The Model Minority Myth

January 16, 2019

Here’s a segment from our newest episode, Adam Ruins A Sitcom, in which we discuss the real history behind the “model minority” myth that is so often placed on Asian-Americans:

Here are my responses to two common questions about this video that I’ve received on Twitter. First, in response to the question of whether or not Germans were interned in camps during World War II:

Here’s some fuller context. None of this excuses or diminishes the unjust internment of those German nationals. But the fact is that the US government had a sweeping race-based policy of interning nearly ALL people of Japanese descent, which it did not for Germans and Italians. pic.twitter.com/0VrQpFyb6c

— Adam Conover (@adamconover) January 16, 2019

Secondly, in response to our decision to call the camps that Japanese-Americans were held in “concentration camps” rather than internment camps:

To those in comments of our recent video arguing that the camps Japanese-Americans were interned in should not be referred to as “concentration camps”: that’s what the US government called them, so that’s we call them. Scholars agree. https://t.co/TV4cwtbqXc pic.twitter.com/jh90DSLPHo

— Adam Conover (@adamconover) January 16, 2019

Here’s a good piece from NPR which summarizes the reasons many scholars choose to use the term “concentration camp” rather than the more sanitized “internment camp:”

Roger Daniels, a historian and author, wrote an analysis for the University of Washington Press called “Words Do Matter: A Note on Inappropriate Terminology and the Incarceration of the Japanese Americans.” He concludes that, although it’s unlikely society will completely cease to use the phrase “Japanese internment,” scholars should abandon the term and use “concentration camp.” He considers internment a euphemism that minimizes a tragic time in American history.
President Franklin Roosevelt himself called the relocation sites concentration camps

While it’s certainly possible to have a good-faith disagreement on which term is more apropos, it is clear that “concentration camp” is an acceptable choice, and we chose to side with scholars that believe that its use is the most accurate way to highlight the deep human rights abuse that the camps represented.