Out with the old, in with the same old same old

The “Special Committee to Oppose Communists” just folded. Oh, and then they formed the ”Committee Against Communists and Lackeys.” And they’ve just announced an impressive list of things they’ll do to all you communists and lackeys out there.

Who, you ask? Good question. For many, the answer is “Who cares?” For the few that do care, however, let’s take it from the beginning.

First, part (a):

Remember this group?

The first time we saw them, they were on the Bolsavik here.

That was when they called themselves the “Strike Force to Protect the Yellow Flag” (in Vietnamese: Lực Lượng Hành Động để Bảo Vệ Danh Dự Cờ Vàng)

And then they renamed themselves “Vietnamese People Against Communists,” but in fact, they want people to think they’re still a “force.” Their Vietnamese name was “Lực lượng chống cộng sản và tay sai,” a literal translation of which would be “Force Against Communists and Lackeys.”

That “force,” however, didn’t last long. After no more than a couple months of flexing whatever muscles they have, the group faded into the sunset. Remnants of the group are still hanging around outside Nguoi Viet’s office.

Now on to a different group. Part (b).

Remember this scene?

These are the merchants of Garden Grove’s Main Street, counter-protesting against people who were picketing Viet Weekly. Read here.

The group picketing Viet Weekly calls itself the “Coalition Against Resolution No. 36” (Vietnamese: Liên Ủy Ban Chống Nghị Quyết 36). The 36 in the group’s name refers to a resolution of the Communist Party of Vietnam calling for the country’s communist government to “reach out” to Vietnamese living abroad – which many read as euphemysm for proselytization and assimilation.

The Coalition lasted just long enough to carry Assemblyman Van Tran‘s water during last year’s elections and accuse Janet Nguyen of being a commie. (See here.)

After the elections, the Coalition led by Van Tran’s PR man Hung Phuong Nguyen (that’s him in suit at the far right of the picture, presenting a Van Tran commendation to some group in Houston) quickly rolled over and ended their picketing of Viet Weekly.

The Coalition too faded into the sunset.

OK then.

Part (c) now.

Meanwhile, there’s a third group calling itself the “Special Committee Against Communists.” That’s the one first mentioned at the top of this entry.

This “Special Committee” previously was best known for loud and vulgar protests against Lee’s Sandwiches. It later subsumed itself under the Coalition and faded off together with the umbrella organization.

Or so everybody thought.

On Saturday, it was ressurected for a brief hour or so, only to disband.

But only to regroup. Apparently, extremists are like the Energizer bunny, complete with bangs and whistles and equally hard to figure out where they’re going.

With former members of: (a) the Special Committee; (b) the Coalition; (c) the Force slash Strike Force; plus some new people; but sans Hung Phuong Nguyen or the original leaders of the Nguoi Viet protests, these people fashioned themselves into a new group, with a new name.

The new group’s grand name: “Committee Against Communists and Lackeys” (in Vietnamese: Ủy Ban Chống Cộng Sản và Tay Sai).

Apparently, one of the organizers said, the “lackeys are more dangerous than the communists.”

What are some of these “lackeys”? By the group’s definition, said lackeys include stores that carry DVD’s produced in Vietnam. This group intends to make the stores stop carrying these fares, according to Nguoi Viet here.

Some habits die hard.