Do people from different cultures and societies remember the same tngs differently in predictable ways?
Answers
Nanjing is a good example of this. The Japanese saw it as simply a military action. To this day, there is a significant number of Japanese historians who present it as such. To the Chinese and the rest of the world, hundreds of thousands of people, mostly civilians, died in that conquest. Up to 80,000 women were raped and the land was pillaged. This was seen by most onlookers and the Chinese as a horrific massacre and the war crimes tribunals found the generals and others in charge guilty of war crimes.
There are many reasons for this phenomenon. Different cultures have different value systems. What to one culture would seem a valiant conquest could, to onlookers, look as a series of atrocities and criminal actions.
Nanjing is a good example of this. The Japanese saw it as simply a military action. To this day, there is a significant number of Japanese historians who present it as such. To the Chinese and the rest of the world, hundreds of thousands of people, mostly civilians, died in that conquest. Up to 80,000 women were raped and the land was pillaged. This was seen by most onlookers and the Chinese as a horrific massacre and the war crimes tribunals found the generals and others in charge guilty of war crimes.
Another example of this is <insert middle East or African tribal conflict here>. We see terrorism, rape, plunder, and horrific inexcusable conduct. They see war. To them, war is hell and you do WHATEVER is necessary to end the conflict as quickly as possible. This includes demoralizing and even killing the civilian populace. Whether or not they agree with the actions of the leadership, the civilians are supporting the actions the leadership is taking. The farmer is providing the food that the enemy soldier is eating to live. The merchant is paying taxes or fees that pay for weapons. It is very much a Sun Tzu view of warfare. To us, this is disgusting.