Rheanna Ostrea

Blog 7

ASA 02 A03

November 1, 2015

In Professor Valverde’s Article on Cultural Identity, I was unaware of what was happening in the Vietnamese American community especially from the fact that a majority of stay silent. Chau Huynh’s painting of the “Pedicure Basin” created a really strong effect on the community where she was labeled a communist from other’s interpretation even though the meaning behind her painting was not connected to it. Valverde also speaks about how the different spheres in the Vietnamese American community affect them in trying to build an anti-communist society. I was aware that many Vietnamese Americans came here as refugees from the South are anti-communist but I was surprised to see that many of them targeted those who visited family in Vietnam or had any connection to Vietnam as communist. The fact that many Vietnamese Americans are silent from fear of being labeled as a communist is very saddening and their community needs to create a way where they can speak freely about their thought and beliefs without being judged.

Question: How can the Vietnamese American community help the silent majority to tell their stories without the fear of being targeted and deemed as a communist?