bwood1946 wrote on Sep 3^rd, 2010 at 2:59pm:

# wrote on Sep 3rd, 2010 at 2:54pm: ... my father served in what is now Indonesia. He had no problem with the Japanese. In fact, he once showed me correspondence, to him from a former Japanese soldier who served in the same theatre. It seems prejudice is a luxury of those who don't know. Tell it to my father's two brothers WHO were prisoners of the Japanese for 2 1/2 years >:(

gizmo_2655 wrote on Sep 3^rd, 2010 at 3:13pm:

And MY Father served in New Guinea, along Kokoda..... And it took us 10 years to get him to agree to eat in a Chinese restaurant...and 20 years to go to a Japanese one.....

Yes, dad suffered. He had nightmares and hallucinations for years. Well into the 1960s, our shed held products of his occupational therapy (rickety furniture made from WWII packing crates). But he came to terms with his experiences.

I once worked with a bloke who served in the RAF. He lost friends, burned alive in aircraft and machine-gunned, hanging helpless in parachutes. He also lost family and friends to the blitz. He had no problem with the Germans. What haunted him into the 1970s was his experiences over Dresden.

Both refused to let animosity toward an old enemy infest their post-war years. Yet you cling to old hatreds. Hatreds of a generation, not even your own. Is that healthy?

# wrote on Sep 3^rd, 2010 at 8:53pm:

bwood1946 wrote on Sep 3rd, 2010 at 2:59pm: # wrote on Sep 3rd, 2010 at 2:54pm: ... my father served in what is now Indonesia. He had no problem with the Japanese. In fact, he once showed me correspondence, to him from a former Japanese soldier who served in the same theatre. It seems prejudice is a luxury of those who don't know. Tell it to my father's two brothers WHO were prisoners of the Japanese for 2 1/2 years >:( gizmo_2655 wrote on Sep 3rd, 2010 at 3:13pm: And MY Father served in New Guinea, along Kokoda..... And it took us 10 years to get him to agree to eat in a Chinese restaurant...and 20 years to go to a Japanese one..... Yes, dad suffered. He had nightmares and hallucinations for years. Well into the 1960s, our shed held products of his occupational therapy (rickety furniture made from WWII packing crates). But he came to terms with his experiences. I once worked with a bloke who served in the RAF. He lost friends, burned alive in aircraft and machine-gunned, hanging helpless in parachutes. He also lost family and friends to the blitz. He had no problem with the Germans. What haunted him into the 1970s was his experiences over Dresden. Both refused to let animosity toward an old enemy infest their post-war years. Yet you cling to old hatreds. Hatreds of a generation, not even your own. Is that healthy?

Is it healthy? I don`t know because I haven`t been through what they have.  It`s understandable though.  

aussiefree2ride wrote on Sep 4^th, 2010 at 1:39pm:

... Is it healthy? I don`t know because I haven`t been through what they have.  It`s understandable though.

Understandable for subsequent generations to maintain the prejudices? They suffered that we might not. That dishonours them.

# wrote on Sep 3^rd, 2010 at 8:53pm:

bwood1946 wrote on Sep 3rd, 2010 at 2:59pm: # wrote on Sep 3rd, 2010 at 2:54pm: ... my father served in what is now Indonesia. He had no problem with the Japanese. In fact, he once showed me correspondence, to him from a former Japanese soldier who served in the same theatre. It seems prejudice is a luxury of those who don't know. Tell it to my father's two brothers WHO were prisoners of the Japanese for 2 1/2 years >:( gizmo_2655 wrote on Sep 3rd, 2010 at 3:13pm: And MY Father served in New Guinea, along Kokoda..... And it took us 10 years to get him to agree to eat in a Chinese restaurant...and 20 years to go to a Japanese one..... Yes, dad suffered. He had nightmares and hallucinations for years. Well into the 1960s, our shed held products of his occupational therapy (rickety furniture made from WWII packing crates). But he came to terms with his experiences. I once worked with a bloke who served in the RAF. He lost friends, burned alive in aircraft and machine-gunned, hanging helpless in parachutes. He also lost family and friends to the blitz. He had no problem with the Germans. What haunted him into the 1970s was his experiences over Dresden. Both refused to let animosity toward an old enemy infest their post-war years. Yet you cling to old hatreds. Hatreds of a generation, not even your own. Is that healthy?

What makes you think I am clinging to 'Hatred'????

I simply mentioned that the families of Australian Service men and women who DID in fact die at the hands of Japanese forces, or in Japanese prison camps, might not be too comfortable with using a 'slightly' modified version of the Japanese military flag as a NEW Australian flag....

Do you think people in European countries that were invaded by the Nazis would welcome having their national flags copy from the swastika flag of WW2???

Things change so fast these days.
Technology is obselete (spell?) within a year.

Our Grandfathers were forced to patriotically 'hate' someone for that was one of the motivations in conquest.
Look at the boys of Sydney and their Anti-Middle-Eastern hatred born from American Anti-Terrorism propaganda during the Cronulla Riots ...and thats from another part of the world against another part of the world.

I can never blame older generations for their pros & cons becasue thats the world they had to live in or take part in.

One era's Ally is another era's Enemy.
Who would think that China will invade north into Siberia and go to war with a former Communist Ally and Russia will call for help from a former Cold War enemy to fight the Chinese.

If old Mr Fogey wants to hate the Japanese because of War and I want to hate the Nipponese due to Whaling and over-fishing and the next generation wants to like the Nips for no reason at all ...well the weather changes all the time and if you don't change to meet the conditions, you will be caught out in the storm with only a singlet and shorts. Mr old Fogey won't change, not by much anyway. Some do, but that is a luxury that most people can't live with.
So if you see Mr old Fogey or his mate Mr old Kodjer and they express bitterness, resentment or hatred for a certain people or race - do forgive them and understand that they are entitled to that feeling. If you wish to change that feeling of animosity - then you/we must be prepared to put in a good effort to do so and not expect them to change by themselves.
I think Clint Eastwood's "Gran Turino" is a superb film (from a nation that is running out of superb films) that brushes upon this subject with much thought, consideration and hope.

I've worked 10 years in Aged Care to back up the above said  ;)

# wrote on Sep 4^th, 2010 at 2:41pm:

aussiefree2ride wrote on Sep 4th, 2010 at 1:39pm: ... Is it healthy? I don`t know because I haven`t been through what they have.  It`s understandable though.   Understandable for subsequent generations to maintain the prejudices? They suffered that we might not. That dishonours them.

That HAS to be a typo David?

aussiefree2ride wrote on Sep 5^th, 2010 at 7:20pm:

# wrote on Sep 4th, 2010 at 2:41pm: aussiefree2ride wrote on Sep 4th, 2010 at 1:39pm: ... Is it healthy? I don`t know because I haven`t been through what they have.  It`s understandable though.   Understandable for subsequent generations to maintain the prejudices? They suffered that we might not. That dishonours them. That HAS to be a typo David?

Bad grammar in pursuit of brevity, perhaps.

While some of those who served (Who "suffered that we might not") remained embittered to the end, thus allowing their experiences to blight their lives, most of the ones I knew came to terms with it. Their lives were consequently better. For subsequent generations to maintain prejudices, thus allowing the attitudes of those who remained embittered to blight their own lives, dishonours those who served.

Better?
:)