Latest news with #JapaneseAmericans
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump bans 'negative' signage at national parks, asks visitors to snitch on unpatriotic text
In his ongoing war on "woke,' President Trump has instructed the National Park Service to scrub any language he would deem negative, unpatriotic or smacking of 'improper partisan ideology' from signs and presentations visitors encounter at national parks and historic sites. Instead, his administration has ordered the national parks and hundreds of other monuments and museums supervised by the Department of the Interior to ensure that all of their signage reminds Americans of our 'extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity and human flourishing.' Those marching orders, which went into effect late last week, have left Trump opponents and free speech advocates gasping in disbelief, wondering how park employees are supposed to put a sunny spin on monuments acknowledging slavery and Jim Crow laws. And how they'll square the story of Japanese Americans shipped off to incarceration camps during World War II with an 'unmatched record of advancing liberty.' At Manzanar National Historic Site, a dusty encampment in the high desert of eastern California, one of 10 camps where more than 120,000 Japanese American civilians were imprisoned during the early 1940s, employees put up a required notice describing the changes last week. Like all such notices across the country, it includes a QR code visitors can use to report any signs they see that are 'negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes." An identical sign is up at the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Kern County, a tribute to the struggle to ensure better wages and safer working conditions for immigrant farm laborers. Such signs are going up across the sprawling system, which includes Fort Sumter National Monument, where Confederates fired the first shots of the Civil War; Ford's Theater National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park. So, nothing negative about John Wilkes Booth or James Earl Ray? In response to an email requesting comment, a National Park Service spokesperson did not address questions about specific parks or monuments, saying only that changes would be made "where appropriate." The whole thing is "flabbergasting,' said Dennis Arguelles, Southern California director for the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn. 'These stories may not be flattering to American heritage, but they're an integral part of our history. 'If we lose these stories, then we're in danger of repeating some of these mistakes,' Arguelles said. Trump titled his March 27 executive order requiring federal sign writers to look on the bright side 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.' He specifically instructed the Interior Department to scrutinize any signs put up since January 2020 — the beginning of the Biden administration — for language that perpetuates 'a false reconstruction' of American history. Trump called out signs that 'undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.' He specifically cited the National Historical Park in Philadelphia and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., as bowing to what he described as the previous administration's zeal to cast 'our Nation's unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness' as 'inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.' His solution? Order federal employees and historians to rewrite the "revisionist" history with language that exudes "patriotism." 'It all seems pretty Orwellian,' said Kimbrough Moore, a rock climber and Yosemite National Park guide book author. After news of the impending changes began circulating in park circles, he posted on Instagram a sign he saw in the toilet at the Porcupine Flat campground in the middle of the park. Across from the ubiquitous sign in all park bathrooms that says, 'Please DO NOT put trash in toilets, it is extremely difficult to remove,' someone added a placard that reads, 'Please DO NOT put trash in the White House. It is extremely difficult to remove.' Predictably, the post went viral, proving what would-be censors have known for centuries: Policing language is a messy business and can be hard to control in a free society. 'Even the pooper can be a venue for resistance,' Moore wrote. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Trump bans ‘negative' signage at national parks, asks visitors to snitch on unpatriotic text
In his ongoing war on "woke," President Donald Trump has instructed the National Park Service to scrub any language he would deem negative, unpatriotic or smacking of "improper partisan ideology" from signs and presentations visitors encounter at national parks and historic sites. Instead, his administration has ordered the national parks and hundreds of other monuments and museums supervised by the Department of the Interior to ensure that all of their signage reminds Americans of our "extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity and human flourishing." Those marching orders, which went into effect late last week, have left Trump opponents and free speech advocates gasping in disbelief, wondering how park employees are supposed to put a sunny spin on monuments acknowledging slavery and Jim Crow laws. And how they'll square the story of Japanese Americans shipped off to incarceration camps during World War II with an "unmatched record of advancing liberty." At Manzanar National Historic Site, a dusty encampment in the high desert of eastern California, one of 10 camps where more than 120,000 Japanese American civilians were imprisoned during the early 1940s, employees put up a required notice describing the changes last week. Like all such notices across the country, it includes a QR code visitors can use to report any signs they see that are "negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes". An identical sign is up at the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Kern County, a tribute to the struggle to ensure better wages and safer working conditions for immigrant farm laborers. Such signs are going up across the sprawling system, which includes Fort Sumter National Monument, where Confederates fired the first shots of the Civil War; Ford's Theater National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park. So, nothing negative about John Wilkes Booth or James Earl Ray? In response to an email requesting comment, a National Park Service spokesperson did not address questions about specific parks or monuments, saying only that changes would be made "where appropriate." The whole thing is "flabbergasting," said Dennis Arguelles, Southern California director for the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn. "These stories may not be flattering to American heritage, but they're an integral part of our history. "If we lose these stories, then we're in danger of repeating some of these mistakes," Arguelles said. Trump titled his March 27 executive order requiring federal sign writers to look on the bright side "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." He specifically instructed the Interior Department to scrutinize any signs put up since January 2020 - the beginning of the Biden administration - for language that perpetuates "a false reconstruction" of American history. Trump called out signs that "undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light." He specifically cited the National Historical Park in Philadelphia and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., as bowing to what he described as the previous administration's zeal to cast "our Nation's unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness" as "inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed." His solution? Order federal employees and historians to rewrite the "revisionist" history with language that exudes patriotism. "It all seems pretty Orwellian," said Kimbrough Moore, a rock climber and Yosemite National Park guide book author. After news of the impending changes began circulating in park circles, he posted on Instagram a sign he saw in the toilet at the Porcupine Flat campground in the middle of the park. Across from the ubiquitous sign in all park bathrooms that says, "Please DO NOT put trash in toilets, it is extremely difficult to remove," someone added a placard that reads, "Please DO NOT put trash in the White House. It is extremely difficult to remove." Predictably, the post went viral, proving what would-be censors have known for centuries: Policing language is a messy business and can be hard to control in a free society. "Even the pooper can be a venue for resistance," Moore wrote. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Trump bans ‘negative' signage at national parks, asks visitors to snitch on unpatriotic text
In his ongoing war on 'woke,' President Trump has instructed the National Park Service to scrub any language he would deem negative, unpatriotic or smacking of 'improper partisan ideology' from signs and presentations visitors encounter at national parks and historic sites. Instead, his administration has ordered the national parks and hundreds of other monuments and museums supervised by the Department of the Interior to ensure that all of their signage reminds Americans of our 'extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity and human flourishing.' Those marching orders, which went into effect late last week, have left Trump opponents and free speech advocates gasping in disbelief, wondering how park employees are supposed to put a sunny spin on monuments acknowledging slavery and Jim Crow laws. And how they'll square the story of Japanese Americans shipped off to incarceration camps during World War II with an 'unmatched record of advancing liberty.' At Manzanar National Historic Site, a dusty encampment in the high desert of eastern California, one of 10 camps where more than 120,000 Japanese American civilians were imprisoned during the early 1940s, employees put up a required notice describing the changes last week. Like all such notices across the country, it includes a QR code visitors can use to report any signs they see that are 'negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes'. An identical sign is up at the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Kern County, a tribute to the struggle to ensure better wages and safer working conditions for immigrant farm laborers. Such signs are going up across the sprawling system, which includes Fort Sumter National Monument, where Confederates fired the first shots of the Civil War; Ford's Theater National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park. So, nothing negative about John Wilkes Booth or James Earl Ray? In response to an email requesting comment, a National Park Service spokesperson did not address questions about specific parks or monuments, saying only that changes would be made 'where appropriate.' The whole thing is 'flabbergasting,' said Dennis Arguelles, Southern California director for the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn. 'These stories may not be flattering to American heritage, but they're an integral part of our history. 'If we lose these stories, then we're in danger of repeating some of these mistakes,' Arguelles said. Trump titled his March 27 executive order requiring federal sign writers to look on the bright side 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.' He specifically instructed the Interior Department to scrutinize any signs put up since January 2020 — the beginning of the Biden administration — for language that perpetuates 'a false reconstruction' of American history. Trump called out signs that 'undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.' He specifically cited the National Historical Park in Philadelphia and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., as bowing to what he described as the previous administration's zeal to cast 'our Nation's unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness' as 'inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.' His solution? Order federal employees and historians to rewrite the 'revisionist' history with language that exudes patriotism. 'It all seems pretty Orwellian,' said Kimbrough Moore, a rock climber and Yosemite National Park guide book author. After news of the impending changes began circulating in park circles, he posted on Instagram a sign he saw in the toilet at the Porcupine Flat campground in the middle of the park. Across from the ubiquitous sign in all park bathrooms that says, 'Please DO NOT put trash in toilets, it is extremely difficult to remove,' someone added a placard that reads, 'Please DO NOT put trash in the White House. It is extremely difficult to remove.' Predictably, the post went viral, proving what would-be censors have known for centuries: Policing language is a messy business and can be hard to control in a free society. 'Even the pooper can be a venue for resistance,' Moore wrote.
2 days ago
- Politics
Japanese American Museum Blasts Trump Order
Silicon Valley, June 18 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese American National Museum, dedicated to preserving the history of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, on Wednesday blasted U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order to eliminate "anti-American ideology." The order and related moves under his administration "form part of the administration's broader, ongoing campaign to dismantle foundational principles of diversity and democracy, suppress historical narratives that challenge their preferred version of events, and erase the contributions of people of color, women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other marginalized communities from the American story," the museum said. The museum, known as JANM, was hit by grant cuts under the Trump administration, putting the preservation of its collection and the existence of its workshop project for teachers at risk temporarily. While JANM's finances restored stability thanks to donations from many people, it voiced fresh concerns about the administration's actions. In the executive order signed in March, Trump claimed that his country's "unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Los Angeles mayor lifts downtown curfew she imposed during protests against immigration raids
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Downtown Los Angeles businesses hoped customers would return quickly on Tuesday after Mayor Karen Bass lifted a curfew she had imposed last week to prevent vandalism and break-ins during nighttime protests against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. The protests, which have been concentrated in a few blocks of downtown where federal and local government buildings are, were in response to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in the city and subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. The curfew set in place June 10 provided 'successful crime prevention and suppression efforts" and protected stores, restaurants, businesses and residents, the Democratic mayor said. It covered a relatively tiny slice of the sprawling city. On Tuesday afternoon, the impact of days of protests could be seen in the boarded-up windows lining the streets of Little Tokyo, a historical Japanese American district right next to a federal detention building still heavily guarded by military troops. A steady stream of tourists stopped in the neighborhood to take photos of baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani wearing Dodgers blue in a massive mural on the side of a hotel. Don Tahara, the owner of Far Bar, said businesses in the area have been hit hard with vandalism and some break-ins. On June 8, thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to Trump's deployment of the Guard, blocking off a major freeway as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd. Photos captured several Waymo robotaxis set on fire. A day later, police officers used flash bangs and shot projectiles as they pushed protesters through Little Tokyo, where bystanders and restaurant workers rushed to get out of their way. Some protesters set off fireworks and threw water bottles at the officers, yelling, 'Shame!' But Tahara, a third-generation Japanese American immigrant, said he also understands why the protests were necessary, seeing similarities between the current administration's immigration raids and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. 'The problems that Little Tokyo had 75 years ago was basically the federal government coming in and imprisoning all of them in concentration camps,' Tahara said. 'They were uprooted from their homes and businesses, their churches ... we're seeing a repeat of that.' Since people assumed the curfew would still be in place Tuesday, Far Bar has still had many cancellations of reservations and events. They decided to open earlier for lunchtime in the past few days, but employees have lost hours from their paychecks. Combined with the lingering effects of the LA wildfires earlier this year, tariff-induced price increases and other increased costs, it has been a challenging climate for businesses to navigate, Tahara said. On Monday, Bass trimmed back curfew hours from beginning at 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. after a drop in arrests in the area. Bass faulted a relatively small group of 'bad actors who do not care about the immigrant community,' a nod to thousands of protesters who exercised their rights peacefully. Trump directed federal immigration officials Sunday to prioritize deportations from Democratic-run cities, a move that comes after a weekend of large protests all across the country against his administration. Cindy Reyes, head server at Rakkan Ramen, said they completely shut down the shop for Saturday's protests and closed early on Sunday. The curfew was especially difficult for their night-shift workers because the ramen joint is usually open until midnight. 'Dinner shift makes the most money because we're the last restaurant standing so people come to us in the end,' she said. The Historic Core of downtown LA, further away from where the protests have occurred and home to many nightclubs and bars, has also suffered from break-ins. Many closed down for the duration of the curfew because their core business happens in the evening. Rhythm Room owner Vincent Vong said he has lost tens of thousands of dollars from closing for a whole week, not just from the loss of business but also to keep paying his employees. 'I have to schedule people to come in because I need to get them paid somehow,' he said. He wished there was more support from the city and deployment of law enforcement resources to protecting the 'most vulnerable areas,' pointing out that his street has often been the target of vandalism and theft during large demonstrations. Even as the curfew is lifted, Vong said it will be difficult to bring customers back to an area that still has boarded-up windows and feels 'apocalyptic.' 'I have to double down in showing that downtown LA is still a safe place to go,' he said.
