Week 6 ASA 150E Jennifer Nguyen Bernal

Jennifer Nguyen Bernal

Professor Valverde

ASA 150 E

The reading "Vietnamese Diaspora Revisited" by Kieu-Linh Valverde covers the issues and news that is happening with the Vietnamese diaspora in America. Although there is a connection with the Vietnamese diaspora and the homeland, they have a complicated relationship that causes tension within the Vietnamese diaspora. Valverde explains their complicated relationship shows in an incident in San Jose when an international Vietnamese student beaten by the police caused by cultural misconception and racism. The episode shows how this affects the Vietnamese community and Vietnam.I realize the forms of transnational that allow the Vietnamese diaspora and Vietnam to connect like the internet and social media. My family and others would call to keep in touch with families that are in Vietnam, creating this online community, which creates a connection with the diaspora to the homeland. Valverde explained how she focused the Vietnamese stronghold on anti-communism within the Vietnamese diaspora since they were against a change in culture and ideology from the future generation. Anti Communism plays a small role within the community since other factors affect the thinking in the Vietnamese community like generation, gender, status, class, and how they got to America. Valverde explained how these factors played a role when Vice-Mayor Madison Nguyen wanted to help the Vietnamese community and other communities of color by making a district that supports the community as a whole. The Vietnamese community felt that Madison is disrespecting them by not naming the business district Little Saigon. However, she resisted by fighting the accusation that she is a communist and not following the Vietnamese Cultural norm. Her success has changed the views, perspective, and politics within the Vietnamese diaspora in San Jose. Some artworks provoked anticommunist members in the Vietnamese community even though the art piece was supposed to open dialogue on controversial topics. Chau Huynh's art pieces and Nguoi Viet's writing on the pieces attempted to tell the Vietnamese community to speak out about these topics that are suppressed and create unity. I feel that this will create a better community since everyone’s views should be respected.They don't want to be limited to what is acceptable according to their community. Although the Vietnamese diaspora in the Vietnamese community globalizes themselves, there are many injustices they have dealt with within their community, the Asian American community, and other neighborhoods of color. Valverde explains how people of color, like the Hmong, have not received acknowledgment from America in the fight for the secret wars. She shed light on how the diaspora, transnationalism, and globalization plays a role within the Vietnamese community. She and other members of the Vietnamese community want to change what is expected of them to voice their stories and experience within the Vietnamese diaspora.

How does the future generation go about changing the mindset of the Vietnamese community to understand that their history is important, but the experience of the future generation is also important? 

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