<Begin Segment 27>

BF: Well, so how do you think that you were... I mean, you said yourself, you said half your lifetime working on redress. What do you think it changed about you? The whole process.

CK: It's hard to say because I don't have another life. [Laughs]

BF: Well, I mean, I guess, how do you think you... I don't know, were altered or developed by the process?

CK: Well, I don't know. If I hadn't become involved in redress, would I have... see, I don't know for myself. Would I have become... well, I can say that during the Vietnam protest, I did in a minimal way get involved. So I suppose I would be, like the nuclear test ban, that I'm very much concerned about, had been all along. So I guess I would have been involved in other things. So it didn't change my focus, probably. I mean, who knows? But I think the, why redress was so close is because you know, when it involves you personally. I mean, it's not like environmental issues. Yes, they do involve you, but not so closely, so, so very, very personally. So I don't know how it would have been if I didn't get involved in redress.

BF: There must be some gene, I think, responsible for why people either have sort of a consciousness or a desire to be involved or not. Because it just always amazes me how some people just for whatever, will always be involved in something they believe in and some people just never will.

CK: I don't know. I've wondered about that, too. In terms of how do you, I guess it's somewhat like, how do you develop a conscience? Can you say, you know, how did you get so you feel guilty about this or that? You know, where does it come from? Does it come from environment, does it come from parents, what? I don't know. I can't find the answer and I don't think social scientists can really find an answer to that, either. Because I can't relate it to any particular injustice that I experienced. I can cite a few points of discrimination, but nothing real traumatic. I mean, I always knew. You look at the mirror, you know you're different. And I didn't experience anything that was terribly traumatic, so it's a good question. I don't know. If you find the answer, let me know. [Laughs]

BF: You could market it.

<End Segment 27> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.