Michelle Suy-Sam
There are a lot of thoughts stirred in me when I catch glimpses of the lives led by Vietnamese people living in the United States. I think of the Vietnam war, its contradictions, the tragedies, the needless deaths, and the lives the US government is morally bound to take care in the aftermath of that war. By now it is the children of the Vietnamese men and women whose memories of the war are fresh living the American life. Those Vietnamese's children are now Americans and what that means is not a national topic, but it is of interest to me. As is the nature of children children try to fit in, and Vietnamese-American children are not different in that respect. So, how are they living? What is their mindset?
I often want to be privy to the discussions these young people have with their parents and their peers. Many of them don't speak their mother tongue, or know enough of their family history one could assume. I don't know. I am reaching. How do they fare in American towns and cities? What compromises were made to go to school, to make a living and get along with white and Black Americans.
There is the above picture of a Michelle Suy-Sam , who is the girlfriend of Theien Thy Huynh Nguy, squatting in front of her lover's sports car. Theien Thy Huynh Nguy (pictured below) was born in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Today she lives and works in California in retail, and has a side business in diet pills. She apparently lives comfortable. She is deep in the glamour of being an American woman with all the frills and perks. But, how is she living, and culturally how does she manage? Is she deeply invested in the white girl thing? I say that because that aspiration (being white) leads second and third generations of immigrants that way because American culture awards white women handsomely, and shits upon the images of Black women without looking back. Given a choice in American society being as close to white as possible is encouraged until a rude awakening occurs. I'd love to know more about these things. I am just curious about their coping mechanisms.
I stood next to a frightened woman, who was obviously mixed Black American and Vietnamese, once in Washington DC. I know she was a social outcast. I've met a couple of Hmong men, and learned their stories. Last night I saw a fun interview on The TALK. The Chinese action star and director, Charlie Chan, his father, at 80 years of age, admitted to him he was a spy, that Charlie's family name is Fong, and the reason his father was an embassy cook in parts of the world was because he was in hiding!
There are a lot of things the various cultures of the Asian communities experience and deal with they keep out of the public forum, and gossip columns How they've succeeded I don't know, and won't venture to guess. But, it is admirable and worthy of consideration. I firmly believe Black American's tactics for cultural liberation, and economic independence are based upon ideological falsehood. I am convinced we need to study the Japanese in depth to grasp what they did since the bombing we inflicted upon them in World War II. Our focus is wrong and off-center. Ideally, it would sound great and logical to frame our strategies and thinking on ancient African civilizations, but in reality we, Black Americans, are fixated upon identifying with White Americans. Our identity is centered upon their approval, and the journey from the slave mentality is not finished. As White Black People (Wasicun Sapa) we have to be transformed by a renewing of our minds. The fortitude of the Asian communities in our midst needs to be studied from the embrace of relationship and cooperation because the Black American community is rich in attributes that can benefit anyone keen of intellect and integrity.
- Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 10.31.13
| Michelle Suy-Sam August 15, 2013 |
There are a lot of thoughts stirred in me when I catch glimpses of the lives led by Vietnamese people living in the United States. I think of the Vietnam war, its contradictions, the tragedies, the needless deaths, and the lives the US government is morally bound to take care in the aftermath of that war. By now it is the children of the Vietnamese men and women whose memories of the war are fresh living the American life. Those Vietnamese's children are now Americans and what that means is not a national topic, but it is of interest to me. As is the nature of children children try to fit in, and Vietnamese-American children are not different in that respect. So, how are they living? What is their mindset?
I often want to be privy to the discussions these young people have with their parents and their peers. Many of them don't speak their mother tongue, or know enough of their family history one could assume. I don't know. I am reaching. How do they fare in American towns and cities? What compromises were made to go to school, to make a living and get along with white and Black Americans.
There is the above picture of a Michelle Suy-Sam , who is the girlfriend of Theien Thy Huynh Nguy, squatting in front of her lover's sports car. Theien Thy Huynh Nguy (pictured below) was born in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Today she lives and works in California in retail, and has a side business in diet pills. She apparently lives comfortable. She is deep in the glamour of being an American woman with all the frills and perks. But, how is she living, and culturally how does she manage? Is she deeply invested in the white girl thing? I say that because that aspiration (being white) leads second and third generations of immigrants that way because American culture awards white women handsomely, and shits upon the images of Black women without looking back. Given a choice in American society being as close to white as possible is encouraged until a rude awakening occurs. I'd love to know more about these things. I am just curious about their coping mechanisms.
I stood next to a frightened woman, who was obviously mixed Black American and Vietnamese, once in Washington DC. I know she was a social outcast. I've met a couple of Hmong men, and learned their stories. Last night I saw a fun interview on The TALK. The Chinese action star and director, Charlie Chan, his father, at 80 years of age, admitted to him he was a spy, that Charlie's family name is Fong, and the reason his father was an embassy cook in parts of the world was because he was in hiding!
There are a lot of things the various cultures of the Asian communities experience and deal with they keep out of the public forum, and gossip columns How they've succeeded I don't know, and won't venture to guess. But, it is admirable and worthy of consideration. I firmly believe Black American's tactics for cultural liberation, and economic independence are based upon ideological falsehood. I am convinced we need to study the Japanese in depth to grasp what they did since the bombing we inflicted upon them in World War II. Our focus is wrong and off-center. Ideally, it would sound great and logical to frame our strategies and thinking on ancient African civilizations, but in reality we, Black Americans, are fixated upon identifying with White Americans. Our identity is centered upon their approval, and the journey from the slave mentality is not finished. As White Black People (Wasicun Sapa) we have to be transformed by a renewing of our minds. The fortitude of the Asian communities in our midst needs to be studied from the embrace of relationship and cooperation because the Black American community is rich in attributes that can benefit anyone keen of intellect and integrity.
- Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 10.31.13
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| Thien Thy Huynh Nguyen October 13, 2013 |
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