U.S. base occupation in Okinawa and Puerto Rico follows a shared colonial pattern

Evidence

His characterization of Okinawans as “lazy” and possessing an “island mentality,” and his disparaging comparison of Okinawans to Puerto Ricans—successfully offending not one but two groups of people—are so offensive in deploying racial stereotypes that they speak for themselves. (The comments about “lazy” Okinawans are especially remarkable given that thousands of Okinawan employees help keep U.S. bases running.) On the other hand, linking the Puerto Ricans and Okinawans was inadvertently apt. Both cases sadly illustrate how an occupation by U.S. bases and troops works as part of a larger colonial relationship, impoverishing the occupied land and shaping many of the very real social problems found on both islands. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 835

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly supports the ‘On Sacrifice’ ADDENDUM’s theme of colonial relationships impoverishing occupied land — parallels the extraction dynamic detailed for other colonies.
• XREF: Links to the reader’s broader study of how base-host island populations are colonially positioned — connects to Puerto Rico base status questions.