Densho Digital Archive - Osamu Mori Interview (denshovh-mosamu-01-0018)

<Begin Segment 18>

RP: There was one event that sort of stood out in your mind and that was the day that President Roosevelt died.

OM: Oh yeah, that's... I still remember it and the teacher, talking about a teacher, that's maybe her reason for tears or whatever. And she asked me why I wasn't sorry that he passed away. As a human being, yeah, I am. But from his political job that he put us here in camp, I'm not sorry for that, for saying that. I'm still not. I appreciate her service as a Quaker or whatever she was but when she asked me why I'm not sorry, I told her why and that's simple as that. That doesn't make me disloyal or anything, I go to service, funeral services for people I didn't even know, maybe they're a member of the club or whatever. I go because of the person that died, and in this case here, he did something to me that I didn't like so why should I feel sorry for him? That's the way I felt. So she asked me why I didn't cry for him. I thought even today, I wonder, did she ever think about that? Why I feel the way I do, I don't think so. If she'd of thought about it, she would understand. But I distinctly remember that. She was one of the, I think, teachers that are highly respected, she is, I think she was a good teacher. I got along with her great until that day. In a way, even in those days, I didn't let teachers tell me what to do or how to think of whatever. I remember in Arkansas, we were taking an exam and I answered one question one way and she said it was wrong, so I asked her, in class, why my question... my answers were wrong and everybody else's was right. And then she changed her mind saying that I was right, okay. So that changed the whole complexion of the grading system. I was right and the rest were wrong, so now does that change the grades? And she said, no, and then I told her off. She thought, hey, what's this innocent Japanese kid saying to me. She thought I wouldn't stand up and tell her, and so until she changed, I wouldn't change, so she finally downgraded everybody else, okay. But that's, when I'm right, when I think I'm right, I'm going to stand up for it and that's what I told this other girl, you know. She didn't like it I guess but that's okay. And I have no regrets.