谈话
为什么南越的国旗在美国国会大厦被围困时飘扬
1月6日，包围美国国会大厦的暴民戴着标志，表明他们叛乱运动的目的是破坏拜登的选举证书。除了美国国旗外，反犹太旗帜和联邦战旗在前南越的黄红条纹旗下飘扬。这让许多观众感到困惑。一名红迪网(reddit)用户想知道，为什么这群以白人为主的“无政府主义暴徒”“吸纳”了南越的肖像。事实上，南越国旗暴动者更有可能是唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)的越南裔美国人支持者。选举民调显示，越南裔美国人是去年唯一一个多数投票支持川普的亚裔美国人群体。据记者和研究人员说，他们被特朗普对中国的强硬立场、他的反共言论以及他公开承诺保护美国不受国内外所有敌人攻击所吸引。南越国旗提醒人们越南“失败的”民主——以及人民为拯救国家而进行的斗争。1954年，越南从法国殖民统治下获得独立后，国家分裂为两部分，并引发了一场内战。美国帮助建立并支持了南越，一个亲西方的民主共和国，对抗共产主义的北越。 American ground forces officially joined the war in defense of the south in 1965. In 1975 opposition forces overtook the South Vietnamese capital Saigon. They rushed through the gates of the main palace, seized the building and hoisted the flag of the revolutionary northern government. The fall of Saigon marked the turning point of the Vietnam War which caused over 1 million North Vietnamese deaths, military and civilian deaths, causing a quarter of a million South Vietnamese casualties. The war killed nearly 50,000 American troops and displaced about half a million people. Many Vietnamese refugees sought asylum in the United States. Today they invoke the enduring cultural value of this “fallen” regime by hoisting the flag of South Vietnam at New Years parades and music concerts. The flag reflects the solidarity of the community, but also has a more symbolic meaning. As I wrote in my 2018 book, Return of War: South Vietnam and the Price of Refugee Memory, some Vietnamese Americans see their fallen homeland as an extension of America’s quest for freedom and democracy worldwide. I have interviewed Vietnamese-American soldiers who fear American freedom is failing and who fervently believe in US activities in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. For them, flying the flag of South Vietnam is a sign of nationalism – a militarized patriotism that is both South Vietnamese and American at the same time. Change in Political Loyalty I have also watched Trump use old anti-communist tactics that appeal to some conservatives in this community. Last year he tweeted that his followers are to forcibly “liberate” the country from COVID-19 lockdowns. Hours before the Capitol uprising, he urged followers to “fight like hell” to defend his government. A handful of Vietnamese Americans responded to this call and participated in local “Stop the Steal” rallies in California. The participants in the armed takeover of the Capitol have only been identified, but the media has apparently caught Vietnamese Americans holding up the South Vietnamese flag. These protesters likely believed that the United States must be saved from the socialists – what Republicans mistakenly call Biden – as their white counterparts claimed to believe. Unlike their white counterparts, the memory and politics of the fall of Saigon inspired them to undermine democracy. Vietnamese loyalty to the Republican Party could decline. Social scientists find that younger Vietnamese Americans are more progressive. Born after 1975, they neither fought against communism nor fled as refugees. However, like their parents, these Vietnamese Americans live in a country at war with themselves. This article was republished by The Conversation, a non-profit news site dedicated to the exchange of ideas among academic experts. It was written by: Long T. Bui, University of California, Irvine. Read more: * How self-proclaimed “prophets” of a growing Christian movement provided religious motivation for the January 6th events at the US Capitol * Fired for storming the Capitol? Why Most Workers Are Not Protected For What They Do In Their Free Time Long T. Bui does not work for, and does not consult, or have any interest in or funding from, any company or organization that would benefit from this article relevant affiliations disclosed their academic appointment.
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