Comment by Svip | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Svip | Hacker News Reader

When fighting wars, one needs enemies. And the more cartoonish villains they are, the better. Consider the propaganda against Japan by the US during the Second World War.

For the bourgeoisie of the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette became that villain. In 1789, they still needed the King, so there was some reluctance to attack him as much, as they were forming a constitutional monarchy. However, when the royal family attempted to escape Paris, all bets were off.

It became common theory, that they were trying to escape to Austria, so Marie Antoinette would get help from her Habsburg family, and Austria would invade France. This conspiracy theory (not true, as it turns out) effectively lead[0] to two things; the establishment of a republic and pre-emptively invading neighbouring countries, like Austrian Netherlands (modern Belgium).

There is truth in every stereotype, and there are legitimate criticism of Marie Antoinette, but her character is far more complicated than her common cartoonish perception. This is how lines like 'let them eat cake' gets added afterwards, to justify the means.

[0] Yes, I know there were numerous other factors, but it's kind of astonishing how big of factor the Austrian conspiracy was.

> Consider the propaganda against Japan by the US during the Second World War.

I suggest you familiarize yourself with WW2 history before being an apologist for Japan in that period. Whether it was the Rape of Nanking, or that of Manila, or fatal medical experiments on prisoners, they brought unbelievable horror to civilians.

Respectfully, have you seen the anti-Japan propaganda posters? They were extraordinarily dehumanizing, generally in ways completely unrelated to the Japanese Empire's heinous actions.

Those facts don't change how cartoonish the propaganda was against the Japanese at the time.

One fact does not cancel out the other.

Yep. The US may have been no saint, but the Japanese Empire was every bit as much of a "cartoon villain" as Nazi Germany.

Apologize for the comment out of context as it was mentionned above: The history is always written by the victors and regardless who was the good guy or not Why just take it all, and coldly analysis historical facts?

Henri Kissinger's book, World order, is a great example of this approach.

The US brought unbelievable horror to Japanese civilians, see the firebombing of cities and of course the only use of atomic weapons in warfare.

You don't need to be a Y apologist to criticize the behavior of X, their enemy.

> I suggest you familiarize yourself with WW2 history before being an apologist for Japan in that period.

What makes you think the GP isn't familiar with it? The vile propaganda and sheer racism of the US against Japan and the Japanese is established fact, regardless of Japan's own actions.

I appreciate you calling attention to a somewhat neglected retelling of the Pacific Theatre, but I was only referring to the US propaganda posters against Japan during the Second World War, not the wider context. It served as a decent example, and something with which I expected a lot of people being familiar. Like the British guerilla propaganda posters against the Germans during the First World War.

Neither, however, is an attempt to excuse what either the Japanese nor the Germans did in either war. I am very familiar with the events you describe, but please don't read anything broader into my example than merely that; an example of making your enemies cartoonish.

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