Course:Lled368-FallingAsRain

When I read the words “falling as rain”, they triggered a memory from Grade 4 when we studied the effects of the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima. I recall reading about “black rain” which was not rain at all, but nuclear fallout from toxins which had made their way up to the atmosphere following the explosion and which then fell as a dark, tar-like rain. The text we read was Sodako and One Thousand Paper Cranes and I recall being profoundly moved and angry at the destruction of human lives; lives which were affected both immediately by the explosion, but also impacted in the long term. I recall grappling with the knowledge of how ugly war could be, and rejecting any justification for partaking in such heinous actions. As much as I hate to admit it, I think this was the earliest recollection of me forming a distaste for the US, and its love for war and destruction.