So time period is all it is needed to change the principle morality one judges the actions of others? they are the same actions, or worse committed for a longer time-frame just in the past. Kempeitai is a fitting name well chosen, especially now that after succeeding they did not disband but became political officers.
Why do you think I'm offended? Have I said I'm offended? It is possible to look on something with empathy and go "no, that's a bad idea, let's not". Your objective reality is... strange. We're talking something that's entirely subjective here.
to a certain extent yes. Crimes are morally diminished in appreciable magnitude as the generational memory subsides. no one left alive's grand parents grand parents grand parents remebers those times, so people are divorced emotionally. Some people that is, personally for example Id get worked up if CB started referring to the butcher of cumberland as a hero.
"You" being the people in question then, if that sounds better. The premise (CB is glorifying the deeds of the real world Kempetai by referencing their name) being wrong is not subjective at all.
Come on. Time is a factor. When we get the new fluff we'll also know if CB is capable of treating history with dignity.
Also, before anyone jumps on me, please note that my stance on this matter is that I understand the choice of hte unit name, and though I find it distasteful that said unit is now being written in glory in the story Im not one to say CB should or shouldnt be making the references they choose to make in the story.
@psychoticstorm: time passage doesn't make the deeds better or worse, but it makes them more or less relevant for our generation. WW2 being a fairly recent - as history goes - event is a valid reason to feel that it's more morally questionable to draw unit names from it But there's also a certain amount of bias; we're condemning the Axis side, and with good reason, but skim over possible war crimes commited by our side, and more recently. VIetnam, Middle East, Latin America comes to mind. There's also another reason for the JSA marriage with history. There's still an undercurrent of nationalism and reverence to Imperial Army going strong in Japan. The Yasukuni Shrine controversies, for example. The Uprising might as well fuel the national pride of Japanese people, giving the whole faction and army a darker shade. So it might be read as not a case of Japan culture fanboyism, but tying it more closely with its dark side.
That is my point, if one gets a moral stance on something then, they need to hold their principles intact regardless of the time period and who did what. Kempeitai is a name that fits that fictional unit well, it is not a homage or a continuation of the historical regiment, it fits inside the universe lore and gives enouph information to the historically versed to understand what the unit is about without writing a tone of lore, to the non versed, its a unit with a name.
Being hypocritical wouldnt be unusual for humans, even people who are aware of the inherent hypocrisy of their morals and determinations may just accept it. Yup makes sense to me, and part of what I was trying to say in my first post Kinda says it all really lol
I guess the perception changes from being a tourists to becoming an expat in Japan, but just out of curiosity, how does the nationalism manifest for you?
I'm by no means expert, my only experience is from what I read, but the recurring theme in people's memories is the feeling of superiority hidden behind smiles and courtesy. Historically, it was fueled by martial prowess and territorial conquest. Post-war it's grounded in the stability, strength, and relative isolation of Japanese culture, and economic achievements. There are also people that feel a certain degree of pride, because their country was the only one that had to be bombed with nuclear weapons. Then there's the Nippon Kaigi, and other nationalist groups with a degree of influence on official politics.
Are we seriously having a conversation if it's OK to name some models after a group that did bad things in real life? Really? I could have sworn there are games out there where people enjoy playing the Inquisition, Bandits, Raiders, Assassins, or flesh flaying elves from space who live by eating people's souls.....it's a goddamn miniature game, I am never going to go around and execute helpless little children, but if I want to play "Bob the children executor" who executes children by bashing their heads in with plush figures, that IS no problem, it's just a miniature game, games are meant to play "what if" or experience situations you'd never want to be in/want to do in real life, and part of that fun is playing cruel units or models that you'd shit yourself at the sight of in real life...just like Horror movies or whatnot. At least that's how I see it.
And you do also realize that it's not that simple, I hope. The exact mix of which the crimes of Kempeitai committed is unique and their history was brief and hasn't had the benefit of time to have it blunted (we are in fact sharpening it as more secrets from WW2 are uncovered both from victims who eventually find it safe enough to speak up and from government archives where anything that might tarnish the nation is kept locked tight but may eventually get out - such things are locked tighter of course when a fascist government wants to ride on the glories of old). So what your asking is basically impossible not to follow. And to anyone saying that this is just fiction and has no bearing on reality, dear Lord, take some history lessons.
I don't see how history lessons play into that. Fiction might be informed by history (and Infinity certainly is), but it does not necessarily have to be a comment on history (Infinity is certainly not). In this case it's a clear one-way-street. Also, please don't insinuate that people whoi don't agree are ignorant of history. Differentiation is particularly important in this field of study, as you are probably aware :)
Knauf, How else did you think vikings ended up being bloodthirsty plunderers? And why else do you think it's so hard to shake myths that there were no people of colour in Europe during the middle ages or earlier? Fiction changes and entrenches ideals and expectations of history. Ideas are always two-way streets.
Now we're getting somewhere :) So you main concern is that wrong representation in fiction might have a detrimental effect on our societies at large? In this case I totally agree, but again, context is paramount here. Infinity is not historical fiction. Media about Vikings, feudal Europe, Ghengis Khan and whatever else has been misrepresented are largely portrayed as being historically accurate, so it only makes sense that people would fall for those misrepresentations.
Answering the question of the thread... No, I don't think it's insensitive. In fact, I like that CB uses historical names for its troops, you get curious about it and learn something new. I don't like people hiding or whashing history, or just afraid of talking about something because it might offend someone; we should be able to openly talk about things that happened decades ago and learn from it.
