The whole thing about F.O.B. II has pretty much boiled over with most people, but a low-level rumbling is still constantly going in emailing lists, forums, web sites, and a handful of print publications from out of town that are a little late to the debate.
A Vietnamese-American columnist at UCLA’s Daily Bruin (go Bruins!) added her thoughts to the mix here, in a piece entitled “Censorship of exhibit more offensive than art itself.”
The piece was picked for distribution by U-Wire and has appeared in other papers across the country such as the Minnesota Daily here.
Nam-Giao Do – born in the U.S. of refugee parents – did not mince words.
Excerpts:
Now, more than 30 years after the Vietnamese American community had been established, the freedom of expression that so many refugees yearned for is denied to them, by, unfortunately, members of their own community….
….
The closing of “F.O.B. II: Art Speaks” is another distressing example of how some community members not only protest to express their staunch anti-communist stance, but also use their protesting to shut down what they deem opposing voices and deny others their freedom of expression.
Instead of engaging in constructive dialogue with the artists, they refused to speak with the curators. Instead of communicating their ideas in a fair manner and being receptive to other ideas, they were too extreme in their refusal to listen.
Communities cannot thrive by thinking only in black and white terms. It is not progressive or healing to assume that someone must be a communist if they try to initiate dialogue about communism or relations between the Vietnamese American communities, here and in Vietnam.
….
We are united. Like all communities, we share a rich cultural heritage, a beautiful language and a war-ridden history. We share our wealth and expertise; many open-minded Vietnamese Americans regularly return to Vietnam for humanitarian, business and educational purposes. But to say that we are united under just one voice – one experience – would be a mistake. As the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association stated in their press release, we are “a stronger community because of our diversity and not in spite of it.”
US NAVY salutes commie flag :
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2258/2486067988_8c7e2e2a44.jpg?v=0
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/054D0K9cBffnI/340x.jpg
A US Navy sailor stands watching down under a fluttering Vietnamese flag, as the USS Guardian (MCM5) docks at the port in the northern coastal city of Haiphong, 14 November 2007. Two US vessels, the USS Guardian (MCM5) and the USS Patriot (MCM7) made the first port of call to northern Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War.
@chau nguyen, if that’s the way any parents were talking to their children then that would be exactly what their children would have replied ! I’t all matter in how you’d be handling the situation. The out come of it it’s all to you so that’s the reason why we all have to think before we speak & we all have to put everything into consideration before we make a decision.
USS Guardian: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Guardian_(MCM-5)
USS Patriot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Patriot_(MCM-7)
Let’s organize a protest against the US NAVY.
Please get Ky Ngo to put up the effigy of President BUSH at the NAVY recruit office in Santa Ana.
Yah, if you want to do that, that’s within your right ! The only question will be should you or should you not ?
It is easier to dress up in flea market military fatigues to intimidate artists than to protest the NAVY where they carry real guns, and in real navy uniform
This article is obviously biased since the person in charge of Bolsavik.com is the husband w/ Ysa Le, the director of VAALA. What’s the point of debating on here, no one’s going to get it. And Nam-Giao Do, you’re obviously naive.
m&m, that’s exactly the way the conversation has beeen going. The old people in Little Saigon in their dementia-afflicted minds believe that the land they live on is an extension of the old South Vietnam. Therefore, any and all forms of public communications must be censured, cleansed and approved by the authority (old people), just like all forms of public communications were censured, cleansed and approved by the South Vietnamese authority. What, you didn’t know that? I guess that’s one important fact that these so-called ‘wise’ elder haven’t told you.
I think it’s about time the US government sent in the Marines, bashed a few heads in and took back Little Saigon.
Oops, I meant to write ‘censored”
Hi Chau Nguyen, thank you for the info. And no, I’m not awared of such thing so who is in charge of the South Vietnames Authority?
Who is in charge ?
Ky Ngo in Santa Ana
A criminal is not qualified as official voice of the Republic of Little Saigon.
Then,
Chinh Phu Lam Thoi.
That is it ! ! !
Official name with former SVN government officers, those who ran away before 4/29/1975.
Self-appointed officials lack legitimacy from a general vote. Also unqualified! (Criminal Ky Ngo at least got some De Facto votes!)
@ Let’s protest,
Excuse me but I don’t think the question was addressed to you !
Sonny Tran,
I think VN is the only country that is willing to defend its borders in Southeast Asia, and that may be our only selling point to the US.
Other southeastern countries may claim autonomy, but really, the people in the positions of power are usually ethnic Chinese. I am guessing that they will side with their ethnic relatives or fold/buckle to the pressures from mainland China.
I remember hearing this one story how this one southeastern asian country wanted US involvement, so the US government told them to build a two lane highway with a patch of dirt in the middle. Sure enough, the local government did exactly that.
A few months later, the local government received a call from mainland China inquiring the specifications of the highway. The Chinese government said that it is quite coincidental how the highway fits heavy airlift aircraft.
This announcement scared the heck out of the local government, and they asked how they could rectify the problem. Easy said the mainland Chinese government; just put in a lot of large trees between the two lanes, and that would solve all the “problems”.
Don’t know if it is true or not, but the point of the story is most, if not all, of the countries there are basically Chinese satellites.
Morning Ted,
Yeh, that d be a true story…Our 4000 years long history would prove that too, and just like i said…Our geological location of VN makes us a tool for Superpowers to play their games.
And of all the Southeast Asian countries, it s sad to see our homeland falling ways behind despite the claiming of progress…..
As a true 1.5 Vietnamese guy, the reason for saying “true”?..is because i did spend a good portion of my life under both regimes, seeing the goods and bads of both sides, i can only laugh at these younger generation of youngsters outthere, 40 years old and younger, calling themself educated and do not see both sides of the story.
We can proudly say we re the only small country able to beat the crap out of Ghenghis Khan in their prime time, and even China had to admit we, the Southerners, were much smarter and possesing higher fighting spirit than their own?..We were willing to defend, generations after generations, our soil. And that fighting spirit do get carried-on till now, ask those “old fashioned” protestors, they ll tell ya. How do you expect anybody else to see that?..The native Indians are some lost souls after their own soil are taken over, America we call now…. Remember this country are only 200 plus years young.
We d rather have the West, like US, influenced our VN, those fricking Chinese have tried and will do it again in hope of someday to make VN an extention of their mainland….but i don t know if they remember we re really good at defending our house?..Let s hope that trait continue.
So back to reality here in the Southland, those old folks doing “stupid” protesting might be out of line, but anybody see the positive sign?..
They do carry our ancestor s bloodline, the fighting spirit….never fold under any pressure. But i myself honestly must admit very shameful and sad to see that they will never blend in.
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