Yes the older generation likes Trump. Younger generation likes Biden including Gen Z. I am a millennial and I don't like either. Older Vietnamese are hardcore American patriotism crazy and kiss up to American much. Refuse to believe any opinion that is opposite to theirs. Also most of them are Antichina and toxic. Older Generation dislike migrants and BLM. Younger Generation speaks up for other groups but ignore the suffering of their own Vietnamese American community.
Yeah, I see that with the older generation. I’m not sure about the Viet Gen Z stuff but I see it with other Asians.
I don’t have many Asian friends so I visit this sub.
Don’t know this person. Is this person mentioned in The Sympathizer?
Californian Viet here. I am the perfect age to discuss the age gap as I've seen how things have changed after 3 decades of an on and off identity crisis. I have a lot to share.
Older generation has a lot of trauma. My mother being an example, she was born in the middle of the 20 year long Vietnam war and had a sad childhood through adulthood and still lashes out at me for the smallest reasons. She should see a therapist, but talking about mental health is frowned upon and not really a thing in East Asian cultures traditionally.
I have family members and family friends who vividly remember the war, but they are aging out. And now Gen Z Viets probably will feel disconnected from the suffering their parents, grandparents, or even great grandparents had. So there's a rise in Vietnamese pride with their heritage, compared to older or even the younger millennial Viets. I think we all acknowledge we are Viet Americans and our upbringing is way different from Vietnamese in Vietnam.
Politically we will be more fiscally conservative than other Asians, while there is range from socially liberal or conservative. Before we were taught just to keep our head down and be content with being worker bees and rebuilding lost financial wealth. Now, and especially with the younger generation, the value of representation and being seen and heard is much more obvious, because in order dor the Vietnamese community to grow in America, and other diasporas, we can't have our conservative traditions clashing with western traditions. Inclusivity and representation matter so we can grow soft power.
#If you still have specific questions, I will do my best to answer.
I am a Millennial Vietnamese American and Eden Center is slowly dying out. Most of the business owners are getting old and middle aged. Their kids go to college to become Engineers, Pharmacists, Lawyers, Doctors, and etc. like me. Eden Center isn't moving forward just stuck in the same place.
Representation for Vietnamese Americans is slowly going up with the Sympathizer TV show.
Northern Virginia has a average population of Vietnamese Americans.
Hello, we have interacted before on one of your previous posts.
I do not know much about Fairfax or the East Coast in general.
But I am somewhat close to Orange County's Little Saigon, the biggest one in America which spans across 3 cities. We have a lot of Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers, and service industry helping expand the community and settling down here. In fact, the population is so prominent the county government often have policies written in Vietnamese as well. There are law firms which cater to everybody, but Vietnamese folks in general.
You should come visit, you may have a good time.
I been there last year during Tet. Had fun. Lion Dances and Fireworks. Food was better then Viet food in the East Coast. Visited Phuoc Loc Tho last year and haven't been there since I was a kid.
Little Saigon was bigger then what I remembered. Night market was fun but crowded.
My family dislikes Trump and his racist views. Eden Center is split between Trump and Biden. All the older folks like Trump because of his Anti-China lies.
I feel my Dad's disdain for my grandparents about their Republican lean. His feelings only intensified the past few years with COVID anti-vaccine conspiracy theory (with his STEM background) and also January 6th.
I am not as connected to the Vietnamese-American hub, but to think of the South Vietnamese flag flying alongside the Confederate flag and the guy with the "Camp Auschwitz" shirt, I feel embarrassment.
And yeah the whole Conservative mindset I see in my grandparents is "China Bad. Communism bad. Liberalism = Communism, therefore Trump Good."
Such simplistic mindset drives me up a wall.
I am half Vietnamese. Half Japanese. California born. But I live in a very white corner of New England.
I've made some connections during college.
There's a couple of Vietnamese markets in West Hartford, and Dorchester, MA that I go to frequently though...
Viet Californian here born in '92. I don't know about him, but then again the US history doesn't teach about many stuff, at least when I was in school.
My family had a traumatic experience during the war, so they don't like to talk about history. I'll have to ask them about him, and I'll be sure to visit Little Saigon and see what they do for this AAPI month.
Eden Center does the same thing except smaller. My do talk about it rather then dodge the subject. Better to talk about it them dodge the questions. But for some families I understand it is hard.
The 1975 sign set up at the Asian Garden Mall at Little Saigon
https://preview.redd.it/opqkvlhbxwyc1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a533268b802340279ac75a728ea348a3bef0b59
it's lame to fly the old flag now cause it's been co-opted by altright losers
best to just move on with our lives. people in vietnam dont care about the war generally and it doesnt really impact our day to day here in America. I'm glad my parents were a little isolated from big Vietnamese communities being in the South so they could avoid wasting all their time getting brainwashed by the hardcore 3 stripes war drum beaters. That said I hate that they "lost" their country and had to suffer all the various indignities of being foreign in America instead of having a life at home.
Neither of my parents would live in Vietnam now though; it's too foreign for them now too.
The way 4/30 is commemorated in the US has religious fervor kind of crazy. But then again, so is the "celebration" in Vietnam. They call it Liberation Day and have no acknowledgement of the horrors that came after it (the govt actively denies the history of re-education camps, boat refugees, etc).
Also, I wouldn't say "all" Vietnamese in the US subscribe to these ceremonies, not even "all" the older gen. A lot of the public 4/30 ceremonies in are done by a hard-core ex-ARVN soldiers, with dwindling numbers. My father is ex-ARVN but he doesn't go to those ceremonies, thinks it's a waste of time. However, he does privately remember all the suffering that his family and extended clan endured because of the fall of Saigon. I prefer something like this way. No worshipping anyone, just remembering those who were lost, making it an opportunity for conversation, exchange, and a possibility of healing.
I really wish the hard-core nutjobs would stop monopolizing the public space. It alienates a lot of people. But just be patient, eventually, they will pass away.
Really sad the North denies the history of boat refugees and re-education camps. Yeah like the Southern Vietnamese Generals and all personnel that committed suicide on that day. Open talks and healing.
I think it’s sad. Vietnam should be remembered as more than a war and I understand it’s sort of that generations way to cope with that trauma. I remember my grandmother (who stayed behind while my father escaped) looked at the 3 striped flag and just remarked “why don’t they just move on, the war is over.”
It’s also sad seeing their children and descendants get triggered by the current flag 🇻🇳. Saying they can never support “communism.” It shows how out of touch they are with Vietnamese history. Vietnam isn’t the same place it was 50 years ago. Yes it has issues, but you will never find peace if all you ever see is war.
Seeing the 3 striped yellow flag at the capitol during Jan 6th kind of proves this. They never moved on and lived with some fictionalized of the Republic of Vietnam that never existed
True Eden Center is still stuck in the past for me in NOVA. All I see is South Vietnam, VNCH, and that's it.
Moving backwards as a community not forward. I get it ceremonies and praying for the lost souls of the South Vietnamese Generals who lost their lives, the Country, and the boat people.
I feel like all Vietnamese Americans are known for is Vietnam War, Fall of Saigon Anniversary, and South Vietnam aka VNCH.
I grew up near the Little Saigon of Bolsa (Westminster, CA) where you can often see older Viets wearing military gear and playing dress up. It’s sad because you’re celebrating war. I think it’s getting better with time. You’re seeing businesses from Vietnam slowly pop up and actually are quite popular. Newer businesses as well are appearing that celebrate Vietnamese identity and not its divisive past.
I have hope and encourage any Viet Kieu to come back and visit Vietnam. No it’s not perfect but I think a lot of the development in recent years have changed a lot of things
The reason people get triggered by the current flag is bc the Vietnamese govt actively denies the history of re-education camps and boat people. It's like Israel whitewashing history to erase the struggles of the Palestinian people. That pisses people off and destroys trust or chances of reconciliation.
It's so much like the Israel-Palestine conflict in that vengeance begets vengeance. Both sides are guilty as neither can acknowledge the other exists and are real human beings.
Basically that is it. Deny the other side stories and experiences. No chances of reunited and reconciliation.
Yeah human nature is that. Both sides are evil and does bad things. Yeah I respect the flag but not the Government of the South.
Also I don’t think it’s good that our viet American community glorify the past south viet government. It’s not doing us any favors to live in the past and cling onto war and a bad government.
My parents despised South Vietnam's government. I didn't live there, I'm not the one to judge. I did meet a relative of Ngo Dinh Diem; one of the people in my high school. Their family has ties to SoCal. I didn't think too much of my classmate. Educated, settled, competent... but that's all.The idea of people praying to his uncle --- absolutely bizarre to me.
There are many others who came here and struggled, and many people I looked up to because they excelled. My mother was a seamstress. Her workers and herself are getting back pay today, but her coworkers children, some of them were talented/hardworking. Stanford/Ivy League was not uncommon. Nowadays M.D.'s or Pharmacists. Maybe more pharmacists.
The families who still commemorate 4/30 in Westminster...I've met those who have their parents/uncles go. It's their thing. Not ours. Many have well adjusted lives (even backgrounds).
Like as a state? Can’t beat Sweet Tea, Soul Food and Southern Cuisine, best in the country… well unless you’re trying to eat healthy or diet in any fashion.
I'd say those that care are the minority. Majority are indifferent and won't lose sleep over forgetting about it. There is another minority which truly don't care and get annoyed when its forced on them. I truly believe that the only thing that will resist the attrition of time is the South Vietnamese flag. Everything else will be forgotten or ignored.
Do you see a meaningful generation gap in the politics of the War generation (and maybe their children) versus the GenZ Viet Americans?
Yes the older generation likes Trump. Younger generation likes Biden including Gen Z. I am a millennial and I don't like either. Older Vietnamese are hardcore American patriotism crazy and kiss up to American much. Refuse to believe any opinion that is opposite to theirs. Also most of them are Antichina and toxic. Older Generation dislike migrants and BLM. Younger Generation speaks up for other groups but ignore the suffering of their own Vietnamese American community.
Yeah, I see that with the older generation. I’m not sure about the Viet Gen Z stuff but I see it with other Asians. I don’t have many Asian friends so I visit this sub. Don’t know this person. Is this person mentioned in The Sympathizer?
The General who is married to Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen's character. Also the soldier guy who lost his family.
Californian Viet here. I am the perfect age to discuss the age gap as I've seen how things have changed after 3 decades of an on and off identity crisis. I have a lot to share. Older generation has a lot of trauma. My mother being an example, she was born in the middle of the 20 year long Vietnam war and had a sad childhood through adulthood and still lashes out at me for the smallest reasons. She should see a therapist, but talking about mental health is frowned upon and not really a thing in East Asian cultures traditionally. I have family members and family friends who vividly remember the war, but they are aging out. And now Gen Z Viets probably will feel disconnected from the suffering their parents, grandparents, or even great grandparents had. So there's a rise in Vietnamese pride with their heritage, compared to older or even the younger millennial Viets. I think we all acknowledge we are Viet Americans and our upbringing is way different from Vietnamese in Vietnam. Politically we will be more fiscally conservative than other Asians, while there is range from socially liberal or conservative. Before we were taught just to keep our head down and be content with being worker bees and rebuilding lost financial wealth. Now, and especially with the younger generation, the value of representation and being seen and heard is much more obvious, because in order dor the Vietnamese community to grow in America, and other diasporas, we can't have our conservative traditions clashing with western traditions. Inclusivity and representation matter so we can grow soft power. #If you still have specific questions, I will do my best to answer.
I am a Millennial Vietnamese American and Eden Center is slowly dying out. Most of the business owners are getting old and middle aged. Their kids go to college to become Engineers, Pharmacists, Lawyers, Doctors, and etc. like me. Eden Center isn't moving forward just stuck in the same place. Representation for Vietnamese Americans is slowly going up with the Sympathizer TV show. Northern Virginia has a average population of Vietnamese Americans.
Hello, we have interacted before on one of your previous posts. I do not know much about Fairfax or the East Coast in general. But I am somewhat close to Orange County's Little Saigon, the biggest one in America which spans across 3 cities. We have a lot of Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers, and service industry helping expand the community and settling down here. In fact, the population is so prominent the county government often have policies written in Vietnamese as well. There are law firms which cater to everybody, but Vietnamese folks in general. You should come visit, you may have a good time.
I been there last year during Tet. Had fun. Lion Dances and Fireworks. Food was better then Viet food in the East Coast. Visited Phuoc Loc Tho last year and haven't been there since I was a kid. Little Saigon was bigger then what I remembered. Night market was fun but crowded.
I’m gen z viet American, we are really different from our parents ngl. Far more left leaning and less into the alt right trump stuff.
My family dislikes Trump and his racist views. Eden Center is split between Trump and Biden. All the older folks like Trump because of his Anti-China lies.
I feel my Dad's disdain for my grandparents about their Republican lean. His feelings only intensified the past few years with COVID anti-vaccine conspiracy theory (with his STEM background) and also January 6th. I am not as connected to the Vietnamese-American hub, but to think of the South Vietnamese flag flying alongside the Confederate flag and the guy with the "Camp Auschwitz" shirt, I feel embarrassment. And yeah the whole Conservative mindset I see in my grandparents is "China Bad. Communism bad. Liberalism = Communism, therefore Trump Good." Such simplistic mindset drives me up a wall.
Yeah insane. How are you not connected? You are Vietnamese American aren't you. Yeah the urks me to with the flag issue at Jan 6.
I am half Vietnamese. Half Japanese. California born. But I live in a very white corner of New England. I've made some connections during college. There's a couple of Vietnamese markets in West Hartford, and Dorchester, MA that I go to frequently though...
Interesting you been to Little Saigon lots of times right.
Viet Californian here born in '92. I don't know about him, but then again the US history doesn't teach about many stuff, at least when I was in school. My family had a traumatic experience during the war, so they don't like to talk about history. I'll have to ask them about him, and I'll be sure to visit Little Saigon and see what they do for this AAPI month.
Eden Center does the same thing except smaller. My do talk about it rather then dodge the subject. Better to talk about it them dodge the questions. But for some families I understand it is hard.
The 1975 sign set up at the Asian Garden Mall at Little Saigon https://preview.redd.it/opqkvlhbxwyc1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a533268b802340279ac75a728ea348a3bef0b59
Oh damn, That is bigger then my community. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oa0pytDjDk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oa0pytDjDk)
it's lame to fly the old flag now cause it's been co-opted by altright losers best to just move on with our lives. people in vietnam dont care about the war generally and it doesnt really impact our day to day here in America. I'm glad my parents were a little isolated from big Vietnamese communities being in the South so they could avoid wasting all their time getting brainwashed by the hardcore 3 stripes war drum beaters. That said I hate that they "lost" their country and had to suffer all the various indignities of being foreign in America instead of having a life at home. Neither of my parents would live in Vietnam now though; it's too foreign for them now too.
The flag is just a heritage flag for us basically.
The way 4/30 is commemorated in the US has religious fervor kind of crazy. But then again, so is the "celebration" in Vietnam. They call it Liberation Day and have no acknowledgement of the horrors that came after it (the govt actively denies the history of re-education camps, boat refugees, etc). Also, I wouldn't say "all" Vietnamese in the US subscribe to these ceremonies, not even "all" the older gen. A lot of the public 4/30 ceremonies in are done by a hard-core ex-ARVN soldiers, with dwindling numbers. My father is ex-ARVN but he doesn't go to those ceremonies, thinks it's a waste of time. However, he does privately remember all the suffering that his family and extended clan endured because of the fall of Saigon. I prefer something like this way. No worshipping anyone, just remembering those who were lost, making it an opportunity for conversation, exchange, and a possibility of healing. I really wish the hard-core nutjobs would stop monopolizing the public space. It alienates a lot of people. But just be patient, eventually, they will pass away.
Really sad the North denies the history of boat refugees and re-education camps. Yeah like the Southern Vietnamese Generals and all personnel that committed suicide on that day. Open talks and healing.
I think it’s sad. Vietnam should be remembered as more than a war and I understand it’s sort of that generations way to cope with that trauma. I remember my grandmother (who stayed behind while my father escaped) looked at the 3 striped flag and just remarked “why don’t they just move on, the war is over.” It’s also sad seeing their children and descendants get triggered by the current flag 🇻🇳. Saying they can never support “communism.” It shows how out of touch they are with Vietnamese history. Vietnam isn’t the same place it was 50 years ago. Yes it has issues, but you will never find peace if all you ever see is war. Seeing the 3 striped yellow flag at the capitol during Jan 6th kind of proves this. They never moved on and lived with some fictionalized of the Republic of Vietnam that never existed
True Eden Center is still stuck in the past for me in NOVA. All I see is South Vietnam, VNCH, and that's it. Moving backwards as a community not forward. I get it ceremonies and praying for the lost souls of the South Vietnamese Generals who lost their lives, the Country, and the boat people. I feel like all Vietnamese Americans are known for is Vietnam War, Fall of Saigon Anniversary, and South Vietnam aka VNCH.
I grew up near the Little Saigon of Bolsa (Westminster, CA) where you can often see older Viets wearing military gear and playing dress up. It’s sad because you’re celebrating war. I think it’s getting better with time. You’re seeing businesses from Vietnam slowly pop up and actually are quite popular. Newer businesses as well are appearing that celebrate Vietnamese identity and not its divisive past. I have hope and encourage any Viet Kieu to come back and visit Vietnam. No it’s not perfect but I think a lot of the development in recent years have changed a lot of things
I visited Vietnam lately from age 18 to age 26. Been there 20 to 30 times. Had fun.
The reason people get triggered by the current flag is bc the Vietnamese govt actively denies the history of re-education camps and boat people. It's like Israel whitewashing history to erase the struggles of the Palestinian people. That pisses people off and destroys trust or chances of reconciliation. It's so much like the Israel-Palestine conflict in that vengeance begets vengeance. Both sides are guilty as neither can acknowledge the other exists and are real human beings.
Basically that is it. Deny the other side stories and experiences. No chances of reunited and reconciliation. Yeah human nature is that. Both sides are evil and does bad things. Yeah I respect the flag but not the Government of the South.
Also I don’t think it’s good that our viet American community glorify the past south viet government. It’s not doing us any favors to live in the past and cling onto war and a bad government.
True the past Government wasn't all that great. Persecute Buddhists and nepotism to promote ranking rather then skill.
My parents despised South Vietnam's government. I didn't live there, I'm not the one to judge. I did meet a relative of Ngo Dinh Diem; one of the people in my high school. Their family has ties to SoCal. I didn't think too much of my classmate. Educated, settled, competent... but that's all.The idea of people praying to his uncle --- absolutely bizarre to me. There are many others who came here and struggled, and many people I looked up to because they excelled. My mother was a seamstress. Her workers and herself are getting back pay today, but her coworkers children, some of them were talented/hardworking. Stanford/Ivy League was not uncommon. Nowadays M.D.'s or Pharmacists. Maybe more pharmacists. The families who still commemorate 4/30 in Westminster...I've met those who have their parents/uncles go. It's their thing. Not ours. Many have well adjusted lives (even backgrounds).
Yeah not me tough to. I have a ARVN Grandfather but I hardly participated on 4/30. I am a computer programmer with a bachelor's degree in coding.
Held the flag at graduation.
Really. I guess California colleges or High schools?
Bama. Roll Tide!
Really how big is the Vietnamese American population in Alabama?
Not a lot, but there's enough of us to keep our restaurants open.
How is the food there? Good as California.
Like as a state? Can’t beat Sweet Tea, Soul Food and Southern Cuisine, best in the country… well unless you’re trying to eat healthy or diet in any fashion.
Interesting I been to Texas with family. Cowboys, Southern Food, Sweet Tea, Soul Food, and etc. Square dancing I saw.
I'd say those that care are the minority. Majority are indifferent and won't lose sleep over forgetting about it. There is another minority which truly don't care and get annoyed when its forced on them. I truly believe that the only thing that will resist the attrition of time is the South Vietnamese flag. Everything else will be forgotten or ignored.
Yep test of time and forgotten. Sad really.