Member-only story
Why do some Vietnamese Americans attack the very institution that welcomed them?
by Duc Nguyen
I’m a Vietnamese American, a former refugee who was picked up a U.S. Navy ship in the South China Sea and brought to this country because of the discussions, debates, disagreements, arguments and perhaps some verbal attacks that took place in the United States Capitol. But they were conducted in civil manners. The January 6, 2021 attacks on the very institution that afforded me the ability to speak freely, like what I’m doing now, really shook me. I realized how fragile democracy is and the very disease that could destroy democracy is disinformation. Disinformation is a reason we lost South Vietnam. Poor leadership is the other.
While seeing many Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) flags on television screen during the Capitol attack, I’m wondering how this could be so? We, Vietnamese Americans, always stand for freedom and democracy. We protest and call for human rights in Vietnam and other countries. We lobby for our forgotten brothers and sisters who still stranded in foreign lands. We beg our congressmen and congresswomen to get our people out of Vietnam prison and brought them back here. That is what we do. But we do it civilly as proud people. I wonder why did these Vietnamese Americans participated in the most heinous act in American history?
The more I thought about it the more I realized how information and communications are so central in shaping behaviors. And within our community, there are some so-called leaders who are responsible for shaping many community members uncivilized behaviors by spreading disinformation. Who are they? They are the people who often dominated the airwaves through their radio, television programs or their entertainment exhibitions. They are the religious leaders that spoke to thousands every week. They are the political leaders that have direct access to the media and governmental resources. They are the singers, entertainers that frequented the TV screens. They have the eyes and ears of those who have limited access to real information. They command the attention of those who want to believe. Those who would fight for a cause. Those who want to be heard. But these so-called leaders led them down to a dark path, the same path that led to the collapse of South Vietnam by disseminating…
