Hue and cry over South Vietnam

 One of the most baffling things about the Vietnamese diaspora is its near collective insistence upon using the flag of South Vietnam to represent itself. Why not use the flag of the actual government of Vietnam? Because that flag represents the “tyranny, oppression, and dictatorship” of the “communists” which many tried to escape from. Maybe it’s time the Người Việt hải ngoại cracked open a history textbook because that’s exactly what the flag of South Vietnam represents as well!

You may often hear tales of South Vietnam being a “democracy”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Repression ran rampant under the several regimes (many military juntas) that reigned over the south. From suppression of religion to political killings, South Vietnam became a veritable slaughterhouse. It’s estimated that hundreds of Buddhists were killed or “disappeared” by the Diệm government alone. The leaders of the country weren’t even elected most of the time. Rather, they were picked by the CIA to overthrow the then obsolete government.

South Vietnam also functioned as a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. Its main reason for existing was to expand American and Western Capital into Southeast Asia, and to stop metaphorical dominos from falling. Its leaders were constantly in the pockets of American presidents, and always obeyed their orders to a t. Likewise, the main reason North Vietnam existed was to stretch the social imperialist powers of the bourgeois USSR.

However, despite all this, the illegitimate and ill-conceived republic was still romanticized as a bulwark against the “communist” North. Thus, before Hanoi marched into Saigon to crush the Americans, anti-communist Vietnamese fled and took their flag with them. Unfortunately it seems they left its connotations behind. Now the yellow field with the three red stripes means “Vietnamese” rather than “regime which killed thousands and furthered American imperialism”. That and “Phở restaurant here”.