Mr. Doi's presentation was insightful, and very well organized in a way that made me evoke empathy. In the beginning, Doi illustrated his life growing up. He felt as if he were a "regular American," regardless of his Japanese heritage, and despite some racism he experienced, people thought of him as an American as well. It all changed when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, however. After the bombing, people looked at the Japanese as the enemy the US had to destroy, and because of this, harsh discrimination was exuded towards Japanese Americans. Here, people who had been living in America for long periods of time and had nothing to do with the bomb, were lumped into a group with the Japanese just because the phenotypically looked similar. Then came the news that FDR and the US government ordered the internment of all Japanese Americans. The majority reaction, including Mr. Doi's was that of shock, anger, and confusion. Here, were normal Americans who were just as angered by the bomb as white Americans, but were discriminated against based on their heritage. The question also begs as to why only Japanese Americans were interned and not German Americans or Italian Americans, whom the US was at war with as well. Lastly, the whole concept of interning the Japanese Americans was ironic, as the US was fighting a war with one of its purposes being to liberate the Jews and millions of others from camps in Germany, while at the same time, interning their own people based on ethnicity as well. Life at the camp was a struggle as well, as people had to leave all their possessions and lost significant amounts of money. People had to decide whether to stay in touch with their Japanese heritage, or totally erase of ancestry and become part of the majority white American culture in order to survive. After the internment, people struggled to readjust. Japanese Americans had no money and lost their businesses that they had been running for their whole lives. It was like their lives were frozen in time while everyone else's kept going, and when they unfroze, they were years behind in progression. To compensate, the US gave reparations to the interned. They gave each person 20,000 dollars as repayment. While it was a substantial amount of money, it wasn't even close to the amount needed to fully suffice the damages. If there was a positive to the Internment, it is that it created a close community. People became good friends with their fellow internees and have reunions every year with the people from each individual camp. Mr. Doi's story taught me that everyone in America is an American no matter their heritage. That's what makes America unique from other countries. We have to remember the internment of the Japanese as a reminder of this fact. Mr. Doi told his story in a way that will allow me to use it as a reference point to give perspective of the experience of different cultures in my own country.