Even if this does seem a bit much, I can’t say I don’t admire the spirit:
Memories of the Red Menace may be fading in much of America, but they are very much alive in Orange County’s Little Saigon.
In a gesture that says a lot about the uncompromising anger that many Vietnamese emigres feel toward the regime they fled, leaders want to declare a no-Communist zone.
Officials in Garden Grove and Westminster, two cities that share the sprawling district that is the hub of the world’s largest Vietnamese population outside Vietnam, plan to propose today identical city measures that would effectively prohibit visits by trade or government representatives from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital.
An outgrowth of a successful campaign to recognize the flag of the former nation of South Vietnam in many U.S. cities with large Vietnamese populations, it’s the latest salvo in an enduring hatred of communism that rivals that of Miami’s Cuban exiles for Fidel Castro.
“We don’t accept the communists anywhere,” said Garden Grove activist Ky Ngo. “When we fled our homeland, we risked our lives to escape communism… We want nothing to do with them.”
Noting that the mere display of a Vietnamese flag in a video store in 1999 was enough to prompt a months-long demonstration, city officials say they hope to effectively deny sponsors of a Hanoi delegation any city cooperation — including police protection for visiting dignitaries, which would be necessary in a community where political friction often turns physical.
Read the rest on your own.
9 Comments
Well, these losers lost the civil war due to their corruption and ineptness, and now they are hysterical. After 30 years! Well, they and their beloved cities will not get money from trading with Hanoi. Their problem. I am afraid they need good psychiatric help. If they cannot afford it, I would suggest them to take a deep, deep breath…
As a matter of fact, Vietnam is a normal developing capitalist country, not much different (may be, a bit poorer) from what it would be under their rule.
Passerby has the American far left view of things.
I lived in Anaheim. These people suffered. In a way, they are just like Holocost survivors. They wnat nothing to do with what harmed them. I’m surprised that they are being this civil.
20 years ago I worked with a Taiwanese national that was outraged that a Chinese mainland refugee who was tortured and abused by Mao’s regime would make traditional Peking Duck for a visiting Communist delegation without poisoning it. I think Ko was looking for a gun to go shoot them all.
Passerby, I live near a seminary that trains Priests for mission work in Vietnam. They mourn their graduates that have been killed by Hanoi within the last 10 years. Hanoi is still Communist and still kills those who don’t get with their program. It is not a normal Capitalist society.
Other than devastating the coffee market vietnam hasnt done squat in the last 20 years that could be considered capitalist. And if thes American citizens wanna declare a no-communist zone in thier city and have the votes to carry it through, more power to them. I hope they get together with the cuban immigrants and push for a national “survivors of communist despots’ holliday.
Dan, Do I sound American? I think every second word in my writing betrays that I am not a native speaker…
Anyway, I understand the feelings of your friends. But I understand the feelings of your friends??р꽓 enemies as well. Do you really believe that the South Korean police and army did not torture people? Or tortured them much less often than Communists did? And what would you say about a Communist refugee who now will try to poison a government delegation? I suspect you would call his a zealot ??р?and you??р꽓ll be absolutely right. By the way, long time ago in my native country there was a civil war, too. Two my family members perished. On was shot by the Communists. Another was tortured to death by the anti-Communists (military police, to be precise). Neither committed the ???밹rime??? he was accused of, and their alleged actions would not constitute a ???밹rime??? under normal circumstances. I believe, it??р꽓s typical. Of course in Korea of nowadays, of 2004, no sane person would ever compare North and South. However, back in the 1940s and 1950s BOTH sides were roughly equal in their blood lust ??р?did you ever hear about Cheju Island in 1948? Personally I met a number of people who had experience of very scary acts committed by Rhee??р꽓s soldiers.
These Vietnamese refugees who made this fuss do not understand a simple thing. It is over! The war is over. Period. They can tell awful stories? Yes. But their enemies back in Vietnam can tell very similar stories, too. And some of nice old people who live in this small quite American towns have done very scary things long time ago, be sure. This was a civil war! It??р꽓s meaningless to argue who was worse. The only way out is to forget it. You are probably involved with these people, and came to sympathize with them. It??р꽓s an understandable reaction. But for me, an outsider without any personal involvement with US or Vietnam (never been in Vietnam, 3 weeks in US) they and their behaviour look bizarre.
And the final remark. I am not saying that Hanoi??р꽓s victory was good for Vietnam. It was, at all probability, bad. But do not expect that Saigon regime would create a paradise, or even something approaching present-day South Korea.
Passerby,
The Hanoi regime, Saigon is now Ho Chi Minh City, runs things. The Vietnamese community is not just old pensioners, but people 18 on up. Many have never seen Vietnam, but have family there.
While I heard of many atrocities, some as of today, like the Chinese killing North Koreans running from Kim “Mentally Ill”’s regime, I see nothing wrong in creating a Communist free zone. The just don’t realize they are telling most of Hollywood to stay out, too.
The only way I was involved was that these people were neighbors and one was a co-worker. My family was a curiosity to all the local Asian community since my middle child is an Adopted Korean with Caucasian children both older and younger than she is.
As for Vietnam, I could point you to people I know who adopted children out of Vietnamese orphanages. Yun can tell you how rats killed her playmate one night.
I’m sure you can get similar stories from other formerly Communist nations, including Russia.
Saying some wrong is done and to get over it doesn’t work. Tell that to an American Democrat frustrated at not being able to steal the Florida election in 2000.
“The just don’t realize the(y) are telling most of Hollywood to stay out, too.”
Communism is a theory advocating elimination of private property b: a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed. If this is definition we accept as true (and I’ll tell you it seems to be pretty consistent across the board as far as dictionaries are concerned) then your statements about keeping out Hollywood couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact if that is how we view Communism I can honestly say there is no such thing as a true Communist (definitely not multi-millionaires) nor will there ever be because all people (myself included) want as much for themselves as possible. Those you constantly call Communists could be better described using objective language relating to their behaviors and actions rather than further weakening the English language by exploiting this type of nominal fallacy that continually plagues us at every step.
I just thought you might want to look at a word that you throw around in that conservative vacuum of your mind. People in ???밐ollywood??? have opinions and they are simply using what is available to them to make them known. Just like you have used the Internet and other resources available to you to make your opinions known. Just because you disagree with them doesn’t mean you should go around mislabeling them with stereotypical babble that is constantly thrown around ultra-conservative circles, especially on an open forum.
“???steal the Florida election in 2000.”
That American democrat was utilizing a right guaranteed to him by the government of the United States of America in asking for a recount (or several in the case of the 2000 election. Recounts, which likely would have been performed had he asked for it or not. It might also be fair to point out that his attempts to get recounts were continually being taken to court in an attempt to block them. Perhaps that showed some level of fear on a certain American Republicans part on having lucked out in a huge error that showed some major flaws in the American electoral process. Of course that is also speculation and typical from stereotypical babble from the other camp and no one wants to hear that.) It’s funny how people that continually attack the “liberal media” for their choice of words and the pictures they paint will turn around and use a word like “steal” in reference to someone exercising their rights as a citizen and candidate for the presidency. That sounds an awful lot like subversive language that borderlines treason. See how easy it is to turn something around and label someone something they are not?
Joel,
If you were honest, you’d admit that Gore both cherry picked his strongest counties to recount, that the commissioners in those counties were almost all partisan Democrats, and that the Gore campaign flew in lawyers in a pre-planned plot to disenfranchise only military voters who were deployed overseas from Florida bases.
The FL supreme court got caught being partisan and was slapped down by the US Supreme Court.
In any way you honestly look at it, the Democrats and Gore tried to steal an election.
Now, do you want to excuse former talk show host Bob Beckel? He openly said he was going to present informatiion to Electoral College Electors about themselves that they might not want to get published if they insist on voting for Bush. Can you say BLACKMAIL???
It’s one thing to steal an election… but damn, it takes a lot of nerve to then turn around and accuse the other side of the same.
Better luck this year… maybe you can “mistakenly” scrub 100% of the African-american vote!
Brian,
That is a very ignorant remark. But, then again, the left is not noted for deep, substantive thinking.
Riddle me this, Socaialist man. How do 3,000 attorneys appear in Florida from out of state overnight with the same 3 page memo detailing how to disenfranchise military voters?
Hint: When would you have to book 3,000 seats on airlines for the night of the election so that all 3,000 lawyers arrive before the Registrar of Voters offices open the day after the election?
Hint 2: There aren’t 3,000 empty seats to Florida in November any given day on the airlines that aren’t already booked by “snowbirds”, vacationers, and normal business travel.