George Takei Fears NSA Spying Will Lead to Something Much Worse

New York Magazine ^ | 6/11/2013 | Jamie Sharpe

[nickcarraway]

George Takei is hardly the only American concerned about the NSA's massive surveillance programs. But unlike most people, his fears are rooted in the memory of the government persecution he suffered firsthand in a Japanese internment camp.

"Due process is a pillar of our American justice system," the Star Trek star told Daily Intelligencer last night at the Eighth Annual Stella by Starlight Benefit Gala. "We were rounded up simply because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. And we were put in prison camps with barbed wire and machine guns pointed at us. It was a horrific violation of our Constitution."

Because of that experience, Takei is particularly wary of the government's powers being abused. "We know where this can go," he said. "We have to be ever vigilant against overstepping of the fundamental ideals of our democracy."

Takei understands that President Obama "is a person who has to deal with a lot of issues." But on the NSA spying programs, he says, "I don't agree."

[shego]

They were stripped of their property both real and financial (never got it back) but more importantly they were stripped of their freedom.

Precisely. I thought the whole point of this site was that that's the important thing.

[shego]

People weren’t put into internment camps because they looked Japanese, it’s because they were in fact duel citizens of Japan and the US.

I hadn't heard that before.

Presumably for the same reason you hadn't heard "2 + 2 = 3.14159" or "The Pope is Buddhist" before.

[shego]

People weren’t put into internment camps because they looked Japanese, it’s because they were in fact duel citizens of Japan and the US.

Survey Says: BZZZZTTTT!!

This power was used to declare that all people of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the entire Pacific coast, including all of California and much of Oregon, Washington and Arizona, except for those in internment camps.

[dfwgator]

“Oh my!”

[shego]

Got a credible source (i.e. not a goofball like Malkin) for that?

[LS]

I fail to see how photocopied FBI documents are “goofballs,” regardless of who prints them. They are reprinted in her book, but you can contact the FBI yourself. They are declassified.