It was 63 years ago today that the United States government unleashed an atomic attack on the civilian Japanese city of Hiroshima. The 9,700-pound uranium bomb lovingly named “Little Boy” killed about 150,00 people from the impact and continued to kill thousands for years after, from the radiation.

I remember being taught in High School that the idea behind dropping the bomb was to end World War II and to save lives. But whose lives were worth saving and whose lives were deemed expendable?

If it sounds familiar, it should. The same excuse continues to be given for countless acts of violence against other people in other countries. The U.S. went into Afghanistan to better the quality of life. The U.S went into Iraq to save people from an evil dictator and his non-existent weapons of mass destruction and there the U.S has remained, to protect. Who and what they are protecting is debatable.

For all the U.S. attempts to police the nuclear powers of other nations, historically and currently, especially nations of people of color, the U.S remains the only nation to have actually used a nuclear weapon against civilians.