Time for Vietnamese Americans to take a clear stance, defying racism against Asians in the United States, and rethink about themselves

 

The murder of six Asian women by a white racist in Atlanta seriously rattled my emotions. I knew that anti-Asian sentiment has always had a long history in the United States since 19th century, but never thought it would exacerbate so far during the COVID-19 pandemic. It occurred since the former President Donald Trump frequently repeated the speeches of "Chinese virus" or "Wuhan virus", but has no clear insight about Asian Americans. Subsequently, Trump's ignorance inflamed the racist fervour among the racist segments, which had been greatly blessed by Donald Trump's four years reign, to spread its anti-Asian hatred. And when Joe Biden became President, the sentiment exaggerated even further, as people injected with Trump's racist ideology found themselves insecure with Biden Administration.

Yet, one group of Asian Americans have stayed deaf when widespread anti-Asian violence is happening. The Vietnamese Americans have, so far, demonstrated little to support the other Asians during this difficult time, despite many Vietnamese people were attacked, harassed, and Vietnamese properties being taken targets by racist groups. It really frightens me to see my Vietnamese people being voiceless.

Unfortunately, this action seems to be rooted in the Vietnamese Americans themselves.

A factor that attributed to this shocking low reaction from the Vietnamese Americans coming from their very traumatic background. Many Vietnamese Americans came to the United States as refugees fleeing the communist conquest of South Vietnam in 1975, therefore they, and their descendants, carry a deep distaste against communism and even the current Vietnam they saw today, as an unfree, undemocratic, Chinese-occupied Vietnam. It sure has the reasons for them to keep resenting for generations.

However, the most important moment influencing the Vietnamese Americans' character in the United States was the moment Ronald Reagan, a Republican, elected as President. Under Ronald Reagan, the United States prevailed against the Soviet Union, successfully curtailing communist power and started the process of an eventual collapse of most communist regimes in the world, starting with Poland in 1989 and ended with the flag of USSR removed from the Kremlin in 1991. The Vietnamese Americans were indebted to the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, but it also paved the way to align with a political party that shaped its mindset: the Republican Party.

Unfortunately, the Republican Party has slowly become a party where its representatives turn abhorrent, racist, biased and sectarian. From the time of Reagan, other Republican Presidents pre-Trump had realised this deep-seated xenophobic and partial manners within, and they had tried not to allow them to surface in the politics because it could damage the American civil society. They championed the idea of liberty, democracy and racial equality above all, because they still knew where the United States lies in the world, and what should be done to protect it.

Yet, Vietnamese Americans had chosen the wrong side within the GOP. The Vietnamese by majority lined up with the xenophobic, ultraconservative force inside the Republican Party because these groups still hold them the manner of a lost cause. Majority Vietnamese media in the U.S. subsequently turned to an even more conservative, restrictive ideology that centralised the idea of the fallen Republic of Vietnam needs to follow the path of the Republican Party, many Vietnamese there still see Republican Party as synonymous with the Republic of Vietnam. This may also apply to most of the Vietnamese diaspora due to their open support for Republican Party. Following up is their very open anti-Democratic platforms that dominated the scheme of Vietnamese American life. I even got to hear Vietnamese Americans stating Barack Obama "black monkey", the Democrats as "Russian/Chinese spies", Democratic Party "the party of communists and socialists", etc.

Dreadfully, this bias support made the Vietnamese Americans unaware they are becoming the fifth column that could potentially expose them to the force that destabilises the United States and disrespecting American democracy. Eventually, the election of Donald Trump in 2016 unveiled this dark side of Vietnamese Americans themselves. Racism, segregation, slavery, all things that used to belong to the Confederacy back in 1861-1865, now adopted by majority Vietnamese here on its quest for a call to democracy in Vietnam. But the communist regime in Hanoi, which successfully evaded the collapse of communist world in 1986 by economic reforms while keeps on repressing dissidents, is aware of the racist path Vietnamese democratic movement in the U.S. doing, and patiently waits for the outcome.

It works.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnamese Americans exposed themselves as the worst-affected Asian American community because of bonding with Trump, while the communist government in Vietnam got hailed by a successful anti-pandemic response that becomes a model. At that time, Vietnamese Americans should have taken awareness of what's wrong. Instead, they didn't. Vietnamese Americans even made verbal assaults against African Americans when Black Lives Matter protest broke out.

Eventually, on 6 January 2021, thousands of Trump supporters attacked Capitol Hill in an attempt to prevent the ratification of Joe Biden as the rightfully-elected President of the U.S. under the call of Donald Trump himself. Among them included a lot of fanatic Vietnamese Americans, the majority elders but also a lot of young Vietnamese. Standing together alongside many proud fanatics, racist and supremacist groups like KKK, Proud Boys and anti-semitic groups, they stormed the Capitol Hill violently, killing at least five people, including one policeman. The insurrection failed, but the fallen South Vietnam flag's appearance was captured worldwide. Yet many Vietnamese turned blind eyes on the first week before Trump was banned from social media platforms and FBI announced a number of people as well as identifying the flags of rioters.

It is definitely one of the most insulting moments in American history and delivered a huge shock for democratic movements worldwide. Vietnamese Americans are so visible, so so visible that no one could deny the role of Vietnamese in the failed insurrection. Other Asian Americans decried the Vietnamese Americans "the shame of Asian people". Educated Americans began denouncing Vietnamese American society and accused them of plotting a coup. Some Americans even started calling out, demanding the removal of South Vietnam flags in every place of Vietnamese diaspora because of its association with the failed insurrection. Some even requested the communist red flag with a golden star to be placed out of disgust. By this moment, Vietnamese democratic movements have lost all the legitimacy they had built for years, thanked for the unrest and how they turned blind eyes first.

Given the sectarian, dogmatic nature of the failed coup, Vietnamese American participation is a blow. A suicide move. And now, Asian Americans have to bear costs. Because only Vietnamese Americans are the most relevant pro-Trump, pro-Republican and deeply conservative among Asian Americans. Racialist, Falangist and supremacist parties however do not care about the differences between Vietnamese, Chinese, Koreans or Thais; they just look on people with Asian faces, they'll attack indiscriminately. And Vietnamese Americans have allowed the sentiment to explode, instead of fighting against it.

And now? We are seeing the rise of Vietnamese properties being attacked, Vietnamese people walking in American streets do not feel any safety anymore. Yet other Asian Americans do not even think about helping Vietnamese Americans. For example, the Japanese, also facing violence, agree to help Filipinos, Indians, Thais, Koreans, Chinese; but they cold-shouldered the Vietnamese, even if they agree to help. Because who can accept a group of people who stood deaf to Donald Trump's racism and the insurrection status?

I think what happened during four years under Trump Presidency and the coup d'etat that occurred on 6 January 2021 will stay as a stain forever for the status of Vietnamese Americans, as the most racist, extremist, bigot, jingoist and undemocratic Asian Americans. The shooting in Asian-owned spas by a white supremacist is the last drop to all of us, on how our ideological alignment could contribute to the unwanted outcome.

Vietnamese Americans have to make clear, now, what they are standing for during the anti-Asian storm that is going on in the United States. If Vietnamese Americans want to win back the trust of American public, especially to the bedfellow Asian Americans, it's up for them to realise what is the best for the country and for the Asian Americans, and what is it like to be Americans.

A Vietnamese willing to take responsibility for the wrong and begin fighting for the rights will be a good restart.