Some American woman named Sally left this comment on my blog: Ah well...
The "walk this way through Intramuros tour was organized and well framed, but I wanted a tour that told of the local history, not a political spin. As a WWII history buff, and an American, I took offense to the "take" the guide had on the start of the Pacific side of WWII. Make no mistake, as you travel about SE Asia, you could spend weeks on tour after tour and read book after book on how the Japanese were out to cause major turmoil in every country they invaded. In Thailand, thousands were killed to acquire a passageway for goods and services, in Singapore, Indonesia and other areas people were killed in vicious ways. None of these countries had much of an American influence, if at all at the time they were attacked. Japan wanted control of most countries in the region, period. The tour guide's take that the Japanese invaded Manila because of their American influence, is nuts! To make the American military look bad in not seeing warning signs and such, we too believe we could have seen Pearl Habor's attack better, but hindsight is always 20/20.
Many Americans died in WWII trying to help other countries. War is hell.
I have been to the area twice now on work trips. I cannot say enough about how nice and caring the local people in Manila treated me. So, this tour does not effect my view on the country or Manila, but I would not suggest attending this tour thinking you are hearing about true history, at least on the WWII topics.
MY REPLY:
Sally, I remember you. You are the one who insisted upon paying at the middle of the tour and visibly walked out with your daughter. Ah. well, unfortunately, I really do not have the time to defend my opinions about MacArthur's ego and lack of preparedness for a Japanese attack, nor do I need to expound upon the cruelty of the Japanese on Manila's population because of our "western" and "Christian" ways. Filipino survivors of the liberation and any U.S. Military historian can confirm this. So Sally, kindly allow me to suggest that you take your World War 2 buffness to a library or online and perhaps STUDY a little bit more about U.S. involvement in Philippine affairs in the 20th century before you open your mouth, type on a keyboard, nor take offense.
And while you are researching, why not look this up as well, Sally: Philippine American War and 1904 St. Louis World Exposition (Scroll down to "Human Zoo") And once you are done, come back and tell me that the U.S. has always had our best interests in mind.
But having said that, I am also quite glad that you think we are a "nice and caring." people. What a terribly sweet thing for you to say. And I'm looking forward to seeing you at The Imelda Tour as well. We'll talk a little bit about U.S. involvement with the Marcoses and the American military bases of Subic and Clark during the height of the Cold War. I'm sure we'll have a swell chat right afterwards.
Have a good day.
The "walk this way through Intramuros tour was organized and well framed, but I wanted a tour that told of the local history, not a political spin. As a WWII history buff, and an American, I took offense to the "take" the guide had on the start of the Pacific side of WWII. Make no mistake, as you travel about SE Asia, you could spend weeks on tour after tour and read book after book on how the Japanese were out to cause major turmoil in every country they invaded. In Thailand, thousands were killed to acquire a passageway for goods and services, in Singapore, Indonesia and other areas people were killed in vicious ways. None of these countries had much of an American influence, if at all at the time they were attacked. Japan wanted control of most countries in the region, period. The tour guide's take that the Japanese invaded Manila because of their American influence, is nuts! To make the American military look bad in not seeing warning signs and such, we too believe we could have seen Pearl Habor's attack better, but hindsight is always 20/20.
Many Americans died in WWII trying to help other countries. War is hell.
I have been to the area twice now on work trips. I cannot say enough about how nice and caring the local people in Manila treated me. So, this tour does not effect my view on the country or Manila, but I would not suggest attending this tour thinking you are hearing about true history, at least on the WWII topics.
MY REPLY:
Sally, I remember you. You are the one who insisted upon paying at the middle of the tour and visibly walked out with your daughter. Ah. well, unfortunately, I really do not have the time to defend my opinions about MacArthur's ego and lack of preparedness for a Japanese attack, nor do I need to expound upon the cruelty of the Japanese on Manila's population because of our "western" and "Christian" ways. Filipino survivors of the liberation and any U.S. Military historian can confirm this. So Sally, kindly allow me to suggest that you take your World War 2 buffness to a library or online and perhaps STUDY a little bit more about U.S. involvement in Philippine affairs in the 20th century before you open your mouth, type on a keyboard, nor take offense.
And while you are researching, why not look this up as well, Sally: Philippine American War and 1904 St. Louis World Exposition (Scroll down to "Human Zoo") And once you are done, come back and tell me that the U.S. has always had our best interests in mind.
But having said that, I am also quite glad that you think we are a "nice and caring." people. What a terribly sweet thing for you to say. And I'm looking forward to seeing you at The Imelda Tour as well. We'll talk a little bit about U.S. involvement with the Marcoses and the American military bases of Subic and Clark during the height of the Cold War. I'm sure we'll have a swell chat right afterwards.
Have a good day.
