Antone's Nightclub
Questioning Ventura
RECEIVED Mon., Aug. 6, 2007
Dear Editor,
In reference to Michael Ventura’s article entitled “8:15” [“Letters @ 3am,” Aug. 3].
The bombs were named Fat Man and Little Boy. Fat Man being the plutonium implosion bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki. Little Boy, which was dropped on Hiroshima, was a uranium-235 gun-type of bomb.
He states that more than 200,000 people were “obliterated” in the bombings. Killed and wounded … yes. Obliterate means to “literally remove from existence: destroy utterly all trace, indication, or significance.” Perhaps he is using “journalistic license” to make his point. But to state that these civilians were wiped off the face of the earth is somewhat disingenuous.
The Japanese were totally defeated and crushed economically and militarily, but Hideki Tojo and his cronies refused to see the reality of the situation.
The civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not responsible for the atrocities committed by their military leaders. Neither were the civilian victims of Dresden, Tokyo, and other major cities in Europe and Japan that were subjected to the massive fire bombing by the Allies.
Yes, America truly did open Pandora’s box. However, given the circumstances at the time, would we rather have had the Nazis or Japanese discover these weapons and use them on the Allies?
As Robert Oppenheimer stated: “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that one way or another.”
These weapons changed the course of war and the way nations interact with one another. Let us pray we never use them again.
In reference to Michael Ventura’s article entitled “8:15” [“Letters @ 3am,” Aug. 3].
The bombs were named Fat Man and Little Boy. Fat Man being the plutonium implosion bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki. Little Boy, which was dropped on Hiroshima, was a uranium-235 gun-type of bomb.
He states that more than 200,000 people were “obliterated” in the bombings. Killed and wounded … yes. Obliterate means to “literally remove from existence: destroy utterly all trace, indication, or significance.” Perhaps he is using “journalistic license” to make his point. But to state that these civilians were wiped off the face of the earth is somewhat disingenuous.
The Japanese were totally defeated and crushed economically and militarily, but Hideki Tojo and his cronies refused to see the reality of the situation.
The civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not responsible for the atrocities committed by their military leaders. Neither were the civilian victims of Dresden, Tokyo, and other major cities in Europe and Japan that were subjected to the massive fire bombing by the Allies.
Yes, America truly did open Pandora’s box. However, given the circumstances at the time, would we rather have had the Nazis or Japanese discover these weapons and use them on the Allies?
As Robert Oppenheimer stated: “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that one way or another.”
These weapons changed the course of war and the way nations interact with one another. Let us pray we never use them again.
Jeff Cotton