War?

[churrcuz]

Is talking about WWII a good idea?
As this is what i'm interested in.
eg. Pearl Harbour, Midway Iwojima etc.

[jasonbvr]

It is not necessarily a bad idea, but I wouldn't call it a good one. I can discuss WWII with some of my older friends/students, but for me since I am from the US have to be ready to discuss things like atomic weapons, Iraq and things like threatening Japan to open up to trade or go to war.

People from my generation, including myself, and around that age generally think war is retarded and not a very entertaining topic to discuss. In fact it is rather depressing.

[musashi]

I find war a facinating topic because it's like a way of life. The Romans used war to gain land and now we use war to bring peace. I'd talk about war with someone...

[YaksokuDa]

Yeah, when you hear "History" you automatically think "WAR", great topic!
Romans...they never built roads first! Ahhh got it off my chest...>.>

Anyway, I mainly know about the European Theatre and Pacific Theatre.

[AkaiNeko]

War good thinks becouse is very similiar with Love
But I think second world war is good think to our world becouse we can't do it third time...
For me second war killed my grand father and grand mother but that is past then we must go forward
Heh

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

Discussing war is pointless in my opinion, I don't think it would be a good idea to discuss WWII with older Japanese people. I am sure many of them hate Americans and America. They have good reason to if they do. It is hard to forgive a country for changing your way of life. But regardless, I am glad they 2 are now allies...

[Maku]

Discussing war can be a very sensitive subject, depending on the people you're talking to:
How patriotic they are
How much their families were involved or changed by the effects of war i.e. if it's left a metaphorical stale taste in their mouths at the mention of a country that's responsible for a friend or a family member's casualty or death.
And possibly how much their country has or had been changed by war.

I think it's best to steer away from war topics to put it bluntly.

[Shanis]

Talking about War can be really interesting, but depressing too... if u talk to elderly people, you hear bad things, and often that they´re hating some countries, for some reasons which are in someway understandable! But u must see, the most countrys who were fightning each other in WWII are now allis, but the question here is, would they also be allies, if they hadn´t fight each other?

[SgtBeavis]

Originally Posted by Kanji_The_Wanderer

I am sure many of them hate Americans and America. They have good reason to if they do. It is hard to forgive a country for changing your way of life. But regardless, I am glad they 2 are now allies...

You'd be wrong.

Most older Japanese remember how Douglas MacArthur helped rebuild their country and set it on a course that led them todays success. Those older Japanese are the ones that built statues of him.

I've discussed the war with several elderly Japanese. Some were even WWII vets. None of them seem to bear a grudge. It is no different from most American veterans. I remember one fella that was my Sunday School teacher. He was on the Battaan death march. He was actually a pen pal with several Japanese vets.

IMO discussing the war is fine. Just don't do anything that acts as if you are throwing it in their face. In other words, as with anything Japanese, BE POLITE.

Oh, BTW "Letters from Iwo Jima" was hugely popular in Japan. IMO it is a good starting point for any discussion.

[Suki]

Originally Posted by Kanji_The_Wanderer

I am sure many of them hate Americans and America. They have good reason to if they do. It is hard to forgive a country for changing your way of life. But regardless, I am glad they 2 are now allies...

I don't think they hate America at all. After WWII they fought together against comunism, and since then both countries have always been pretty much alike, economicaly speaking.

I think it'd be aight as long as you don't mention the Guadalcanal battle (not Iwo Jima and Okinawa either), that would pissed them off for sure.

Instead you could talk about the Korean War and how they were done within 3 years.