ASA2 Section A01
11/8/2015
Week #8
In Andrew Lam's "Love, Money, Prison, Sin, Revenge," the effects of the post-Vietnam War are evident within the diasporic Vietnamese American community. Lam constantly reiterates the theme that many older generation Vietnamese feel that they no longer have a true ties to their homeland, a nation no longer existent. Many of these older generations hold onto their homeland traditions and instill them into their children and the younger generation of immigrants. However, like the older generation, much of the younger generation feel lost and confused when it comes to assimilating within the American culture/society. This diasporic community began to lead dual identities but felt like they didn't belong to either one as the generational gap widened. I found it disheartening to read the interviews Lam had with other immigrants and even his own story of when he witnessed the fall of Saigon and his American lifestyle aftermath. After learning the impact and influence of the war in class, I can understand the viewpoints expressed in the articles to how many feel helpless when thrown into a new culture where many view the Vietnamese as losers and uneducated refugees. The generation of today's Vietnamese Americans know nothing of the war or their roots and must deal with appeasing the past's nationalism or assimilating to the new culture upon them.
How many people today are still blind to the consequences of the Vietnam War and its detrimental impacts it has had on the Vietnamese American immigrant community?
| Former members of the South Vietnamese military march into a ceremony held at the Boat People Monument inside Westminster Memorial Park |
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