--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hate to admit it,\" she said, \"but for…" description: "\"“I hate to admit it,\" she said, \"but for all we hear about the States, Canada's capacity for racism seems even worse.\" \"Worse?\" \"The American Japanese ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/joy-kogawa-41034_concentration-camp_i-hate-to-admit-it-she-said-but-for-all_209967.jpg" --- # I hate to admit it," she said, "but for all we hear about… ![“I hate to admit it," she said, "but for all we hear about the States, Canada's capacity for racism seems even worse." "Worse?" "The American Japanese were interned as we were in Canada, and sent off to concentration camps, but their property wasn't liquidated as ours was. And look how quickly the…” quote by Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/joy-kogawa-41034_concentration-camp_i-hate-to-admit-it-she-said-but-for-all_209967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/joy-kogawa-41034_concentration-camp_i-hate-to-admit-it-she-said-but-for-all_209967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/joy-kogawa-41034_concentration-camp_i-hate-to-admit-it-she-said-but-for-all_209967.jpg) > ““I hate to admit it," she said, "but for all we hear about the States, Canada's capacity for racism seems even worse." "Worse?" "The American Japanese were interned as we were in Canada, and sent off to concentration camps, but their property wasn't liquidated as ours was. And look how quickly the communities reestablished themselves in Los Angeles and San Francisco. We weren't allowed to return to the West Coast like that. We've never recovered from the dispersal policy. But of course that was the government's whole idea—to make sure we'd never be visible again. Official racism was blatant in Canada.”” [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker contrasts Canadian and American racial policies, noting harsher outcomes for Japanese Canadians, including property loss and forced dispersal, leading to lasting community trauma. **In simple terms:** Canada’s racism caused deeper, lasting harm to Japanese Canadians. Key Takeaway Recognize and address historic injustices. Themes racism history justice memory community recovery Mood reflective somber determined Type historical social commentary activist When to use this quote - civil rights activism - educational curricula - community healing - policy reform Key Concepts colonialism systemic oppression property rights displacement Questions to Reflect On - How can societies repair the lingering effects of forced dispersal? - What role should education play in confronting past racism? A Different Perspective Canada’s policies were not uniformly worse; context varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concentration camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camp/) [Concentration Camps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camps/) [Los angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/los-angeles/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [West coast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west-coast/) ## Related quotes > [However, while we should certainly celebrate the demise of overt official racism, we must also critically examine where we are at this historical moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/however-while-we-should-certainly-celebrate-the-demise-of-overt/) [Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/) > [Racism is worse than ever. Violence is worse than ever. The economy's worse than ever. Unemployment's worse than ever. And it's Democrats that have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/racism-is-worse-than-ever-violence-is-worse-than-ever-the-economy-s/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“She felt the sly type of racism here, longer waits for tables, white girls who expected her to walk on the slushy part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-bennett/she-felt-the-sly-type-of-racism-here-longer-waits-for-tables-white/) [Brit Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-bennett/) > [N. S. Khrushchev established his supremacy in the U.S.S.R. after post-Stalinist alarums and excursions (1958-64). This admirable rough diamond, a believer in reform and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/n-s-khrushchev-established-his-supremacy-in-the-u-s-s-r-after-post/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, practiced no cruelties. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/feminism-has-fought-no-wars-it-has-killed-no-opponents-it-has-set-up-2/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [“Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, practiced no cruelties. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/feminism-has-fought-no-wars-it-has-killed-no-opponents-it-has-set-up/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [I don't want any more concentration camps for animals that are cruelly treated, force-fed to fatten themselves up for our consumption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wynn/i-don-t-want-any-more-concentration-camps-for-animals-that-are/) [Steve Wynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wynn/) > [“Many years later, after Niemöller had been imprisoned for eight years in concentration camps as the personal prisoner of Adolf Hitler, he penned these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/many-years-later-after-niem-ller-had-been-imprisoned-for-eight-years/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [ \[Albert\]Camus had denounced the gulag and Stalin's trials. Today we can see that he was right. To say that there were concentration camps in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-camus/albert-camus-had-denounced-the-gulag-and-stalin-s-trials-today-we-can/) [Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-camus/) > [...women who 'adjust' as housewives, who grow up wanting to be 'just a housewife,' are in as much danger as the millions who walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/women-who-adjust-as-housewives-who-grow-up-wanting-to-be-just-a/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [You can do business with America or the authoritarian dictators of Beijing, who oppress their own people, put millions of Muslims in concentration camps,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/you-can-do-business-with-america-or-the-authoritarian-dictators-of/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [As long as my record stands in federal court, any American citizen can be held in prison or concentration camps without trial or hearing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-korematsu/as-long-as-my-record-stands-in-federal-court-any-american-citizen-can/) [Fred Korematsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-korematsu/) > [The question is not whether the system works, but whether we like the way it works. Just because something works doesn't mean it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-question-is-not-whether-the-system-works-but-whether-we-like-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Emotion constricted Hawke’s throat. He suddenly understood why the victims of concentration camps had walked quietly to the gas chambers. In the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/emotion-constricted-hawke-s-throat-he-suddenly-understood-why-the/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“The experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action… There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/the-experiences-of-camp-life-show-that-man-does-have-a-choice-of/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) ## More by Joy Kogawa > [“From my years of teaching I know it's the children who say nothing who are in trouble more than the ones who complain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-kogawa/from-my-years-of-teaching-i-know-it-s-the-children-who-say-nothing/) [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) > [Language to me is a tool a very clumsy tool. And words are garden tools with which to till the soil of one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-kogawa/language-to-me-is-a-tool-a-very-clumsy-tool-and-words-are-garden/) [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) > [“some memories, too, might better be forgotten. didn't Obasan once say, "it is better to forget"? what purpose is served by hauling forth the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-kogawa/some-memories-too-might-better-be-forgotten-didn-t-obasan-once-say-it/) [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) > [“we're a "lower order of people" in one breath we are damned for being "unassailable" and the next there is fear that we'll assimilate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-kogawa/we-re-a-lower-order-of-people-in-one-breath-we-are-damned-for-being/) [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) > [“Some people," Aunt Emily answered sharply, "are so busy seeing all sides of every issue that they neutralize concern and prevent necessary action. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-kogawa/some-people-aunt-emily-answered-sharply-are-so-busy-seeing-all-sides/) [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) > [Fiction, on the other hand, is like swamp fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-kogawa/fiction-on-the-other-hand-is-like-swamp-fire/) [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) > [“In a time like this, let us trust in God even more. To trust when life is easy is no trust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-kogawa/in-a-time-like-this-let-us-trust-in-god-even-more-to-trust-when-life/) [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) > [People who talk a lot about their victimization make me uncomfortable. 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Fiction, on the other hand, is like swamp fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-kogawa/poetry-is-a-kind-of-gasp-and-there-it-is-a-spark-on-the-page-fiction/) [Joy Kogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) [Explore all 10 Joy Kogawa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-kogawa/) ## More Concentration camp quotes > [“The experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action… There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/the-experiences-of-camp-life-show-that-man-does-have-a-choice-of/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [“The only lesson I got pounded into me was about man's limitless capacity for vice - that and the fact that social distinctions vanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chol-hwan-kang/the-only-lesson-i-got-pounded-into-me-was-about-man-s-limitless/) Chol-Hwan Kang > [“Emotion constricted Hawke’s throat. 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We must deal with, with forgiveness and patience-as full human beings, as we are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/each-of-us-has-his-own-inner-concentration-camp-we-must-deal-with/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [You can do business with America or the authoritarian dictators of Beijing, who oppress their own people, put millions of Muslims in concentration camps,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/you-can-do-business-with-america-or-the-authoritarian-dictators-of/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [...women who 'adjust' as housewives, who grow up wanting to be 'just a housewife,' are in as much danger as the millions who walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/women-who-adjust-as-housewives-who-grow-up-wanting-to-be-just-a/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [ \[Albert\]Camus had denounced the gulag and Stalin's trials. Today we can see that he was right. To say that there were concentration camps in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-camus/albert-camus-had-denounced-the-gulag-and-stalin-s-trials-today-we-can/) [Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-camus/) [Browse all 283 Concentration camp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camp/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I hate to admit it,\" she said, \"but for all we hear about the States, Canada's capacity for racism seems even worse.\" \"Worse?\" \"The American Japanese were interned as we were in Canada, and sent off to concentration camps, but their property wasn't liquidated as ours was. And look how quickly the communities reestablished themselves in Los Angeles and San Francisco. We weren't allowed to return to the West Coast like that. We've never recovered from the dispersal policy. 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