In other words, one Japanese informing via radio any American army position to Japanese Air Force could be catastrophic. As you couldn't individualize that one person's behave, the only way was arrest every Japanese and their descendants unfortunately. But Japan did worse with foreigners and Chineses and Koreans. That people was mostly killed by Japanese forces. Today maybe it wouldnt be necessary because fights are technological and you command everything from computers rooms and satellites.

[@thebigitchy]

gotraingo the 442nd and 100th were deployed to Europe. There were over 6000 Japanese-Americans in the Military Intelligence Service who were sent to the Pacific.

[@ValrickWelch]

That is correct, the Japanese American forces were not allowed to fight in the Pacific theater.

[@1969cmp]

Valrick Welch Understandable.

[@billheuer7640]

Mr. Takei, I applaud your lack of bitterness. I don;t think I could forgive what was done to you.

[@randynundlall2601]

Bill Heuer thank you. That is how the Japanese descendants are! Look at the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the survivors are not bitter, they have forgiven the "hero" harry truman, the biggest c°,@≥#t!!!!

[@blowme6345]

Bill Heuer boo hoo

[@jaydani1996]

@@randynundlall2601 he was a hero nothing less

[@saladfingersasmrparty9768]

David Moore I think what he means is he’s amazed by how George Takei doesn’t seem to hold any ill will towards the people who interred him, and that, if he were in Takei’s position, he’d be too overcome by (definitely justified) anger that he wouldn’t be able to forgive them.

[@andrewtoombs3867]

Very difficult times to navigate

[@AlexanderArts]

This is a story we need to be reminded of and George Takei was a great person to relay it.

[@richardjosephnovak]

No, this story needs to die with all the rest that were in that war. It will fade away a little more when Takei fades away.

[@PizzaguyJeff]

@@richardjosephnovak Horseshit. We need to remember history, warts and all, so that were are not doomed to repeat it.

[@richardjosephnovak]

@@PizzaguyJeff He is a man filled with vitriol, hate, and prejudice. The war is over. Unfortunately he was not wearing a red shirt on Star Trek.

[@PizzaguyJeff]

@@richardjosephnovak how is him describing the discrimination and racism he and his family faced through no fault of their own hatred or vitriol? Sounds to me like you would rather live in ignorance than actually acknowledge real history because it makes you uncomfortable. I wonder why...

[@stephenwright8824]

@@richardjosephnovak The only person Takei has anything like hatred and vitriol towards is that Jewish-Canadian anti-vaxxer butt-lick William Shatner. And before anyone accuses me of Anti-Semitism, I'm the great^2 grandson of a Jewish-Canadian woman..

[@SkepticalChris]

To hold onto hatred is easy. To forgive is a sign of an enlightened and loving person. George Takei is not a delusional man for loving America even though America imprisoned him and his family. He forgives them, but he continues to speak of those crimes, hoping that his nation will never repeat them again. He hopes for America to change, which is not a sign of hatred, but of love because he knows that his country is capable of re-achieving greatness. Btw, I'm Canadian.

[@Matrix-wg2iq]

to hear this from a Canadian is laughable

[@Trans909]

Hey, Corey. That's what I meant by a thoughtful, well-constructed reply. I tend to agree with you on nearly everything you presented. I agree that an "effective" world government would be a whole lot better than the systems we have now: wars, unfair trade, worker abuse, etc. etc. The question is, of course, what constitutes "effective?" Nationalism--and pure human obstinacy--being what it is (annoying, mostly), we'll probably never see it. I think we both agree: there are a lot of crazy, fearful, angry people out there who can't make sense of this hypercomplex world because their brains haven't evolved enough to deal with it. But I'm really glad to see that there's at least one more goodhearted and smart person who can grasp the Big Picture. Stand tall and hang in there. Corey. You're one of the Good Guys. Thanks.

[@SkepticalChris]

Canada, and all those nations that have committed these criminal acts have to be brought to justice and many have, including the Canadian Government. Everyone has skeletons in their closet that they have to resolve not just for others, but for themselves and to clear their consciences.

[@skysthelimitvideos]

I laughed when I read that you were Canadian.

[@rosesandsongs21]

+skysthe limitvideos You laughed when you read he was Canadian? Ok, and why is that? Do you think we don't have an army up here, or japanese people? Do you think we did not fight in WWII, that we aren't allowed to have an opinion, that we don't have heroes AND idiots like you... I mean like you do up here? Yes, we have all of that so what's your point exactly, if you have one of course...

[@desuburinga]

George Takei's father is a true legend, to have that kind of injustice happened to him and still able to uphold his belief and educated a young George Takei what the essence of democracy means to him, is truly an amazing feat.

[@K8E666]

Amazing speech by an amazing man who was lucky enough to have real life heroes as parents ....

[@Yo_uj]

People fell to their death and no one cried !!!WOW!!! RESPECT is all they deserve

[@gendoruwo6322]

they didn't expect anyone would mourn them. they didn't expect anyone would thank them. they bore it all quietly and fight on. not just respect, they deserve greatest honors.

[@EIBBOR2654]

@@gendoruwo6322 What you stated is true about anyone that serves in the military. No one in the military expects anyone outside our family to mourn us if we are killed in war or doing our duty in pace time. No one in the military expects to be thanked for what we do or what we sacrifice during our time in volunteering for that service. Those that decide to make military service a career sacrifice a great deal more and never expect to be thanked. This is not meant to take away anything from the Americans of Japanese decent that served in the 442. As stated, the 442 was the most decorated unit of the war and suffered the highest casualties of the war. They proved themselves through all the prejudice, much of it stirred up by the government, news media and Hollywood. Unfortunately a lot of it turned out to be true because of the Japanese military and it's indoctrination to the Bushido code of behavior. Most of this stuff is not taught anymore but the information is still out there. Read about the Japanese Unit 721 sometime or the Rape of Nanking. Ujjwal Kumar For those that fell silently to their deaths, they did so as not to betray their comrades. Being in a unit like the 442 you develop a bond with the others you serve with and it is something closer than family. Unless you serve in the military it is very hard to understand and appreciate that bond. They knew if they screamed as they fell it would have given away the only advantage they had, a surprise attack from the enemies rear. It may sound strange to many but a Soldier fights for their brothers and sisters in arms first their country second.

[@EverTheTwain]

@@EIBBOR2654 lots to mull over in your comment

[@rborne11xraytaz4]

I lost one of my men in the mountains of Afghanistan the same way. We all prepped ourselves psychologically before the mountain night patrol. He didn't even whimpered. We all heard that thump almost 1000ft below us. And we kept going. But when we returned to our outpost three days later. Grown warriors cried like little boys, including myself.

[@G1NZOU]

This is true partriotism. To love ones country, to be open to talking about its flaws, and most importantly being prepared to work to constantly improve one's country. No country is perfect or has a clean record, but with citizens who care enough to make it better, each country can become greater.

[@ervinzhou8251]

Not to mention they were not even citizens, and were kept in squalor and imprisonment by the very country they fought for

[@blainetanner5531]

Harry Eaton easy for you to say

[@crackerjack4833]

That will only happen when all races realize... and I mean seriously realize what it *truly* means to be a *humanbeing* ... If someone is going to take advantage of another by any all means, or outright kill another person for whatever ... You will know who does not know what the true meaning of being human really is. Until that day comes... There will only be the few of us with that morality and mentality. Still, I am doing what I can to give the hint to the solution by making these very comments. Still, it never ceases to amaze me at how closed off so many people are to accepting diversity and progress as a species.

[@MonicaSĪGÑofJõñãhYUNIS]

@@crackerjack4833 Amen...Ameen.... Beautiful words... Thank You....

[@January.]

*its

[@aadhavaarasanraviarasan9614]

His voice, omg, so majestic

[@stoopidyoutubehandle]

He played a character as Emperor Yoshiro in Red Alert 3(game)

[@christianmahary3697]

He is also mulan's lead anscestor

[@the_number_one]

Indian Americans need to learn it

[@Wulf2604]

Kamalakannan A R bruh lmfao

[@diddy89king]

now this is the stuff the history books in grade school doesn't tell you about.

[@thedarkknight646]

The winners write the history books

[@homelessend8557]

+diddy89king My schools teached me about this. Both in middle and high school. I also see it on TV shows that talk about American history.

[@KidIndigo1]

+Nicolas Cage the Extraterrestrial Ummm.... no offense, but "teached" you? Apparently not well.

[@homelessend8557]

KidIndigo1 I'm sorry, but I don't see why you would say that. This discussion is over.

[@evelyn9219]

+diddy89king My school taught about this....

[@Bill_of_Rights]

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. Mark Twain

[@Mikey-fo9mm]

@Vote him Out Bro, Tom did mention "When it deserves it".

[@seagoat1918]

@Vote him Out You got that wrong. Nationalism is the belief that the existance of nations are legitimate. There are many types of nationalism, ethno-nationalism: each ethnicity should have their own nation built around that ethnicity (ethno-state), civic-nationalism: anyone can belong to a nation as long as they share the values of that country (example: the US), cultural nationalism: the nation is built upon people sharing the same culture, Pan-nationalism: creating a larger ethnic or cultural nation transcending traditional borders (example: pan-germanism, pan-slavism, pan scandinaviaism). Nationalism has nothing to do with supporting your governement, that is closer to patriotism than the other way around.

[@seagoat1918]

@Vote him Out Nationalism has nothing to do with loyalty, it is an ideology.

[@seagoat1918]

@Vote him Out Let's just give you this example. A nationalist wouldn't be "loyal" to a globalist/internationalist/imperialist government more than a socialist would be "loyal" to a capitalist governemt. Ofc anyone would be loyal to a government they agree with.

[@maraudergun282]

​@Vote him Out That's because neo-luddite propaganda has convinced you Trump can't lead or unite. I promise he's doing both. I am not affiliated with a party either. But modern democrats oppose private property and national sovereignty. That's fucking treason, whether you are a dem or rep... we must unite under civil rights or be taken away by bolsheviks.

[@vignesh0208]

I came here after reading 'They called us Enemies', an autobiographical graphic novel based on George Takei's childhood. It details the events he describes here in much detail. It's a great read, I recommend that you read it, as it's a deeply emotional and enlightening work.

[@carterdunlap9957]

They Called Us Enemy? We’re reading that book in my US History class and I love it as well!

[@marionexley607]

im reading it now, its an incredible book.

[@HillaryCampbell]

George has faced so much opposition in his life. I am amazed by his ability to turn his pain into love. He is my hero.

[@richardjosephnovak]

Your kidding right. He is an elitist multi millionaire bigoted hate monger who spews nothing but hate. Find a better mentor before it is too late.

[@janus2059]

"They all fell silently." Damn....

[@historygamerxd2604]

That’s how we do it

[@wanderer8038]

Even tho I'm not an American but I respect this man so much.

[@Super241946]

He's a dyed in the wool Anti-Trump er, communist queen! Should be banned. Just look at his twitter account!

[@MrToontuber]

If he was a North Korean actor, this would be called propaganda.

[@mariagomezacebo]

girghis yatooma And?

[@swordoff7]

@@mariagomezacebo You said it before me.

[@HiTechOilCo]

"Tho"? The hairy Ostrich? Tomorrow ham onions? What is this secret code, or do you mean *though*?

[@McMurchie]

"you fought not only the enemy, but you fought prejudice and you won". That made me cry

[@restoretheearth2829]

Wow, Lieutenant Sulu, I was crying for the entire last half of your talk. You show the effects of rising above adversity. Love and hugs from Texas.

[@dowddash]

Turn that clock off, Mr. Takei can talk as long as he wants. :D

[@SlimThrull]

Amen, brother.

[@spunz83ify]

Amen! This guy and Morgan Freeman can talk as LONG as long as they want.

[@cheesecakelasagna]

suraj punjabi Oh god they need to be in a movie together!

[@cheesecakelasagna]

dowddash where did you get your profile pic though? (I know I'm late lol)

[@jasonpatowsky6929]

Googled the 442nd and discovered that Daniel Inouye was in the 442nd also. Long story short, the guy was a combination of Rambo, Robocop and the Black Knight from Monthy Python and The Holy Grail.

[@henderson4310]

I believe that is why he was Hawai'i's Senator for so long.

[@OverlordZephyros]

LOL I also googled it... a tear came out though, their bravery was over 9000 *salute*

[@mukagila2940]

WTF i just read?! Is this real?

[@maxaranyos7609]

yeah its real he lost his arm but kept fighting

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

MerryWeatherGaming He pried a primed grenade out of his own severed arm and threw it at the guy who blew off his arm.

[@fazbell]

Whst a great testimony. George Takai is a great speaker.

[@torbjornlekberg7756]

That he is. A great speaker with a great voice.

[@realscience948]

No more Star Trek movies left for George!! No more income??

[@americasingapore822]

well, this concentration camp takei was talking about was brought to you be demoKKKrat named FDR...

[@elcidgranada3549]

@chjaka do elaborate?

[@garydavis476]

@chjaka is n the closet.

[@cats-hv2lm]

His heartfelt speech... It almost brought me to tears.... I don't cry often, so that's saying something. George Takei is quite an admirable man.

[@aristotleasparaguspodcast1129]

8000 cats Scott R. Brunton disagrees, and I disagree with Scott

[@heyaapl]

Thank you for sharing your story George.

[@resurrectionx5952]

Prejudice is such a low vibration and i know this video will help few people to defeat it and be victorious. Well played Sir. Thank you for sharing with us intimate details of your life.

[@silver2zilver]

I didn't like George Takei before, I felt he was short changing the truth. This is an incredible story, and a powerful perspective from George. Thank you.

[@ethankarr1239]

It's good to see people supporting the truth.

[@quineloe]

short changing the truth about what?

[@Exportionist]

I think it is some times hard to be fully transparent when you have seen your race discriminated against and your sexuality. Maybe his short changing the truth is him protecting himself from racism and homophobia. Thankfully the younger generations aren't as racist or homophobic. But these are still two very problematic areas for some. We are getting there.

[@DronZizzle]

i still don't like him because of his hypocrisy towards trump. Takei admitted to molesting underage male models on the howard stern show with zero backlash from media

[@jpjp9111]

How could someone not like George takai?

[@Arm4g3dd0nX]

We look back at the Japanese-American internment with shock and incredulity. "How could we have ever been so naive?" And yet, if you listen to much of the rhetoric from the media about Muslims, you can see that we haven't grown much wiser. Thank you Takei. Hopefully people will be able to recognize the parallelism and attempt to understand one another complexly. To realize that propaganda controls only a portion of a people, and even those that are controlled by propaganda, were it not there, would be good people.

[@minimaxhall]

Spot on. :)

[@Arm4g3dd0nX]

Jim Jansen If freedom of speech weren't a thing, I'd try to have you imprisoned for your extremely dumb statements.

[@Hwyadylaw]

Jim Jansen "they aren't killing anyone" Ok.

[@Hwyadylaw]

Jim Jansen Not sure if troll or intellectual

[@Hwyadylaw]

Arm4g3dd0nX The problem with that comparison is that the people you're talking to are 12 year old Nazi fanatics

[@sharonrose340]

👏👏👏 I'm giving George and his father a standing ovation.

[@aliciaacosta1750]

Mr. Takei, thank you for your wisdom and for sharing your amazing life story.

[@gothatfunk]

George Takei is an impressive man.

[@lennyfais5040]

+gothatfunk Indeed he is!

[@stolasish1184]

Indeed

[@NightridewithNikki]

gothatfunk he is the only person from Star Trek: TOS that I would consider an honor to meet

[@garywilson3042]

chiuansheng that is not proven. People like you who fall for sensationalist propaganda are a stain on human social evolution. Please re-educate yourself and THINK for yourself.

[@anthony452]

Guy is just another weasel who's only concerned with morals when he is judging others.

[@Monstrikster]

There are still legendary people out there. Probably more than we think.

[@juanmanuelpenaloza9264]

This message needs to be shared with the Hispano-Americans and Muslim-Americans of today. If the Japanese-Americans made it from being hated to incorrectly associated with karate, karaoke, manga and anime, then who's to say the same won't happen for us. Takei is right in hanging on to our ideals for the nation we grew up in and love. The 442nd showed us the way, so let's follow.

[@GGG-jd5mx]

What about black Americans

[@vanhovemare]

Well, please understand that black Americans and native Americans etc. have been part of the US WW2 war effort just as much as these 442nd troops. WW1 was even more so truly multi-ethnic. The lesson is general.

[@richardjosephnovak]

What is a Hispano?

[@AG-JustYourAverageGuy]

Muslim Americans will never assimilate in America. It's impossible. Their culture is incompatible with everything but themselves.

[@The_king567]

Nah most Japanese people supported the empire for a reason read a book

[@Kristi314159]

Mr. Takei, you are an icon. You will not be forgotten. We loved you in ST, and you helped us recover from the wounds of WWII, and racism in general. America is imperfect, but you help us make it better.

[@castillelarkin]

8:28 the people's democracy is as flawed as its people. So important to understand. Thanks for sharing your experience, great talk

[@americasingapore822]

nah, it's just the demoKKKrat...after all, it's the demoKKKrat FDR that put this guy in concentration camp...

[@veronicaalleyne]

the unforgivable part is the energetic resistance toward improvement, rights are not pie, someone else gaining their rightful full measure lessens yours in no way at all, resistance is just done out of meanness

[@sjwtard3709]

I fully agree and that's why I am so grateful the U.S. is not a Democracy.

[@americasingapore822]

@@sjwtard3709 how is US is not a democracy?

[@sjwtard3709]

@@americasingapore822 It is a contitional Republic. As stated in the Pledge of Allegiance ".....and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands, etc, etc." The founding fathers never wanted the U.S. to be a democracy. They saw it, and rightly so, as mob rule. Here is a short video that may help explain the difference; kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZ68Z6asr65lo9k

[@stevensong8784]

11:47 - 13:55 Marvelous tale George Takei. Thank you for sharing! And yes, people should be characterized by their actions, not ethnicity.

[@frankom2862]

tell that the SJWs, LGBTQ+, democrats and antifas....

[@OfficialJPryde]

@@frankom2862 Seems like you missed the point, the ironically behooves you.

[@richardjosephnovak]

And Takei the mutli million dollar elitist has done no good.

[@CatalinaThePirate]

+TakeisTake I was deeply moved by your speech for TED - "Why I Love A Country That Once Betrayed Me." -- Simply beautiful! This should be shown everywhere. Thank you.

[@The_Harylaba]

Thank you sir. I never knew you before now but now I know how great you are

[@Jessimus]

I enjoyed this. Whether or not people agree with what he's saying, TED is about sharing ideas and thoughts. George is recounting his tale, and showing incredible wisdom and grace by setting a good example of forgiveness and holding the country he loves to a higher ideal. America as a governmental body may be doing that which he, or we all, disagree, but George is saying the foundation is a pure ideal, and the people of the country (and the world) have good in their hearts and must strive for better.

[@achildfromafrica5456]

I'm one minute into this video and I've come to the conclusion that: I LOVE THIS MAN

[@supergeeky7529]

I always knew this happened but hearing about it from someone who experienced it is mind blowing.

[@richardjosephnovak]

Fortunately his time is near and all those bad thoughts will go with him.

[@bonebard6178]

"they hated us because we looked like the enemy" sounds familiar

[@Wifi_Cable]

He has a far better will than I ever could. I envy his ability to forgive and attempt to change his country which harmed in such a way. To have Japanese-Americans eagerly jump into combat is surprising to say the least. It angers me when people say "If you don't like it, leave the country." No, because that is the weak persons way out. The actual response should be "If you don't like it, do something about it."

[@richardjosephnovak]

He in no way has forgiven, he makes that very clear and has for decades. And why are you surprised that the Japanese were ready for war. They came from a ancient imperialistic waring nation.

[@Choc-Ice]

Wow, I don't understand why these kind of stories aren't learnt from and passed down in generations. I really do feel for anyone having to deal with the plight of war, especially when it is one you have specifically chosen to distance yourself from and put disbelief in, just to get persecuted for the face that you wear. Well done humanity! Really good show!? 😔

[@undeadfrak]

This is something that deserves a movie, the 442nd deserve their own movie.

[@The_Viscount]

There's a movie, although it isnt a big budget film. And, sadly, isn't a great film. I'd love a good big budget film.

[@bbryant2485]

They did make one decades ago cant remember the name.

[@avEPalanthe]

"Come see the paradise", a 1990s movie with Dennis Quaid, watched it as a child in Germany. Couldn't believe it happened, looked it up as an adult.

[@tulayamalavenapi4028]

"Go For Broke".... saw it on Utube... Good watch!

[@GrafPanzer]

His Passion is incredible... and his story is even more soo... America Loves YOU George Takei

[@thomasuata]

I find myself humbled and fight back emotion - the ideals of this democracy is dependent on good men making a stand. Wow...what a story of bravery.

[@richardjosephnovak]

@Kabuki Kitsune You got that right. Coming from an ancient imperialistic waring nation they were ready to go kill a bunch of Europeans for sure.

[@wolfbear7]

You are LOVED by much of this country. Respect and honor belong to you and all who feel as you do. With all my heart and soul, I thank you, George Takei, for being the kind of patriot who is needed now more than ever before. NOW is the time for ALL good men and women to come to the aid of their Country and Planet. May we join together, all of us who are Americans in our souls, and form the Great Patchwork Majority. I still think it was you sitting at the table close to ours when my husband and I ate at Palermo restaurant in Los Feliz about 1 1/2 years ago. You denied it but gave us your signature Oh Myyyyyyyyy, and there was no denying it. Thank you for all you have done and are doing. I always had a fondness for your Sulu character.

[@crackerjack4833]

My sweet George Takei. You uunbelievable human being. Thank you him and the uploader.

[@mikethehero2]

His parents were heroes! I can only imagine how hard they had to work to get back on their feet for the children!

[@OverlordZephyros]

442nd ... MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT THEM!!

[@harmlesstech1524]

one movie would be an understatement.

[@JamieRobles1]

You mean- many movies about 442nd? That's an idea I can back! :D

[@ratanaklan]

They made a couple of movies > Go for Broke! (1951) > Nisei 100th Battalion 442nd Regimental Combat Team

[@hmp0149]

Sad that many Americans don't know about them.

[@Rensune]

Lord Zephyros Video game would be Better.

[@Adnanbin1985]

442nd sounds like a great idea for a movie.

[@mikeb6572]

THey did. Its called "Only the Brave".

[@5678sothourn]

Mike B I thought it was called "Go For Broke!"

[@mikeb6572]

Go for Broke - 1951 Only the Brave - 2006

[@ryanhuang6838]

Both pretty minor films TBH. They deserve a major blockbuster like Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan

[@kevinzhang3313]

^Nah. A day in the life of the 442nd in Europe is more of a blockbuster in itself than Saving Private Ryan.

[@stargazer5073]

Mr. Takei, thank you for your humble talk. Our family is German and were suffering in much the same way in Canada. History and it's sad scars haunt us all.

[@RibbidyJamGames]

I swear I can listen this guy for hours days week years decades. His voice is so nice

[@Formoka]

And that's how George Takei cemented his place as one of my heroes, while moving me to the brink of tears. Wow. Just wow.

[@SharonClancy-s5p]

A thoughtful recount of a truly beautiful legacy. Thank you for sharing.

[@Emz351]

This left me shaking my head in disbelief. I had no idea that this happened during WWII! Absolutely shocking, and certInly not something they teach in school! What all those innocent families must have felt like being treated like criminals :(

[@magicsinglez]

Emz351 I hate to shock your sensibilities even more. German and Italian Americans were interred in the USA during WW2 also. You should start a movement insisting we apologize.

[@magicsinglez]

wow, let your true feelings out. Conventional wisdom is very much on your side. There is a possibility, however, this can't actually be blamed on japanese militarism, or even the 'unique evil of japanese militarism'. There is a possibility, that the most disciplined troops were the ones Least likely to commit war crimes during the war. The only evidence of this would be that the worst war crimes occurred early in their military campaigns. So perhaps their over discipline was a response to these war crimes and an attempt to prevent it in the future. They were not the evil themselves. Never-the-less, you make your point. I guess there are times leftists/those in the mainstream don't like Really like cultural relativism. Those times would be all times while they are promoting the idea White European men - bad. Everyone else amazingly good.

[@ArcaneCowboy]

Colin Silver Schools can get away with not spending more then ten minutes on this. Depends where you went to school.

[@FishJJFish]

Emz351 They do teach it in school, though.

[@tuns-fk1lb]

They teach this in school. It's just different hearing it from someone who experienced it first hand

[@krabkit]

this was hard to watch because...i had something in my eye the whole time

[@dragsigma]

Me too..

[@mattattack75]

I see what you did there... though i too had something in my eye

[@howardfortyfive9676]

Too bad it wasn't an ice pick.

[@6catsinanalley]

When we learned about the internment camps my teacher just brushed it off and said that they were all ok and were just moved to another place for a while. As a Japanese American myself I was kinda pissed and even my friends didn’t think it was anything that big of a deal

[@horch3491]

I'm Japanese living in Japan. I like history so I kinda knew that Japanese American underwent a hardship after the Pearl Harbor attack, but this is the first time I really listened to some story from someone who actually went through it. I don't think my middle school teachers had ever focused on the stories of them, let alone their great job in now-German. they did include the existence as a whole in the textbooks, but that was pretty much it. they shoulda included these stories of speech. but I'm glad I happened to check out this one anyway. this is one of the most invaluable speech I've ever seen.

[@richardjosephnovak]

There hardship was not even close to the citizens of Nanjing.

[@rithvikmuthyalapati9754]

@@richardjosephnovak We shouldn't not compare hardships as if it was a competition

[@richardjosephnovak]

@@rithvikmuthyalapati9754 You are clueless. The world was at war like it never has before or since.

[@LarryWater]

@@richardjosephnovakNot as difficult as being a Uyghur in China.

[@Leo_Zeo_Lhang]

@@LarryWater r u rarted?

[@galas455]

Very, very good George, thank you.

[@christagambier510]

As a long time fan of yours George I had never heard about your struggles and the 4, forty second and their stunning story. Thankyou and god bless you and your clan.

[@shaka-surf]

This was amazing. Thank you, Mr. Takei.

[@Kazemahou]

That was so powerful. It made me weep.

[@mrmoralman1]

Makes me not wanna trust you in a combat situation

[@mrmoralman1]

If im falling back by squads and tell you to lay down a suppressing fire - and you don't - then we have a problem. I don't trust you - people like you support terrorism. YOU ARE ONE OF THE GUARDS IN THE WATCHTOWER G.TAKEI WAS TALKING ABOUT!

[@JordiLA]

Great speech from a Great Man. ❤

[@oknarub3038]

Thank you for this talk!

[@ethankarr1239]

I cried watching this.

[@ethankarr1239]

I remember reading about internment camps, but it wasn't described like this.

[@JohnGrahamDoe]

Same

[@NOMNOM81]

There were German Americans also harshly treated during the war.. There is a lot of American history, that is never talked about, because of political reasons.

[@ethankarr1239]

+Azure Knight it breaks my heart to know that were lied to by our own people

[@NOMNOM81]

Ethan/Ethomarr/LeftyGota It does its horrible.

[@zfoose5]

I am profoundly patriotic, an American history major working on my Ph.D.,, and a retired US Army soldier with a total of 41 months spent in Iraq, a deployment as a NATO peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia, and 2 years stationed on the Korean DMZ. Oh, and I watched the original Star Trek on TV back in the 1960's. While watching this, I cried near the end. May God Bless America! (warts and all!)

[@AngryNerdBird]

Not ashamed to admit I teared up near the end.

[@GeneralQuilix]

That is not an unreasonable response to the fact that countless young men fell to their deaths without a sound for a country that hated them.

[@Hereticalable]

+GeneralQuilix Meanwhile other demographics in the USA who have not been put in camps or had their property taken from them are calling for separate laws to govern themselves, curbs on free speech so as not to offend them and a few have engaged in attacks on their fellow citizens in the name of their ideology. But despite not going through a fraction of what the Japanese descent Americans did in WWII it's all the fault of the West, of foreign policy and whatever else they can say to avoid facing the fact that they are following a rotten ideology that is completely anti-american and anti-western. These Japanese Americans are a testimony to the greatness of assimilation into America. Be very proud of them. Their descendants will be shot and blown up by your fellow Americans who have not suffered 1% of what they did in the name of a political and religious system that people refuse to face facts about.

[@GeneralQuilix]

Hereticalable As one of their descendants, I am ashamed of how far this nation has fallen.

[@GeneralQuilix]

+Hereticalable It's fuuny, in a way. A sick, twisted sort of way. That mentality you have expressed is the same mentality that put my ancestors in those camps, and you're using it to uplift them but cast down all Muslims. We are fighting an organization, not a religion, or a race. Keep that in mind.

[@Hereticalable]

GeneralQuilix We are fighting a religion not a race actually. And if you think Islam is a religion like any other I respectfully suggest you need to study more. I spent over a decade in the Middle East and I can point you in the direction of native Arabs who will tell you Islam is the core problem behind this. Of course this might contradict what our political elites and media tells us. But that same cabal was talking about the 'yellow peril' and denying Americans their freedom and chance to fight simply because of their racial origins...

[@frederick-nrunkkamara103]

Betrayal by the people you love is awful

[@gialovebellachild4339]

Frederick-Nrunk Kamara It is the WORST of all pain that can be inflicted on a child. Even an adult. Today it's normal to be indifferent to our family. To be indifferent to anyone who is suffering. I never thought I'd be alive to see it happen. And have it happen to me and my youngest. The impression that vast money gives is these are successful people because they do right. Wich is completely opposite. I watched as my daughter suffered from afar. His crimes ignored. Therefore validating the lies my eldest helped my ex created in order to punish me for calling police after he tried to kill me in front of our daughter. For 10 years. No home. No family. No holidays. No help. No idea where my daughter is.

[@peteraddison626]

Gia Love ... Oh, I am so sorry to read your short but very powerful story. And for 4 months no reply. Well, I hear you and I feel you, and I really hope that you some how find some resolve. And, if you wish to converse, talk, or vent, just answer this message. Good luck to you for now and the future. Love. PDA. xox

[@magicdolphin8436]

@J M So you're saying that people who were imprisoned for belonging to a racial group were mad for being wrongfully imprisoned? Wow, shocker. And stop being a prejudiced asshat, some Japanese Americans left to join Japan, but most didn't. The Germans also declared war on us, so why didn't we send German Americans to concentration camps? FDR was not right to intern them, it's the stain on his legacy, the US Government apologized for it for feck's sake.

[@duck848]

@J M ah yes. selling the country as the "land of opportunities" (don't forget that some of them came here for a better life) and then violating their rights definitely left a great impression on them. *sarcasm* stop being an asshat. the majority of issei men were detained with no evidence and might i add that 18 caucasians were tried for spying for japan and 10 were convicted of it (including a former us navy officer).

[@liner011f7]

Some of the Japanese were spying, drastic measures were taken. Blame Japan.

[@verdatum]

I've always loved this man. But, wow: This talk makes me shiver. George did such an amazing job preparing this talk. This is such an important lesson in American history.

[@deadeyenumber2892]

I had neighbors who were born in Pakistan and came to live, all the way in the United States, they were so kind, and when they first moved in they had invited us to diner. From then on while we lived there we were good friends, had dinner together, told stories, one time I forgot my keys to my house and my sister and I were waiting outside and they saw us and said, please, come in. Are you hungry? we have food? I actually miss them, they were so kind, you don't see that too often. I really hate when people judge others just because of their race, just because there are attacks from people of the same religious background doesn't mean they are all bad. I am 19 now, and when I hear my dad saying rude stuff about them I tell him to shut up and just leave them alone, or my friends when they are acting like assholes.

[@deadeyenumber2892]

forgot to mention that when we moved we told them we were moving soon they prepared a feast for use, it included vegetables, and lots of their traditional food that they would eat in Pakistan and this delicious honey rice cake thing I forgot what it's called, they were great cooks lol

[@salutic.7544]

Rilakkuma uhhh, Pakistanis aren’t the same as saudis, there not wahhabis

[@purabh8010]

I need some nan rn can u tell them to hook me up?

[@mustafak.farouk1071]

you're amazing dude

[@yellowcatchup]

wow ur 25!

[@Delta4ms]

What a magnificent speech.

[@TheDiablotak]

I will always remember something my grandfather once said to me when I asked why he fought in WW2 with the 442nd RCT when his family was imprisoned and he said “I fought for my country because it was my country.”

[@Acklacis]

George Takei, that was inspirational!

[@ArcaneCowboy]

Awesome and inspirational talk. A pity he wasn't invited to give it in America. TED Kyoto.

[@83WK]

+Kevin Martin Of course he wasnt invited to talk about that in USA. Dont say America when you mean USA. America is not only USA. So, he will never tell this story in public in USA only for one reason. Just because nobody in USA wants to hear that at that time their politicians were Nazis and racists about the Japanese, just like the German politicians were about the Jewish. USA is full of ignorance and denial. That was like that back then and it's like this nowadays.

[@okright7636]

+83WK it's fine to say America in reference to the u.s. Because it's the only country with America in its name. Are you really so pc you can't handle a proper name for something.

[@DanielPennybaker]

83WK 0404 Because the Americans today are responsible for what our grandfathers did 70 years ago.

[@bruhmoment11111]

What an amazingly narrow world view, that you would hate a country and continue to hate a country for a crime committed 70 years ago. Bare in mind, since I know they're probably your saviors, that we had a Democrat in charge at the time.

[@narata1541]

83WK 0404 Wow, all the comments have been respectful till you come in making fun of and generalizing Americans. Not every American are as bad as you say. And if I knew your nationality, I know to not consider you as a representative of your nationality.

[@luvzfrance24]

That is a powerful thing that those in the internment camps went into the military. They are true patriots. It's unbelievable.

[@danukil7703]

Why doesn't Takei run for the President of the United States? He holds dear ideas of model citizenship, and he certainly is qualified (at least constitutionally, but maybe in reality as well), so why hasn't he done so?

[@csxconductor100]

i missed the part where he was born in the usa

[@EnthrallingBass140]

Born in Los Angeles

[@ushksya1577]

he says 1:13 that he was born in la

[@juanmanuelpenaloza9264]

Would be nice to have Mr. Sulu instead of the guy from The Apprentice

[@danukil7703]

Juan Manuel Penaloza I think we all would rather have had President Takei. Well, except for some people.

[@quickzilver333]

And Yet Some of us Americans never learn from History. Some treated Muslim Americans as terrorist even politicians agreed. We have over 3,000 Muslim/Americans Serving and some even paid the ultimate price.

[@kraken-sx2ys]

by the way, I didn't know Muslims was an race? tought it was arabs, kurds, etc. (different groups'etc) isn't an person described as an Muslim someone believing in Islam? but I got what your saying tho...

[@bew7192]

there are no races... peoples, nations... but no races!

[@Jerh1985]

Ryan you can judge people based on belief/ideals/words and that is fine but race/gender and the like is disgusting. Now when I say judging I mean more of an view of them as a person, example if you say evolution is false I am going to judge your intelligence as lacking but I may like you in many other aspects. Now I don't know much about Jews to have any feelings for them either way but if say they had beliefs along the lines of say Mormon's and their magic underwear I would again look down on said belief. Note I don't think one belief or view determines the complete value of a person but it certainly plays a part in coming to a conclusion on said person.

[@curious_one1156]

+Kendrik There are1.5 billion Muslims in this world. even 1% equals 15 million. I guarantee you,the number of extremists is a small minority,lesser than 1%,but that still comes to a considerable number. Ever considered the Muslims of Turkey,India and Indonesia,who are not bigoted and mostly peaceful? They together form more than 50% of the global Islamic population.

[@flamma6096]

quickzilver3333 Islam is a flawed ideology

[@は私です彼の名前]

Thank you so much Mr. Takei for sharing your story and the story of our Japanese American brothers and sisters. This is profound and heart wrenching and I hope many many Americans learn about this. And to anyone embarking to watch this, have your tissues handy.

[@richardjosephnovak]

It is not a secret. We know about it, it is taught in school and home.

[@jennamarcus4283]

George Takei should run for president.

[@KOTHFanRantsandVidsisawesome]

***** That's too fucking bad.

[@jennamarcus4283]

***** k lol. have fun with ur sad life #georgetakeiforprez

[@KOTHFanRantsandVidsisawesome]

***** I have a good life and Jill Stein for president 2016!

[@jennamarcus4283]

***** you don't realize how much your pathetic attitude causes you to miss out on.

[@KOTHFanRantsandVidsisawesome]

***** Really? Please enlighten me.

[@kasvinimuniandy5911]

Thank you, Mr. Takei. This brought me to tears. It means a lot to me as my country is going through politically incited racism right now.

[@tyronebiggums8660]

What is your country?

[@axien3159]

George, thank you for the clarity and honesty of you story. This is what we have to understand about ourselves as citizens of this nation. It’s our duty to comprehend our weaknesses as well as our strengths. No, it’s vital to our survival to grasp, comprehend and mend and strengthen our weaknesses. Thank you brother.

[@cristyvasilakos2234]

George Takei changed my life and my family.#shineon hereos

[@Butterworthy]

Such a phenomenal talk from him. It's disgusting what people can do when those in authority so casually pluck the strings of fear as motivation. To this day, that fear of "the other" is still used to justify doing terrible things.

[@brenda8349]

Wow!! That gave me chills! Great speech and a huge history lesson.

[@letsif]

Achieving equality and love for our fellow humans is a never ending quest.

[@metalwarrior6668]

letsif equality is just a state of mind

[@saeedvazirian]

Except the part where you drop nuclear bombs on civilians, right?

[@hungrymusicwolf]

I am impressed how someone with the same birthday as me can hold such breathtaking speeches.

[@carmelaguzman515]

Me too, because that's how we April babies are! By the way Im using my mom's account but she won't care.

[@ling_a_bling]

it's kind of ironic now that you mention it because it's also the birthday of hitler and napoleon III.

[@jasongentile7098]

Mr. Takei is the man. Great talk Sir....thank you.

[@moniquemonicat]

Similar story for Italians during the war. There was also an internment camp for Italians in California. To prove their allegiance and avoid the camps, many Italians in the US joined the military and fought for the US in WWII and very patriotic for America. This is what my father did.

[@anthonyoer4778]

Same here. They kept as many Italians away from North Africa and Italian campaigns as they could.

[@blackopsguy1023]

All these people saying "why don't we teach this in schools" are likely pretty ignorant. I grew up in six different states and seven different schools, and heard about it in every single one. If you took AP US history, it's a 100% guarantee that you would've heard of it. I knew about this even before being taught in school because I don't live under a rock; I read books and was already familiar with this before about second or third grade. Most people never pay any mind, and just forget, all those whiners included. This was horrible, but one benefit was that the Japanese espionage system in America was effectively none.

[@lucasm4299]

Kurt Roundstone I'm taking it now and we openly speak about politics and this nations faults including Native Americans. They tell us straight up.

[@dagmak5988]

Kurt Roundstone, you do realize that Japanese-Americans served not just in Europe, but as code breakers, right? The victories at Midway and the ambush of Admiral Yamamoto were so successful because of the code breaking efforts of the US's ethnic Japanese population!

[@NaerenVastir]

i'm a pretty jaded guy. not much get to me. but man that story hit me right in the feels.

[@citrinedragon1466]

This man knows how to overcome a past that would destroy a lesser man, to tell of betrayal and hate, fear and struggle, and to come out the other side as a man who knows himself and his country well enough to love them both.

[@zeroeffects88]

This is what true patriotism sounds like, not the fucking annoying fools who confuse it with nationalism.

[@TheWaxonator]

Beau Bassett Ja! This person is kinda correct! we need to increase Nationalism. BUT everything in moderation unless we want another Facist europe.....

[@LadyB_miniatures]

+Jung Sung Bak wtf? Racist much

[@roc2576]

+Simone Lymbery Not exactly wtf. From his name, he would appear to be Korean. Korea suffered beyond description at the hands of the Japanese during WW2. Look up Japanese war crimes on wikipedia. You have to understand, there are still people alive in these countries that went through these events. Regardless of how you think about their beliefs, its hardly surprising that they exist.

[@jjkent4551]

+iHatebologna59 Patriotism and nationalism are not two words for the same thing, all nationalists are patriots, but not all patriots are nationalists. Patriots are proud of their country and prepared to die to defend it. Nationalists believe that every culture should have a country of their own, they are proud of their own culture and prepared to die for the country of their culture. Thus nationalists can't be multiculturalists while patriots can. The men Takei admired who were part of the 442:nd unit were most certainly patriots, and most certainly not nationalists. There were however most likely lots of other american soldiers who likewise died for their country in WWII, but who were nationalists. If you were to ban all the nationalists from the army you'd have a much smaller army, in European countries you would likely exclude most soldiers.

[@suakwon3602]

Jung Sung Bak Jesus Christ, your Korean and you hate what they did to your country, but that's in the past

[@AleksandarGrozdanoski]

I read that his family was imprisoned during WWII, finally get to hear the whole story. That story about the 442nd made me cry. I realized how those people had to have been falling to their deaths silently before he even mentioned it...

[@tulayamalavenapi4028]

Hare Krishna...

[@Nomand55]

George Takei is awesome. period.

[@albertfarah1492]

That was inspiring.

[@hiyapatel2313]

The book They Called Us enemy and this ted talk are so inter locked that the meaning of both are so defined to me. I applause for you every time I remember you.

[@rachelamitrano9094]

pat morita was also in the camps. he told a story that he was in the hospital as a teen and when he came out of the hospital he had no idea that his family had been shipped to one of these camps and he was taken directly there. can you imagine? how horrifying. i hope history does not repeat itself.

[@merkywater417]

Hopefully, we can learn from our past mistakes in the present day and avoid future government betrayals of our citizens. I'd hope, by now, as human beings we'd even be beyond personal betrayals of our fellow men and women. A task for each of us: to boldly propel our families forward to where everyone should already be.

[@jazzx251]

"Trump FAIL" buzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Dump the Trump .. then we can all move on.

[@kenrobinson9462]

@Ryan Fernum and hopefully those new Traitors and Thieves and DRUG cartels and such will actually wake up & realize that money is not the greatest Success in life especially when they are assisting with Genocide or auto genocide as the case may or may not be, depends on which pharmaceutical drug dealers we are taking about perhaps.

[@Andy_Tx]

Absolutely amazing

[@acrokill9169]

I understand now why he's so passionate about politics, and calling out Trump.

[@opalrose3014]

@Rich Davis Don't confuse "liberal" with "Democrat". Political parties, especially ones that have been around for decades, can and must change their positions on issues. Society changes. Prevailing opinions change. If political parties never changed then they would cease to exist and be replaced by new ones. If you look at the history of politics in the USA, you will see both Republicans and Democrats have flip-flopped on multiple issues. Almost like, "Half-time! Switch sides."