When Buddhists Were a "National Security Threat"

[MineralMan]

2. The word is "Alien."

Alien in the sense of being different, non-conforming, and visibly not part of the vast majority. The Japanese-American citizens who were sent to the camps looked different, behaved differently, and worshiped differently. Despite many of them being native-born US citizens, they were treated as "aliens," and fear of what is different led to their imprisonment and confiscation of their property.

Chinese immigrants were excluded by law, as well.

If you are different, you are an "alien" in people's minds and therefore considered to be dangerous. This is a common pattern in human societies. We fear what we do not understand, and make very little effort to improve our understanding. The United States is no different from any other country in that regard, to our shame.