Saturday, November 14, 2015

“Little Saigon” Naming Debate Hinders the Unification of San Jose’s Vietnamese Community - Andrew Nguyen Week 9

Andrew Nguyen
ASA 002 A03
Week 9

            I have lived in East San Jose for my entire life. A few places I am familiar with are Chợ Senter Market (Senter Market Market in English), Lion Plaza, and Grand Century Mall. Chợ Senter Market is one of many Asian supermarkets in this part of San Jose and Lion Plaza and Grand Century feature several small Vietnamese shops and restaurants. It is reasonable we would want to call this area “Little Saigon” rather than “Saigon Business District” because we see it more as a place for San Jose’s Vietnamese community than a place for conducting business. For me and my family as people who have lived in San Jose for a long time, whether or not it would have the words “business district” in it, “Little Saigon” will always be “Little Saigon” to us. This past year, Madison Nguyen ran as a candidate for Mayor of San Jose. My father was very involved in supporting her despite him not agreeing to her naming of Little Saigon, but she was not able to attain mayorship. Was her failure due to the naming debate? What would it take for the Vietnamese community to put small issues aside and unite them to move forward?

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