Thoughts on relationship between Japanese Peruvians and Japanese Americans at Crystal City, Texas
I don't remember any animosities or any breakouts or any kind of a conflict, but I do as a little kid felt like we were kind of benevolently nice to the Peruvian folks. We were told to be polite to them even if they were a little bit crude, and a little bit... their Japanese language, the language they spoke was a little cruder if I remember correctly. They let their children run around with no clothes on. “Isn't that embarrassing,” but we pretend like we overlook those things in their lives and... I think we had a little superior attitude towards them. I really do. It was a classist. The Japanese culture is pretty classist and I think that it is not a, just a mere recollection on my part, I think there was some feelings of American people feeling superior to the Peruvian Japanese people.
Date: May 27, 1998
Location: Washington, US
Interviewer: Lori Hoshino
Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.
