Last year, after a WWII veteran died, his family members discovered 22 stolen Japanese antiques in his attic. These included a hand-drawn map, ceramics, and portraits of Okinawan kings, some dating back as far as the 1700s. On Friday, the FBI announced that the artifacts were on their way back to Japan. NPR has details of what happened, and images of the items.
@Hunterrules0_o @CultureDesk @histodons
“But the others were worse” is really a weak and childish defense.
In wars, crimes of various kinds are committed by all sides, some more or different than others of course.
But crimes, as well as suffering, shouldn’t be compared. Can’t we just acknowledge that an action, e.g. stealing these artifacts, was bad, without directly adding how less of a crime that was compared to “the other side”?
@Carsten_hb @Hunterrules0_o @CultureDesk @histodons The Geneva Conventions don’t have a ‘they did it too’ or a ‘they were worse’ clauses.