The most tasteless and insensitive museum exhibit ever.

[Tripledoc]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Of course there you have a larger issue - this museum does glorify aviation, and implicitly air power. and as everyone know, airpower since 1943 and for the foreseeable future is an area of American dominance and a key component of American power. Unfortunately no discussion of the morality of strategic bombing is possible in a veil of ignorance from that fact.

I don't think everyone knows that airpower is the key to succes and power. I know that dissenting scholars will argue that the key is people's armies. Always has been and always will be. The reason that airpower get so much attention is that it is profitable for scientists to imply that it is.

No nation has been forced by aireal bombardment of strategic assets to surrender. Only when landforces have occupied the centre have nations surrendered. And not even then in all cases.

The reason the Japanese surrendered was that 75 percent of their fishing fleet was sunk and their oil suppply cut off. They had also used up all their reserves of bauxite, used to make alluminium from.

The nukes were simply icing on the cake.

[Japher]

I don't see any evidence it does any such thing. What "glorification" is done? It seems to me that it just presents the history sans any value judgment. Not having seen the exhibit, it's easy to criticize.

Less we forget... why do ppl always seem to want to sweep the trappings of history under the rug and forget? And get angry when someone reminds them?

[Tripledoc]

From the article.
"The Enola Gay bears a label describing it as the "most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II".

History sans any value judgment?

[Q Classic]

i have no problem with the exhibit.

i have no problem with the bombings.

i have a problem with people pretending that japan's rape of nanjing or its brutal occupation of korea somehow makes the civilians blameless, when the country was totally militarized and the civilians themselves were complicit in the behavior of the military.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Tripledoc
From the article.
"The Enola Gay bears a label describing it as the "most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II".

History sans any value judgment?

Value as in moral value.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Tripledoc
From the article.
"The Enola Gay bears a label describing it as the "most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II".

History sans any value judgment?

Does the word sophisticated carry a moral value judgement to you?

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
i have a problem with people pretending that japan's rape of nanjing or its brutal occupation of korea somehow makes the civilians blameless, when the country was totally militarized and the civilians themselves were complicit in the behavior of the military.

Yes, I'm sure the thousands of children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had previously been clapping delightfully over the horrors of Nanjing.

[Gangerolf]

Survivors are disappointed the plane is being displayed with no reference to casualty figures at Hiroshima.

I find this totally reasonable. I mean, the label already states that the plane dropped da bomb. What's wrong with adding the number of people it killed?

[Japher]

What's wrong with adding the number of people it killed?

Because then all the protestors would claim that it is bragging.

[Gangerolf]

I wouldn't be surprised

[Q Classic]

Yes, I'm sure the thousands of children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had previously been clapping delightfully over the horrors of Nanjing.

of course they weren't clapping delightfully. they were, however, being taught that treatment of koreans and chinese as less than dirt was as it should be, and that being japanese was like being a god.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Tripledoc


I don't think everyone knows that airpower is the key to succes and power. I know that dissenting scholars will argue that the key is people's armies. Always has been and always will be. The reason that airpower get so much attention is that it is profitable for scientists to imply that it is.

No nation has been forced by aireal bombardment of strategic assets to surrender. Only when landforces have occupied the centre have nations surrendered. And not even then in all cases.

The reason the Japanese surrendered was that 75 percent of their fishing fleet was sunk and their oil suppply cut off. They had also used up all their reserves of bauxite, used to make alluminium from.

The nukes were simply icing on the cake.

you will note that i said "a key component" NOT "the key component"

BTW, how do you think the fishing fleet was destroyed and the oil supply cut off - largely by air power, including carrier borne air power. while subs were partly respobsible, submarine bases were moved closer to japan largely due to the victories of US carriers (and land based tactical aircraft) And of course the the Sub base at Midway was saved by the actions of US carriers.

[Winston]

Gangerolf, I read somewhere that none of the other planes in the exhibit have information on the casualties their service caused, and so the museum would follow that line with the Enola Gay also. They said it was an exhibit focusing solely on the technical and military merits of the various aircrafts.

[Combat Ingrid]

I get the expression that this exhibit tried to keep morals/bragging/whatever away to avoid stirring up emotion.

If they instead would put up a sign telling about the tragic loss of innocent life, you could expect a couple of millions of Texans going there to protest

[Imran Siddiqui]

There is nothing tasteless and insensitive here. It is simply showing a historical artifact. IMO, the protest is utterly stupid.