here, have some sweeping statements.

[gao]

So I was trying to do this on Twitter and kept running out of space and Tweeting more to explain things, so I deleted the mess and promised to make a blog post instead. It came out of a discussion with Debi (innerbrat) about the code talkers in World War 2

Comments

[innerbrat]

Thank you for this post. I knew it'd be interesting.

Though, sadly, the reason the tactic was at all successful hinged on there being so few speakers of those languages, and thus on the success , not failure of the American genocide.

(When it's more than one people being driven to extinction in one sweeping event, is it appropriate to pluralise genocides?)

[gao]

I don't think so, because it's still a singular event. But maybe.

I actually made an edit on this point just now--failed is the wrong word, but a successful genocide implies total annihilation. "Incomplete" is the word I wish I'd used.

In any case, you're right, and I didn't mean to imply the opposite--only that there's a very vivid irony in how the histories fit together.

[mercuriazs]

I think Debi is right, which makes me sad. D:

But I think it was a step. And a really, really cool one.

Thanks for the post! I do find 'turtle' and 'sewing machine' (and 'crazy white man' zomg) awesome.

[gao]

I guess my point, refining further, is that it's an idea only a culturally diverse society would come up with--even though it's also an idea that only works because the way America became culturally diverse was by doing reprehensible things in the name of cultural superiority. It's ironic and fascinating, not anything that the US deserves credit for, exactly.

[mercuriazs]

*nodnod* 7:45 am Merc gets this point.

I think!

Also I agree with Feather's comment. ^.^

[newredshoes]

Great post. I will chime in, though, and say that the Jewish community was quite aware of the Holocaust. My grandfather, among many others, tried desperately to get whole branches of our family out of Europe and failed. So while the final scope was shocking to everyone, it wasn't a surprise that there was genocide going on. And that's the end of my comment -- seriously not trying to derail here. Your point is very well taken, and I love your examples of how the code-talkers adapted language to the war.

[gao]

Point taken. The intent was to make it clear that I was talking about how we think about the Nazis now, not how we thought about them then, and that I know it was not a deliberate statement or gesture at the time.

[gao]

It's such an apt description.

[jezrana]

I remember seeing trailers for Wind Talkers and thinking it looked really interesting, but never got around to seeing it. It's disappointing to hear that it ended up being about white guys, but I still find the idea of the code talkers really interesting, along with the rest of this post.