Cultural Crossroads: The Formation of Vietnamese American Consciousness for the 1.5 GenerationPham, Vu HongUniversity of CaliforniaIrvine, Calif.1994 |
Introduction
The initial waves of Asian immigrants in the United States underwent many diverse Asian American experiences, as did their American born children. Many of these children reached a level of awareness in their identities in which they actively acknowledged that they were Asian American of a particular type (Chinese American, Korean American, etc..). This signified the beginning of Asian American consciousness, in which these persons distinguished themselves from their respective Asian cultures, as well as from mainstream American culture. These first groups of American born Asians, however, did not have the opportunity to learn from existing models of Asian American consciousness, since they themselves were the first Asians to arrive in America. They struggled to define and construct their identities as Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Filipino Americans, or Asian Indian Americans. In contrast, Asian immigrants from these same Asian countries who arrived after the late 1960's Asian American movements possessed the opportunity to witness the existence and interactions of their respective Asian American groups. For example, a Chinese immigrant arriving after 1970 could view various perspectives of Chinese American identity as models of adaptation to accept, alter or reject. In addition, the opportunity to study the existence of Asian American panethnicity, a collective individual Asian American identities, also becomes available to this second group.
In contrast to either of these cases, the first waves of Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian refugees arrived in the U.S. during a historical context when the existence of Asian American panethnic consciousness precedes that of Vietnamese American consciousness. This differs from the first waves of Asian immigrants, who came at a time when this panethnic consciousness did not exist. However, unlike the other Asian immigrant groups arriving from these same Asian countries, these post-late 1960's refugee groups do not have the opportunity to examine the existence of any Asian American consciousness relating to their own Asian culture. For example, the Vietnamese refugee, who arrived after 1975, could not study Vietnamese American consciousness as a model of adaptation simply because it did not exist. This transitions into one major focus of this project, which is to examine the interaction of Asian American panethnicity with the development of Vietnamese American consciousness for 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans. However, I do not address the older generation of Vietnamese in America, because they continue to identify themselves as Vietnamese, not Vietnamese American. Therefore, Asian American panethnicity does not pose a very crucial impact on the development of their identities.
I have chosen to focus on Vietnamese Americans within the Vietnamese American Coalition (VAC) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) over other post-late 1960's Asian immigrant waves. Although Asian American panethnicity can
In terms of identity and consciousness development, this project argues several major points. First, it defines the 1.5 generation of Vietnamese Americans and argues that while the experiences of the individual members were diverse, the group as a whole shared a common feeling of disorientation during their migration. Second, VAC demonstrates the existence of a visible and organized movement to construct, develop and promote Vietnamese American consciousness. In addition, Asian Americans who formed their individual Asian American consciousness prior to the existence of Asian American panethnicity reconciled aspects of their individual Asian cultures with mainstream culture. In contrast, Vietnamese Americans arrived at a moment when this panethnic consciousness already existed. This leads to the third point, which argues that whereas these earlier initial waves of Asian Americans experienced a bi-level cultural influence, 1.5 generation Vietnamese American members of VAC experienced a tri-level cultural influence. These three levels of cultural components come from Vietnamese culture, mainstream American culture and Asian American panethnicity. The third component serves as a tool to awaken Vietnamese American consciousness for these VAC members, as well as to reconcile Vietnamese and
A Brief Overview of American Immigration
The history of American immigration consists of an large and intricate patchwork of events and experiences which have shaped our country as we know it today. In his book, Strangers in the Land, John Higham provides a detailed study of American immigration history through patterns of nativism. According to Higham, “nativism, therefore, should be defined as intense opposition to an internal minority on the ground of its foreign (i.e., “un-American”) connections”
1. Higham, John, Strangers in the Land: Patterns of American Nativism 1860-1925. Altheneum, New York, 1972, pg 4
2. Ibid., chpt. 1
3. Ibid., chpt. 1, pg 17
4. Ibid., pp. 24-26
5. Ibid., pg 170
6. Ibid., pp. 166=167
7. Handlin, Oscar, The Uprooted Atlantic Monthly Press, Boston, Massachusetts, 1973, chpts. 3,4
The children of these immigrants also experienced the rigors of city life. Because their parents were forced to work during the day, many children roamed the streets. The parents could not attend to rearing their children and teaching them the values
8. Ibid., chpt. 9, pg 220
This lack of representation in their curriculum created a sharp divide between their lives in school and at home. Each of these places were like separate realms of existence for these immigrant children. Each possessed their own modes of behavior and the children learned to abide by the modes relevant to each particular sphere. This resulted in a cultural tension between-school and home because these children received mixed lessons from both places. As a result, the children needed to somehow reconcile these differences. In many cases, what ensued was a generational and cultural gap between immigrant parents and their children. The former gap emerged through differences in values
9. Ibid., chpt. 9
Asian American Experiences
Although Handlin's book provides an insightful perspective on American immigration in the nineteenth century and raises issues such as the lack of immigrant representation in school curriculums, the book itself ignores the experiences of certain immigrant groups. Handlin's study focuses on European immigrants, especially southern and eastern Europeans, yet purports to chronicle the experiences of immigrants in general. We must break from this constrictive eurocentric historical study by supplementing and revisioning history to represent the experiences of immigrant groups typically excluded. Asian immigrants suffer from this exclusion problem and in the few cases in which they have been represented, little mention has been given about them.
`Only recently have scholars attempted to thoroughly research the experiences of Asian immigrants to America and provide the attention and academic study that this body of history deserves. This recent interest in the study of Asian American experiences has brought about a growing amount of studies on this topic. In
First, we need to define what comprises these Asian American experiences. No one experience can characterize the broad and diverse range of Asian American experiences. Any Asian in America undergoes some type of Asian American experience, which consists of many types of interactions, from the cultural tensions and similarities which can arise between Asian and non-Asian cultures, to the racism and discrimination experienced by Asians in America. In addition, the personal changes experienced by these Asians or the people with whom they interact, also contribute to the definition of Asian American experiences. In other words, the numerous manners and degrees in which Asians in America affect and are affected by the society around them defines Asian American experiences. The term “the Asian American experience” projects the notion of a singular Asian American experience and can potentially lead one to search for or place a certain Asian American experience over others. To avoid this confusion, I have opted to employ the term “Asian American experiences” in my study to represent the diversity of experiences which characterize the lives of Asians in America.
As part of the context of Asian American experiences, Asian immigration to the United States plays a vital role. Scholars often apply the model of “push-pull” factors toward Asian immigration. This model consists of “push” factors, which are
10. Chan, Sucheng, Asian Americans: An Interpretive History. Twayne Publishers Boston, Massachusetts, 1989. chpts. 1,2,8 Takaki, Ronald, Strangers From a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans. Penguin Books, New York, 1989, chpts. 1,2
For the early wave of Chinese immigrants entering America, economic, political and social “push” factors influenced their immigration. Great Britain's domination over much of China's market and government during the nineteenth century caused many Chinese to lose their jobs. This occurred because the Chinese businesses and industries could not compete with the import market influenced by Great Britain. In addition, the large influx of opium to China created more addicts and impeded progress on many levels. Internal rebellions also forced many Chinese out of their homelands. The “pull” factors of America included the potential economic opportunities and the idealized images of freedom for the Chinese. These images include references to America as “Gold Mountain” because it seemed to offer vast quantities of gold and wealth to be attained by the Chinese
11. Chan, chpts. 1,2 Daniels, Roger and Kitano, Harry, Asian Americans: Emerging Minorities. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1988, chpt.3
For the Japanese, the Meiji Restoration of 1868 created “push” factors. The Japanese government heavily taxed farmers
12. Chan, chpts. 1,2 Daniels and Kitano, chpt. 5
For Koreans and Filipinos, similar “pull” factors existed, many of which were economic in nature. Like the Japanese, the Hawaiian sugar plantation owners sent many recruiters over to Korea and the Philippines to attract workers from these lands as another source of cheap labor. Americans were sent to Korea to teach Koreans the culture and Christian religion of the west in order to assimilate them into EuroAmerican culture and potentially bring some over to America for labor. Filipino laborers were also seen as attractive to American capitalists because their status as U.S. nationals helped both the capitalists and the Filipinos themselves to circumvent many immigration laws and barriers
13. Chan, chpts. 1,2 Daniels and Kitano, chpts. 7,9
The movement of Asian Indians was in a much smaller number
14. Chan, chpts. 1,2 Daniels and Kitano, chpt. 8
As discussed in the nativist movements, the large influx of Asian immigrants into the U.S. created an anti-Asian sentiment stemming primarily from economics. Anglo laborers felt that Asians were stealing their jobs and the rising notions of race during the nineteenth century also greatly contributed to this Asian American scapegoating on the part of nativists. One of the most visible impacts of these nativist attitudes arose in the form of anti-Asian legislation, particularly in the area of immigration. This began with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned the entry of Chinese immigrants solely on the fact that they were nationally and ethnically Chinese. Although Chinese students, teachers, merchants and diplomats still possessed the right to enter the U.S., the majority of Chinese immigrants, which were the laborers, were denied entry
15. Chan, pg 54 Daniels and Kitano, pp. 11-12 Takaki, pp. 14,40
16. Chan, pg 65
Similarly, the Gentleman's Agreement of 1907-1908 halted
17. Chan, pp. 16,18,55 Daniels and Kitano, pg 12
18. Chan, pg 55 Daniels and Kitano, pg 12
19. Chan, pp. 55,106 Daniels and Kitano, pg 12 Takaki, pp. 209-210
Not until 1943 did these anti-Asian immigration laws loosen their grip, with the repeal of all the Chinese Exclusion Acts. In addition, this repeal allowed the Chinese in America the opportunity to naturalize and included a small annual immigration quota of 105 for the Chinese
20. Chan, pg 122 Daniels and Kitano, pp. 16-17
21. Chan, pg 142 Daniels and Kitano, pg 15
22. Arnold, Fred, Urmil Minocha, and James T. Fawcett, “The Changing Face of Asian Immigration to the United States,” in Pacific Bridges: The New Immigration From Asia and the Pacific Islands, 1987, pp. 111, 119 Chan, pp. 145-147 Daniels and Kitano, pp. 16-17
Although one can examine Asian American experiences through the context of migration and legislation, we must also acknowledge the fact that Asians in America were not only affected by their surroundings during their experiences, but that they also greatly impacted American society. One of the most noteworthy Asian American contributions to America is their labor toward construction of the railroads by Chinese workers, which stimulated growth in the American economy. This also precipitated social changes, such as the increase in westward migration and the growth of large urban centers as a result of these large transportation networks. In addition, the labor provided by Asian Americans toward agriculture also proves to have increased the economic success of the United States in terms of agriculture as well as industry
23. Chan, chpts. 2,4 Nee, Brett de Bary and Victor Nee, Longtime Californ': A Documentary Study of an American Chinatown. chpt. 1
On a political level, Asian Americans have increasingly become involved by either directly occupying official positions on various levels of government or participate in advocacy groups which influence politics. Another major accomplishment lies in the arts in which many Asian American writers, poets and filmmakers have contributed to the diversity of American art
24. Chan, chpt. 9
The Context of Vietnamese Influx into the United States
The immigration context for the Vietnamese differs from
25. Montero, Daniel, Vietnamese Americans: Patterns of Resettlement and Socioeconomic Adaptation in the United States. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1979, pp. 3-4
Whereas immigration characterizes the pre-1965 Asian migration to the U.S., the post-1965 period comprises of a mixture of immigrants and refugees. On a legal level, the acts which accompanied the 1965 Immigration Act greatly aided
26. Jones, Jr., Woodrow and Paul J. Strand, Indochinese Refugees in America: Problems of Adaptation and Assimilation. Duke University Press, Durham, North Carolina, 1985, pg 32
27. Chan, pg 156
28. Article by Arnold, Minocha and James Chan, chpt. 8 Daniels and Kitano, chpt. 11 Gordon, Linda, “Southeast Asian Refugee Migration to the United States,” in Pacific Bridges: The New Immigration from Asia and the Pacific Islands. 1987, Jones and Strand, chpt. 3 Rutledge, Paul, The Vietnamese Experience in America. Indiana University Press, Indiana, 1992, pp. 36-40
Despite this open U.S. attitude toward Vietnamese refugees, the latter felt and continue to feel displaced in America and many longed to return to their homes. However, this climate of legal assistance for Vietnamese refugees allowed them to form ethnic enclaves within the U.S. These enclaves grew most quickly in terms of economics, which is surprising when one considers that this group entered as refugees and often without money. Although many still rely on welfare or occupy low paying jobs, the Vietnamese community as a whole has prospered at an unexpectedly quick rate. One example lies within “Little Saigon,” or the Vietnamese community in Orange County, where the overseas Vietnamese take pride in their ability to establish strong roots in America:
If you look from the perspective that this is a group of people who came from '75 with nothing on their backs, basically, they lost everything. They lost their country, they left their possessions, they left in panic… they have nothing. They are in a very, very desperate situation. And then, barely ten years after that, they succeeded to come back from the brink. They succeeded to establish a good, vibrant business community. They succeeded to make a decent living for their family. So the two biggest successes of the Vietnamese community is the business community, a very vibrant business community, and the academic successes of the younger Vietnamese.
29. Interview with Nguyen Trong Loc, July 29, 1993
Another community leader expresses similar economic and community sentiments as he discusses the visible accomplishments of the Vietnamese in Orange County:
There are almost 1000 shops and offices in Little Saigon. I think that's wonderful. That's the most significant of our accomplishments, that's the strongest one and that's concrete proof we can see.
30. Interview #1 with Luu Trung Khao, July 9, 1993
From the perspective of these two community leaders, as well as
31. Baldwin, Beth C., Patterns of Adjustment: A Second Look at Indochinese Resettlement in Orange County. Immigrant and Refugee Planning Center, Orange, California, 1984.
32. Los Angeles Times Newspaper, January 23, 1990, B-10
Defining and Tracing the Development of Asian American Consciousness
Although I have examined major portions of Asian American experiences, we must draw a distinction between this term and the term Asian American consciousness. Again, when I refer to Asian Americans, the intent is not to portray them as a collective, but this term signifies the diversity among individual Asian American groups. The definition of Asian American experiences encompasses all Asians in America, because any Asian who interacts within American society undergoes some type of Asian American experience. In contrast, the latter term only applies to select
In order to more thoroughly comprehend this concept of Asian American consciousness, a discussion of the general notions of its formation and development becomes necessary. For most Asian American groups, the ethnic enclave represents the means by which most first generation members of these groups tend to adjust to American society. The ethnic enclave serves as a means of social and emotional support for these immigrants in order to aid in their adjustment to the foreign American society. In addition, the hostility, racism and discrimination from the host society also contributes as a factor which compels many individual Asian American groups to turn inward toward forming a self-sufficient ethnic enclave, nearly independent from the mainstream. Economic
33. Chan, chpt. 4 Daniels and Kitano, chpts. 3-6,9 Jones and Strand, chpt. 9 Wong, Bernard, Chinatown: Economic Adaptation and Ethnic Identity of The Chinese. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., chpt. 4
The initial wave of Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the U.S. and the communities which they formed serve as evidence demonstrating the history of this ethnic enclave model. For example, the Chinese constructed many organizations, such as the Chinese Six Companies and the Consolidated Chinese Benevolent Associations, which were dominated by merchants. These organizations proved a means of economic support, community leadership and even legal representation for those Chinese dwelling in these ethnic enclaves. Like most Asian American groups, the Chinese often organized on the grounds of kinship bonds, shared dialect, common location from their original provinces, common economic and political interests, or religious reasons. The Japanese also formed similar groups, such as the Japanese Association of America and the Kenjinkai (prefectural association) in order to provide mutual assistance and social support for the members of the Japanese American ethnic enclaves and to also protect these communities from outside hostility. Korean associations often formed with a strong religious background and were often organized by churches, reflecting the
The first generation of Vietnamese refugees currently follow the historical pattern of the ethnic enclaves for similar primary reasons as many Asian American groups before them
34. Chan, chpt. 4 Daniels and Kitano, chpts. 3-6,9 Jones and Strand, chpt. 9 Wong, chpt. 4
These ethnic enclaves indicate that the initial waves of these immigrants and refugees from each individual Asian group identify strongly with their countries of origin, because they already possess the language, culture and traditions from their homelands. In addition, because they either have difficulty adapting to American society or feel more comfortable with their own culture, most of these first generation Asian groups living in America choose to preserve their cultural backgrounds and tend to consider themselves Asians, rather than Asian Americans. For example, the Vietnamese activists do not identify with American culture, but because of the many factors discussed, insist that they are Vietnamese and not Vietnamese American
35. Pham, Vu, “Chim Viet Dau Canh Nam, Ngua Ho Hi Gio Bac,” project at University of California, Irvine, 1993
However, for second generation Asian Americans, the issue of identity emerges as a new struggle much different and more complex than that experienced by the first generation. For the second generation, birth, growth and development within the multiple realms of the culturally Asian home, the ethnic enclave and the American mainstream proved an intense identity dilemma.
36. Chan, pg 111
To resolve the first issue, Japanese immigrants decided to educate their children with an emphasis on preparing the Nisei for a permanent life in America, while also teaching them, the Japanese culture in order to preserve and celebrate it. As for the second issue, Japanese law stipulates that any child born of a Japanese father was a Japanese citizen, whereas American law dictated that any person born on American land was an American citizen; the Nisei existed as a case of dual citizenship inclusive of both the Japanese and American components. However, “a 1924 amendment to the Japanese Nationality Act finally abolished Japanese citizenship based on paternal descent for all Nisei”
37. Chan, pg 112
38. Chan, pg 115
39. Chan, pp. 115-116
For most second generation Asian Americans, the emergence of Asian American organizations demonstrated a move toward establishing the rights of Asian Americans. Unlike their first generation foreign born parents, these younger Asian Americans considered themselves Americans, rather than Asians living in America. For example, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) attempted to prove that they were “200 percent American” and that they were completely loyal to America. According to Chan, “As loyal Americans, they never criticized racism, although they worked hard to challenge discriminatory laws”
40. Chan, pg 117
Another major shift in the identity issue for second generation Asian Americans occurred during World War II, which according to Ronald Takaki, “would require immigrants and their offspring to determine more sharply than ever before their identities as Asians and as Americans. They had been viewed and treated as `strangers from a different shore,' but now they would be asked to support their country in crisis and serve as Americans in the armed forces”
41. Takaki, pg 357
42. Takaki, chpt. 10
However, not all second generation Asian Americans chose to demonstrate their loyalty and status as American citizens through military means, but instead through legal channels. With Executive Order 9066, the Japanese internment forced many Nisei to carefully weigh their options of whether or not to fight in the U.S. military to prove their loyalty. The other option was to fight this ruling through legal means as an issue of principle to prove that they were American citizens who were unjustly placed into these internment camps. John Okada's novel, No-No Boy, illustrates an example of a Nisei who refused to fight in the war because he believed that he should not have to in order
43. Okada, John, No-No Boy. University of Washington Press, Washington, 1992
44. Chan, pg 130
The experiences, organizations and attitudes of second generation Asian Americans demonstrates an awareness that some were in fact Asian Americans, unique from Asians and from EuroAmericans. In other words, this awareness, through their experiences, provides evidence that many second generation Asian Americans did attain a level of Asian American consciousness, in which they realized that they were unique in identity and culture from Asian or EuroAmerican groups. Thus, the emergence of a Chinese American, Japanese American, Filipino American, Korean American and Asian Indian American consciousness appeared primarily with the second generation.
The Development of an Asian American Panethnic Consciousness
Despite the rise of this Asian American consciousness, individual Asian American groups often did not unite before the 1960's. Typically, ethnic groups in America organize on the
45. Chan, chpt. 4 Espiritu, Yen Le, Asian American Panethnicity: Bridging Institutions and Identities. Temple University Press, 1992, pp. 4-5
Whatever their differences, primordialists and instrumentalists both assume that ethnic groups are largely voluntary collectives defined by national origin, whose members share a distinctive, integrated culture. The phenomenon of panethnicity challenges these assumptions, calling attention instead to the coercively imposed nature of ethnicity, its multiple layers, and the continual creation and re-creation of culture
46. Espiritu, pg 5
She argues that while EuroAmericans enjoy the privilege of choosing whether or not to exercise their ethnicity, non-white groups do not have this option and the imposition of ethnicity as a criteria of judgement against minority groups is often enacted. Espiritu defines panethnicity as “the generalization of solidarity among ethnic subgroups” and argues that it occurs largely as a result of an oversimplified categorization of minority groups on the part of EuroAmericans. This categorization does not take into account the various ethnic boundaries within these ethnic minority subgroups and thus EuroAmericans tend to lump minorities into larger groups which collapse these boundaries
47. Ibid., pg 6
48. Ibid., pg 6
Through this, notion, panethnicity arises as a protective mechanism which develops out of racial lumping, and also
49. Ibid., pp. 7-13
50. Ibid., pg 15
51. Ibid., pg 16
Before the 1960's, individual Asian American groups often “practiced ethnic disidentification,” which means that they typically distinguished themselves from other Asian American groups when dealing with the American mainstream for a number of reasons. These included language barriers, because this difference prevented many Asian groups from interacting with one another. In addition, individual Asian American groups distanced themselves from one another in order to avoid racial oppression and persecution from ethnic lumping. For example, during World
52. Ibid., pp. 19-26
Asian American panethnicity originated in the 1960's primarily with the pan-Asian organizations on college campuses which began because many Asian Americans realized that they could not enjoy all of the rights and privileges of American society that whites could. This pan-Asian student collective, founded on the common awareness of their oppression as minorities in America, formed a movement toward the establishment of Asian American Studies on college campuses
53. Ibid., pp. 31, 35 Murase, Mike “Ethnic Studies and Higher Education for Asian Americans,” in Counterpoint, ed. by Emma Gee, 1976 Unemoto, Karen, “On Strike!: San Francisco State College Strike, 1968-69: The Role of Asian American Students,” i Amerasia Journal, vol. 15, no. 1., 1989
54. Unemoto, pp. 3-4
55. Unemoto, pp. 17
In addition to the pan-Asian organization toward Asian
56. Espiritu, pg 160
The 1.5 Generation: Toward a New Perspective
Before one can examine the influence of Asian American panethnicity on 1.5 generation Vietnamese American consciousness, one must establish a detailed definition and discussion of the
we call it, trans-generation – TG. I'm a TG. TGs are those born in Korea, who stayed there until their teens, then came to America. By the time they come to the United States, they have already acquired the Korean language, and cultural behavior that is uniquely Korean. But they came to America at such an age where they were still very easily influenced by the new culture, so the latter part of their teenage life was formed by American culture. Somehow they developed this mixed identity. They are functionally fluent in both languages, but only functionally.
57. Lee, Joann Faung, pg 50
By applying Ryu's definition for the 1.5 generation of Korean Americans to other Asian American groups, a preliminary definition for this group can be established. The dilemma of how to categorize immigrant and refugee children remains an issue of discussion. These children possess experiences in their individual Asian countries, and thus differ from second generation Asian Americans who are completely alienated from their parents' particular Asian countries of origin. However, these children arrived in America at a moment prior to the
Although Ryu provides a solid definition of the 1.5 generation, it requires modification. We should expand the age range to even younger ages, when these Asian children experienced their specific culture of origin in their countries of birth at least to some degree. These children who leave their countries of origin at even this early of an age still have experiences within their birth countries to have a significant impact on their identity development. The 1.5 generation should encompass a wider range of experiences to reflect the diverse experiences of immigrant and refugee children. Through this, a definition for 1.5 generation immigrants and refugees in America emerges. This group comprises immigrant and refugee children who have had a combination of influences, memories and experiences growing up within both their countries of origin and in the U.S. which significantly impact the construction and development of their identities. No one specific age or experience characterizes this group, because they possess a wide spectrum of experiences from both cultures and countries and also came to America at a wide range of ages, from the age in which they recall their first memories to their mid-teen years.
Despite this definition, I came across one vague area concerning the age minimum of the 1.5 generation. Although I
The oral histories within this project represent this diversity of experiences within Vietnam and the wide range of ages when 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans left their homelands. For the 1.5 generation who left Vietnam at an older age, the increased length of time in this country exposed them to a large body of Vietnamese culture and political issues. One interviewee, Huy Tran, recalls the post-war tension between communist and anti-communist ideologies in the Saigon school he attended. Huy received mixed teachings from the government monitored school which attempted to indoctrinate him and the other students with Vietnamese communist beliefs and from his parents at home who conveyed their negative experiences with communist oppression. Huy spent many years internalizing his school teachings about the strengths of Vietnamese communist ideologies. In addition, he engaged in this process while struggling to reconcile these teachings with the horror stories of the corruption within Vietnam's officials and the atrocities committed by the Vietnamese communist government. He recalls memories of the fact that both he and his parents had to keep their anti-communist rhetoric silent in public while confining these discussions within the home. Huy represents one perspective of 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans who came at a later age and possesses a large body of memories and experiences in Vietnam; he did not leave Vietnam until the age of thirteen
58. Interview #1 with Tran, Huy
For Hoai-Thi Nguyen, a refugee who also left Vietnam at the age of thirteen, fonder memories of Vietnam pervade her thoughts. However, these suffered from the obstruction as well as the confusion of fleeing from the security of her surroundings:
When I was in Vietnam, I still had it pretty good. I didn't worry about where the next meal was coming from. We were living off our savings and I guess my parents were still doing okay.
59. Interview with Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pg 1
Hoai-Thi's recollection of a routine and content lifestyle as a child in Vietnam reflects the lives of many Vietnamese children prior to the recent war in Vietnam. However, the juxtaposition of post-war terror, chaos and destruction with the innocence and security of a child's world only produces more turmoil and confusion in their experiences. Instead of retaining images of school yards, classrooms or even life within the safety of home, Hoai-Thi's post-war memories of Vietnam come from behind the walls of a prison camp:
My dad was not allowed to live with us. He had to spend five years in re-education camps and political detainees' camps. So they {my parents} could see more politics involved. Me, I thought it was senseless and I thought it was unnecessary and I turned resentful at the fact that I had to leave because I had it pretty good anyway. I couldn't see the bigger picture like my parents did... they just wanted to get over here {to the U.S.} and have political freedom to start over again. So that's just the price they have to pay. Whereas I thought that was unnecessary, because I didn't see the worst in Vietnam. I thought we could still live a good live in Vietnam, so there was no sense... it wasn't like there was no sense, but I wish I didn't have to be uprooted. I wish I didn't have to be put through six months of transferring from one place to another, living in rat infested and polluted camps... all those subhuman conditions. I didn't think it was necessary.
60. Ibid., pp. 1-2
The fact that she was not old enough to truly understand the
The only memories that I have are of Catholic school, nuns, getting locked in the closet because I talked too much! I don't remember much at all, really, just catholic school.
61. Interview #1 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi, pg 1
Even Bao's memories of leaving Vietnam consist of scattered images painted by the stories told by her mother and father. This reflects the third aspect of my definition for 1.5 generation “experiences,” because it reflects a vicarious one through the eyes of a child's parents. However, Bao's memories remain blurred, because perhaps the age at which she left Vietnam was one in which she was too young to recall much of her experiences. The chaos of fleeing Vietnam under such quick and
Disorientation became a banal reality for many 1.5 generation children who had no choice but to endure the refugee experience directly before and after leaving Vietnam. A s mentioned earlier, this notion of disorientation also existed for late nineteenth century European immigrants. However, the chaos and confusion for Vietnamese refugees differs because this group faced imminent dangers and often fled their home country without any possessions or knowledge of their destinations. This intensified their disorientation and left more questions to be answered once they settled within their new and unknown destinations. For the 1.5 generation, disorientation was worse than that of their parents, because they often followed their disoriented parents without the knowledge of the latter's plans or intentions. This sense of certainty, which often depended on parental assurances, did not exist in as strong a manner as it did prior to the Vietnamese evacuations. This, in turn, created an added and increased sense of disorientation for these refugee children. As well as affecting younger children, disorientation even pervaded throughout the experiences of the older refugee 1.5 children, as illustrated in Huy's case. For Huy, the first months of arriving to and adjusting to life in the U.S. posed a circumstance of such confusion that they obscured this segment of
62. Interview #1 with Tran, Huy
Some general distinctions between the older, or first generation Vietnamese Americans, and 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans. First, as stated before, the latter group arrived at a young age during their childhood, whereas the older generation came at an age in their adulthood. Growing up in America, many 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans are alienated from issues and life in Vietnam:
The younger generation, a lot of us grow up here, so we don't have a very concrete or realistic perception of Vietnam as a country, generally. What we've heard about Vietnam is maybe through our parents and relatives and Vietnam is a world removed from America and unless you're constantly exposed to things in Vietnam, you wouldn't know about the situation in Vietnam, unless you're a person who reads the {Vietnamese} newspaper everyday... So chances are, the younger generation of activists would not be overly concerned with Vietnam related issues as compared with the older generation.
63. Ibid., pg 7
While this perspective contextualizes and typifies the lack of knowledge of issues in Vietnam and Vietnamese culture in Vietnam
When it comes to issues in Vietnam, I really don't know about them and I really don't care about them, because I'm living here, I'm not living in Vietnam. And things that happen in Vietnam may affect me later, but we're here now, we have to do something about the people that are here now... Talk about our people here, because most of us aren't going to go back to Vietnam for any reason.
64. Interview #1 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi, pg 10
This statement represents one perspective toward dealing with the alienation of the 1.5 generation from Vietnam. Many have already decided that America is their home and that they will not return to Vietnam. However, others attempt to discover the issues which relate to Vietnam, if not with the motivation to return to even visit, then at least for the sake of better understanding the Vietnamese community in America. Another interviewee reflects this notion, because in working with the Vietnamese community, she must understand the issues which concern the older generation; one of these issues, as stated in the previous chapter, largely centers around the circumstances in Vietnam
65. Interview with Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pp. 8-12
Another major distinction between first and 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans lies in the fact that the latter tend to more easily adapt to mainstream American society and its culture, whereas the older generation continue to place there sense of home in Vietnam and view themselves as temporary denizens of the U.S.
66. Project by Pham
I think the older generation still think themselves as citizens of Vietnam. So their concern is how to solve problems in Vietnam more than the problems here. I think it's understandable, because more than half of their life has been in Vietnam, so they love the place where they were born, where they grew up and it's very hard for them in their midage to live a different life...a totally different life.
67. Interview with Le Dinh Dieu, July 14, 1993, pp. 4-5
The older generation of Vietnamese in America often continue to identify themselves as peoples of Vietnam and merely consider America as a temporary haven until they can return to their homeland. For the younger generation, home lies within America, regardless of their backgrounds. The lack of attachment and alienation from Vietnam serve as a basis for this attitude, because they do not possess experiences which tie them strongly to their country of origin.
The diversity of the collective experiences of 1.5 generation Vietnamese reflect the patchwork of American immigration and refugee history, yet in addition to this, a large number of highly discussed and unresolved issues also characterize the lives of this particular group of Vietnamese Americans. The question of identity remains one of the issues at the forefront for this groups. Because the cultural boundaries which exist in America often intersect at a moment when many persons of this group tend to be young adults, they must reconcile the tensions in this “cultural crossroad.” For Hoai-Thi, this issue currently occupies a central position:
I'm probably speaking from an elitist point of view, because not all 1.5 generation are in college and my peers are
68. Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pp. 5-6
Hoai-Thi's statement raises a number of significant issues within the large identity question. The most evident one concerns the dilemma how a 1.5 generation Vietnamese in America proceeds to address the problem of balancing the extremes between mainstream and dominant EuroAmerican and the Vietnamese culture. The delicate and subtle decisions to either discard or retain certain aspects of Vietnamese culture pose intense personal and community choices which require some form of compromise and serious action to partake of one extreme or the other. In addition, these Vietnamese Americans must make a choice to accept or reject various components of mainstream American values. Even when one determines methods to resove these specific predicaments, the larger issue of how to merge aspects of these cultures into a holistic and coherent identity.
Before attempting to address the issue of moving toward the notion of forming this Vietnamese American identity, one must discuss the aforementioned extremes of identity for the 1.5 generation. These extremes lie in either the attempt to completely reject the Vietnamese culture by assimilating into mainstream EuroAmerican culture, or conversely, the attempt to reject mainstream culture through isolating oneself from that mainstream. One of the subjects of the oral histories in this project, James Chung Lam, engages in a discussion of these identity extremes:
Well, there can be the typical “whitewashed,” very Americanized person... and there's the other extreme where although it is obvious that he or she is influenced by American society, they would try to reject and believe in totally Vietnamese {culture}, which is problematic anyway, because what is Vietnamese when you're living in America? I think you have to understand that everything we do is influenced by the society that we live in. So I think those are the two extremes. It's obvious that you can see those extremes, because other people call you names. There are terms that we use to poke fun at those two extremes, like “FOB” or “whiteboy” or “twinkie.” So it's obvious there's a problem in terms of identity.
“FOB” literally means “Fresh Off the Boat,” which means someone who has just come over to the United States... who looks like a foreigner... who can't speak English. The “whiteboy” or “twinkie” is someone who basically is yellow on the outside and white inside, meaning someone who acts like a white person, tries to change his hair, speaks perfect English, wears clothes that typify a white person.
69. Interview #1 with Lam, James Chung, pg 4
James' definitions of each extreme provides a context for toward what it means to accept either one or to somehow balance these in order to form a unique and different identity. According to James, the rejection of Vietnamese culture indicates a move toward creating a cultural hierarchy which emphasizes the
When you see that white is more beautiful than other colors, then you're not appreciating your cultural background. Not only are you not appreciating it, but you're looking down on it. So you're using standards of mainstream American society to judge who you are and what you're community's about and not looking within your own community. And so as more and more kids emulate this whiteness, then the Vietnamese culture begins to deteriorate.
70. Ibid., pg 5
This raises a vital notion concerning the implications of this identity extreme in terms of both personal and collective community identity. The fact that many 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans partially grew up in America directly influences their identity development and how they perceive the Vietnamese culture in relation to mainstream American culture. On a personal level, this in turn affects the role of the Vietnamese culture in their lives. As James suggests, the choice by these Vietnamese Americans to reject the Vietnamese culture may demonstrate that to these individuals, the Vietnamese culture plays no role at all. This may then affect the community, because this would halt the transmission of Vietnamese cultural traditions and values.
For the particular 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans in this project, the denial of Vietnamese cultural values existed as moments in their lives, not permanent decisions. For example, Bao felt alienated from the Vietnamese culture because she felt lacking in Vietnamese language skills. In addition, she believed that she had internalized too much of mainstream America's cultural values to integrate these with the Vietnamese culture. However, through her work with the Vietnamese community in Orange
I really didn't expect to be in the Vietnamese community, because there was a time in my life where I never felt like I fit in, where I didn't feel that I speak the language well enough to communicate at all and now that I'm actually doing something within the Vietnamese community, I feel a lot better… these are my people and I feel such a strong connection {with them} when I'm doing whatever it is that I'm doing with them or for them.
71. Interview #1 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi, pg 4
Bao's situation reflects that of many 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans, because their Vietnamese language deficiencies prevent or deter them from exercising or experiencing aspects of the Vietnamese culture. In addition, directly linked with the language problem is the cultural problem regarding Vietnamese culture. Since many from this group left at such a young age, they may only possess a rudimentary understanding of the culture. This lack of cultural understanding plays a factor into the Vietnamese component of 1.5 generation Vietnamese American identity, because it could also cause them to deny or avoid attempting to understand, let alone incorporate, it into their own identity.
As stated earlier, James believes that one can escape their ties from Vietnamese culture by rejecting its practices and adopting those of the American mainstream. Race, as a factor, must be discussed in order to complicate this extreme. Given the idea that Vietnamese Americans can potentially sever their connections with the Vietnamese culture, their physical features prevent them from fully escaping the fact that they are Vietnamese in America. This inability to totally assimilate because of physical characteristics occurs as a result of racism,
For example, when Bao lived in Hacienda Heights, her initial residence after coming to America, she encountered many forms of overt racism. She recounts white students following her and her sister home on many occasions while insulting her with the term “nips.” These same students also often waited for Bao to arrive to school in the morning with the similar greetings. In addition, these students often enforced their insults by threatening to physically assault her and sometimes even carried baseball bats as visual threats. At one point, she states that her house was shot at and she attributes this to racism
72. Ibid., pp. 2-4
After a while, you get strong, you make yourself stand up to it. And you learn to be a lot more tolerant of people, but then at the same time, you learn to hate too. You learn there's certain types of people who will not like you and you will not like them. But at that time, it made you scared of going out and talking to white people.
73. Ibid., pp. 2-3
Bao's awareness led her to realize the reality that, although she was in a new country which projected the images of freedom and equality, she was still a Vietnamese in America. This reality, at times, subjects one to blatant racism, and in her case, pushed her
In contrast to this lack of understanding for and attempt to better understand the Vietnamese culture, many 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans also struggled to understand American culture and society. For Huy, the disorientation mentioned earlier primarily comes from the attempt to adapt to life in America. The most major element he mentions in his initial years in the U.S. consists of his efforts to try to understand mainstream American culture. He recalls many American students assisting him in his adjustment to and understanding of American culture. These students served as models representing various aspects of this culture and actively taught him based on their understanding and experiences of the culture
74. Interview #1 with Tran, Huy
I would come home and cry all day from going to school and having kids taunt me with racial slurs and at night, doing your homework, getting frustrated because you have to look up every single word in the dictionary. In Fayetteville, North Carolina {where Hoai-Thi first lived in the U.S.}, it wasn't like it is here, where you have ESL {English as a Second Language} programs set up and you don't have a period of acculturation that a kid can adapt to. He didn't have to take the harder subjects in English and he or she didn't have to struggle as I did in North Carolina. They just threw me in with the rest of the kids and you just sink or swim. So night after night, you get so frustrated with having to start over and each homework assignment would take me three or four times as long to do as a native.
75. Interview with Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pg 2
The difficulty that 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans had, and still have, in adapting to their new environment exist primarily
When someone tries to totally reject mainstream culture, he or she is not looking at the bigger picture. I think that it's impossible to do such a thing when you're a minority living in America. You just can't do it. Especially for the 1.5 generation who had practically grown up in America, that rejection mentality was not with him or her during those years when he or she was growing up, so they've been influenced by it {mainstream culture}. You can't really reject everything because you need to know how this society works in order to survive... And you have to look at the bigger picture, because there's always positive aspects of mainstream society that you can take in.
76. Interview #1 with Lam, James Chung, pgs 5-6
James raises the point that one cannot completely reject mainstream American culture, because they live in and have some type of interaction with it. This may range from direct economic, social or political dealings with the mainstream outside of one's ethnic enclave to simply watching the television programs produced by this mainstream. In addition, even the indirect effects, such as economic changes or shifts in public policy, also contribute to this American cultural exposure. Regardless of the degree of interaction with the mainstream, the fact that Vietnamese Americans live in America indicates that they cannot fully isolate themselves from it.
This discussion of 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans raises
On a community level, as the older generation begins to gray and the 1.5 generation reach adulthood, the Vietnamese community in Orange County finds itself in a moment of massive transition. Whereas the former group remains secure in their identities as Vietnamese, the latter group itself continues to deal with the “cultural crossroads” in which they now occupy. To complicate matters further, this younger group must resolve the problems of
The Vietnamese American Coalition: The Beginnings of an Organized Movement Toward Establishing Vietnamese American Identity and Consciousness for the 1.5 Generation
Typically, Vietnamese American college students of the 1.5 generation form organizations on the basis of preserving, celebrating and promoting the Vietnamese culture. Equally important, they congregate in order to provide a means of social support for one another. For example, the Vietnamese Students Association (VSA) at UCI often organizes Vietnamese cultural celebrations to acknowledge their cultural roots, as well as conducts regular meetings and other social functions. Similar groups exist at other colleges throughout California. In addition to these groups, Project Ngoc also exists at UCI, yet rather than emphasizing social and cultural focuses, it concerns issues of helping to bring Vietnamese refugees to the U.S. and their resettlement. Although questions of Vietnamese American identity and consciousness occasionally arise within these organizations, this issue remains on the fringes of their primary focuses. This occurs because groups like VSA have tended to subordinate identity issues to having mostly conducted social events or joint
However, in the spring of 1993, the Vietnamese American Coalition formed with the intent of directly addressing and resolving the issues of constructing, developing and promoting Vietnamese American identity and consciousness as one of its central purposes. VAC formed at a moment parallel to the movement for Asian American Studies at UCI. The Vietnamese American students who formed VAC applied the political and academic aspects of the larger Asian American Studies movement toward their own identity issues. This historical context for VAC proves crucial as it demonstrates the conditions which influenced them to incorporate Asian American Panethnic consciousness into Vietnamese American consciousness. Like the other Vietnamese student organizations, this group also involves themselves with the surrounding Vietnamese community in order to broaden students' awareness beyond the campus; yet, in contrast, VAC also seeks to bridge the gap between the Vietnamese community in Orange County and mainstream American society. According to James, the founder and chair of VAC:
We formed it (VAC) because we felt that there was a lack of concern among Vietnamese American students on campus about their community. So what we wanted to do was form the organization to raise the people's awareness and understanding. And by raising awareness, we hope that we can get people involved in the community. And it's not that the {community} leaders are the ones who are teaching these students or trying to raise their awareness, but they're learning about themselves too. I think that by interaction... you begin to learn more about the Vietnamese American
77. Ibid., pgs 6-7
This statement conveys the notion that personal identity exists as the center for activism and understanding the Vietnamese community in America. VAC seeks to discover what it means to be Vietnamese American, as well as the many Vietnamese American experiences which lead to the formation and growth of this identity. James also mentions the notion of raising awareness as a method of achieving this goal. Awareness of one's cultural influences and identity serves as a strategy toward self-reflection and construction of consciousness.
Bao, a core member of VAC, also shares a similar opinion, which advocates the need to establish a conscious identification as a Vietnamese American:
What we try to do in VAC is to make students more conscious of their identity to make them more open-minded about finding this identity and making issues more relevant to them, opening their minds beyond school and the school culture. I think VAC's purpose is to make you realize that you have a role in this society and that you have to look beyond yourself, beyond your identity as a Vietnamese.
78. Interview #2 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi, pg 1
Bao asserts that the 1.5 generation needs to move “beyond your identity as a Vietnamese” in order to establish a conscious awareness that one cannot be completely Vietnamese in America, but that the 1.5 generation needs to move toward constructing a Vietnamese American identity for themselves
79. Ibid.
Huy, another active core member of VAC, also shares this sentiment, yet he also mentions the methods by which VAC proposes
On the one hand, VAC is an organization that tries to promote Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese values, Vietnamese customs and activities and also in bringing Vietnamese students together. But on the other hand, VAC also as an organization, realizes that we are part of the American society and I think for the best, we have to learn to work and live within this larger society; we cannot exclude ourselves from everything else that is around us. What I mean by this is that we try to do community work, not only with Vietnamese people, but also with agencies that are run by and controlled by Caucasians. We don't ignore non-Vietnamese agencies, so to speak, in our community based work. On the one hand, we try to push for and also preserve Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese values, but on the other hand, we also realize that we are part of the larger American society, so in our activities, our interactions, we try to bring the two sides together.
80. Interview #2 with Tran, Huy, pgs 1-2
VAC attempts to bring the Vietnamese culture and the cultures of American society together in order to form this conscious Vietnamese American identity. This cultural reconciliation arises from the awareness that as members of American society, one cannot isolate oneself from it and rather than simply accepting this realization, VAC members incorporate it into their organization as a central issue around which to organize, as well as a means to raise awareness toward the need of constructing a Vietnamese American consciousness.
In order to more thoroughly understand the adaptation of Vietnamese cultural values with those of mainstream EuroAmerican ones, a discussion of what constitutes Vietnamese culture becomes necessary. Scholars find it difficult to precisely establish a firm definition of the Vietnamese culture. They often emphasize the notion that this culture consists of a long history and
The Vietnamese cultural core would be a constant though shifting entity. What would count within it would be that which was considered essential and integral to the culture at any given time. Foreign elements and ideologies would become grafted onto it, and the “core” of the twentieth century would differ greatly from that of two millennia before. The important fact is the Vietnamese ability to make any such “foreign-ness” Vietnamese.
81. Whitmore, John, “Foreign Influences and the Vietnamese Culture Core: A Discussion of the Premodern Period.” in “Borrowings and Adaptations in Vietnamese Culture.” Southeast Asian Studies Program Center for Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1987, pp. 1-21 Nguyen, Dang Liem, “Cross-Cultural Adjustment of the Vietnamese in the United States.” in “Borrowings and Adaptation in Vietnamese Culture.” pp. 100-114
Whitmore argues that the assessing present Vietnamese culture should be the primary focus in defining it, because one cannot truly access the original “cultural core” which has evolved over the centuries.
Although this scholars cannot discover the essence of this “cultural core,” one cannot doubt that Vietnamese culture is composed of strong aspects from Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist religion and philosophy
82. Rutledge, Paul James, The Role of Religion in Ethnic Self-Identity: A Vietnamese Community. University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland, 1985 Whitmore, pp. 1-21 Interviews with Le Dinh Dieu, Luu Trung Khao Interview #1, Nguyen Trong Loc
83. Nguyen, pp. 105-108
Rutledge, pp. 24-32
84. Nguyen, pp. 104-105
The interaction between the high regard for family and this notion of a suspect attitude toward strangers and foreigners is illustrated in an interview with one “Little Saigon” community leader the older generation:
The Vietnamese community are not, well, they do not like the police {in America}. It is easy to understand, because for a long time in the past, they were abused or brutalized by police from the French domination in the late nineteenth century until the French left Vietnam. And then war after war, we had to live under some domination of dictatorship and then twenty years, from '75 until now, under the communist regime. People are afraid of the police and they never think of cooperating with police... And the old way of thinking of Vietnamese people, because we are influenced by the Confucian teaching, we consider highly the family ties. We never turn over a relative to the police. So if a young person has a relationship with this family or that family, when they {the youths} commit a crime, they get refuge from such and such a family. And the police cannot find them because we consider the relation of the family very important.
85. Interview with Le Dinh Dieu, pg 9
This example demonstrates that not only do the Vietnamese place high regard on maintaining family ties, they also distrust foreign elements in America, such as the police. This example illustrates one complexity of the Vietnamese community in Orange County and
The formation of VAC exhibits an example of attempts to bridge the gap between the Vietnamese culture and ethnic enclave with the 1.5 generation who have been alienated from it. The emphasis to engage in and understand the Vietnamese community exists as a primary motive of VAC and this understanding is an essential component toward establishing a conscious Vietnamese American identity. This serves to build a greater understanding of the Vietnamese culture and how it operates within the environment of American society. The necessity of this lies in the notion that an extensive knowledge of the Vietnamese community and its culture helps toward forming a Vietnamese American consciousness and contextualizes the construction of this identity within a community environment. To VAC, the Vietnamese culture and community are inexplicably linked. This organization espouses the belief that Vietnamese Americans of the 1.5 generation should incorporate both a personal understanding of the Vietnamese culture and the manner in which it functions within American society in order to form a Vietnamese American identity
86. Interview #2 with Lam, James Chung Interview #2 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi Interview #2 with Tran, Huy
Based on previous examinations of Vietnamese American interaction with the mainstream and the aforementioned VAC perspectives an equally detailed understanding of the American
The existence of VAC indicates a new movement for 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans toward an organized, visible and active attempt to construct, develop and promote a Vietnamese American consciousness and identity. Unlike other 1.5 student organizations at UCI, VAC seeks not only to preserve and celebrate Vietnamese culture, but also tries to build a new Vietnamese American identity, unique from Vietnamese and other American identities. In addition, the attempts to bridge several communities at once also reflects this step toward constructing this Vietnamese American identity because in order to realize its formation, one needs to understand the various cultural components which comprise this new consciousness
87. Vietnamese American Coalition Forum, 2-18-93 at the University of California, Irvine
The Cultural Crossroads: Multiple Influences Toward Vietnamese American Consciousness
The processes and preliminary stages of Vietnamese American consciousness development occur during an extremely fascinating moment in the history of consciousness for Asian Americans, because the cultural influences in this “cultural crossroad” originate from three distinct and unique cultural consciousness: mainstream, predominantly EuroAmerican, Vietnamese and Asian American. This poses a novel juncture in identity and consciousness construction in which the tensions created by each of the three major influences require close examination as well as the manners in which each cultural influence affects the growth of Vietnamese American identity. This section will proceed with a detailed study of the latter issue in order to assess the circumstance of the tensions created from these multiple influences.
Although not all 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans actively exercise the union of these three cultural influences, the potential to engage in this process of cultural blending exists. The members of VAC represent an example of 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans who have consciously managed to merge aspects of all three cultural components toward a Vietnamese American identity. Their experiences and perspectives are not necessarily representative of the whole Vietnamese American 1.5 generation, but
The Vietnamese cultural influence is the first of the three I will examine, simply because the Vietnamese American 1.5 generation are initially exposed to this culture. This is not to imply that the development of Vietnamese American consciousness is by any means linear, because these Vietnamese Americans concurrently receive experiences from all three cultural consciousness. The area of strongest influence from the Vietnamese culture lies within the family. Two primary reasons exist behind this argument: first, the Confucian component of the Vietnamese culture proves ubiquitous and highly imbedded within the Vietnamese family and general social structure. This ideology, to a large degree, even continues to exist for Vietnamese families in America. Second, the parents of the 1.5 generation spent the majority of their lives in Vietnam and primarily developed their identities there. Thus, they often arrive to America adhering to the Confucian ethic.
Although the first waves of Asian immigrants to the United States retained strong overseas family ties, many of them were separated from their families. For example, the Chinese “Bachelor's Society” existed in the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century because many male Chinese immigrants came without their families. The 1890 census indicates that the ratio of males to females was as high as 26.8 male Chinese immigrants for every female Chinese immigrant
88. Daniels and Kitano, pg 24
What happened in the twenties and thirties was that many Filipinos came over to work as farm laborers and in canneries. A lot of men thought they could make money, and be able to bring family members over and resettle here. And there were many others who felt they could make enough to retire in the Philippines. For the most part, many just stayed, without doing either one.
89. Lee, Joann Faung, Asian Americans: Oral Histories of First to Fourth Generation Americans from China, the Philippines, Japan, India, the Pacific Islands, Vietnam and Cambodia. The New Press, New York, New York, 1992, pg 145
Although many initial waves of Asian immigrants kept in contact with their families in their particular Asian countries of origin, the family structure in their lives was subverted. For those Asian immigrants practicing Confucian ethics, like the Chinese, separation from family members made it increasingly difficult to retain strong kinship ties. In addition, families of these immigrants who were still in Asian countries fared without the father as the traditional household head. This high male to female sex ratio was not necessarily the case for nineteenth century European immigrants, as many were allowed to bring their families over to America.
Unlike first waves of Asian immigrants, many Vietnamese
90. Montero, pg 24
For the Vietnamese American 1.5 generation, the Confucian value of retaining firm family cohesion remains one strongly impressed upon them, especially through parents. The teaching of maintaining kinship ties results from both parental lessons and the reliance upon one's family as a support group. This latter point is especially important in a foreign country, such as America. Through factors such as these, the retention of the Confucian family ethic, for the 1.5 generation, exists as a continuity and an influence from the Vietnamese culture. Bao's family and her personal beliefs represent an ideal example of the Confucian influence from Vietnamese culture:
My parents believe that your family is number one and that you have to look out for your family, and I truly agree with that. So that's one major similarity. You have to build your family first before you can do anything else. You could say that I'm pretty loyal to my family in certain ways. I can't really totally leave, whereas some caucasian kids might be able to
91. Interview #1 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi, pg 13
Bao attributes much of her family values to teachings from her parents and argues that even the Vietnamese in America uphold these values. However, unlike children who strictly follow the Confucian family ethic by unquestioningly obeying their parents, many 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans actually question their parents at times. Although questioning parents' wishes is not unique to the 1.5 generation, there does seem to be an increasing number of cases in which this occurs for Vietnamese of this age
92. Rutledge Tenhula, John, Voices From Southeast Asia. Holmes and Meier Publishers, New York, 1991
On a larger social level, Confucianism demands that youths respect their elders. This respect in turn has served as a medium toward transmitting Vietnamese culture to the 1.5 generation, because the younger group learns to interact and respect the traditions of the older generation. In addition to learning, these young Vietnamese Americans have also re-acquainted themselves with the Vietnamese culture through interaction with their elders. For Hoai-Thi, working in a program designed to meet the needs of Vietnamese seniors allowed her to accomplish the goal of aiding this group, while it also benefitted Hoai-Thi through the customs that she learned from the seniors:
They (the elders) are the ones who put on holiday festivities, like traditional holidays. They will conduct ceremonies and such to honor that. So coming back to work for the community has been a real treat for me to be removed from all of that and now I am re-learning all these holidays and all these ceremonies that are involved... When those times come around, they really put on a show and they're teaching us... they're (the festivals) put on for everybody from some of the staff here down to me and down to some of their grandchildren that they take just so they can witness it, so they can feel proud that they're coming from a background where there's a long
93. Interview with Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pgs 7-8
For Hoai-Thi, the transmission of traditions and customs not only shaped Vietnamese American consciousness by integrating the component of Vietnamese culture, but it also signifies a preservation of Vietnamese history and culture. The older generation of Vietnamese in America have both physically and orally handed down their cultural knowledge to the 1.5 generation. This older group has also acted as mediums for maintaining the Vietnamese culture, as well as people who teach and re-teach the culture to the younger generation.
In addition to family, customs and traditions, language has also acted as a mode in which the 1.5 generation received influence from the Vietnamese culture toward the formation of Vietnamese American consciousness. The Vietnamese language is vital because it directly links the 1.5 generation to their culture of origin. The Vietnamese language is essential toward learning about Vietnamese culture, because it allows one to learn about the culture in its own language. This permits one to learn about Vietnamese culture without the distortion of utilizing a different language. In addition, Vietnamese culture can be transmitted on its own terms through Vietnamese language. This prevents Vietnamese culture from being defined by a language not compatible with it and incapable of transmitting accurate definitions of this culture. one example of this lies in digesting the history of Vietnam through the Vietnamese language, rather than receiving it in another language:
94. Ibid., pg 4
Although literature exists as a means of learning about the Vietnamese culture, many 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans lack literacy in their language of origin and cannot access the Vietnamese culture through written works. They must often rely upon oral transmission. This language dilemma reflects those experienced by second generation children from the first waves of Asian Immigrants. As Chan states, these earlier children suffered similar problems:
In reality, second generation Asian Americans could not work easily in Asia or America. Though they had attended Asian-language schools, not all of them had learned an Asian language sufficiently well or had absorbed enough of the subtleties of Asian culture to interact smoothly with people or to obtain good jobs in their parents' homelands.
95. Chan, pg 115
Like these second generation Asian Americans, although some 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans are fluent in Vietnamese, many lack the language skills necessary to do more than simply communicate.
In contrast to these Asian Americans, 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans often left at an age late enough to have at least been exposed to the Vietnamese language. This exposure is different from learning it in America, because the Vietnamese language exists as a dominant medium of communication in its own country, rather than a secondary one. Thus many 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans were initially reared with the Vietnamese language as a primary one, while second generations from other Asian American groups attained their Asian language in a country
Interaction within the Vietnamese community, whether social, economic or political also served and continues to serve as a means of grounding oneself in the Vietnamese culture and many of the 1.5 generation seek this method as a means of retaining or acquiring aspects of the Vietnamese culture. However, although they may speak the Vietnamese language, the degree of proficiency in this language varies as many even lack the skills to effectively communicate with other Vietnamese speaking peoples in America. This has led and continues to lead to the problem of alienating some of the 1.5 generation from engaging in activities within the Vietnamese community in America
96. Interview #1 with Lam, James Chung, pp. 3-4
Although for some, the difficulty lies in their attempts to learn more about the Vietnamese culture, others face an additional obstacle, which is to reach a level of awareness in which they even want to learn about the Vietnamese culture. This allows them to begin to question their position in society as a Vietnamese in America. For second generation Asian Americans, racism awakened them to an awareness of how their ties to their being Asian, both physically and culturally, played into their identities. Chan states, “As for the children reared in America, the identity crisis they experienced was exacerbated by a racism that permeated many areas of public life”
97. Chan, pg 113
When I was younger, it {the identity issue} was a pretty big deal, with the racism that I experienced when I first came here. But when I was in high school, race was never an issue, we never talked about it. If you're Asian, you're Asian; if you're white, you're white. There really wasn't an issue. But at that time, I felt like I didn't like being Vietnamese, because I didn't know what it meant to be Vietnamese. I didn't know that I had an identity.
98. Interview #1 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi, pg 6
The neglect concerning the identity question stranded Bao in a situation where she uses the word “neutral” to describe her attitude toward self-perception of her own identity within a racial context. Beyond color differences, she found it difficult to apply
However, for some, particularly the 1.5 generation who came to the U.S. at an older age, the retention or awareness of their Vietnamese cultural backgrounds is higher, because they have had a longer stay in Vietnam in order to consolidate and reinforce their culture:
I didn't come here when I was two or three, or I wasn't born here. There's a part of me that has learned, that has grown up Vietnamese, certain Vietnamese values and cultural norms were instilled in me because I was born and raised in Vietnam.
99. Interview #2 with Tran, Huy pg 2
Huy's statement reflects the fact that he arrived in the U.S. at the later age of thirteen and although he was not an adult, he had less problems retaining the Vietnamese component of his identity. He represents the other extreme of the Vietnamese 1.5 generation, who arrived at a later age and in which the Vietnamese culture
However, for all of these interviewees, their involvement in VAC proved crucial to their retention of Vietnamese culture. This occurred because they possess strong and active ties with the Vietnamese community in Orange County, and this activism helped to preserve and expand their knowledge of the Vietnamese culture. For example, Hoai-Thi's work with Vietnamese elders served as a means of cultural transmission from this older group to those of the younger generation, such as Hoai-Thi. VAC'S work mentoring and tutoring English to Amerasians and other recently arrived Vietnamese also grounded these 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans more closely with the Vietnamese culture. Because the VAC members needed to successfully communicate with these current arrivals, they were forced to more actively exercise their Vietnamese cultural knowledge. In addition, these newly arrived Vietnamese also passed on their knowledge of the Vietnamese culture to the 1.5 generation VAC members and this also helped to familiarize the latter group with the Vietnamese culture.
The influence of the Vietnamese culture on 1.5 generation. Vietnamese Americans contributed one vital component to the formation of the Vietnamese American consciousness, yet equally important is the integration of mainstream American values toward this identity construction. I am referring to mainstream American culture in the context of all those which are non-Asian American, which includes other minority groups and primarily emphasizes EuroAmerican culture. The two cultures often differ and at times even come to a point of conflict. This conflict arose during a transitional moment for these young Vietnamese Americans, primarily because they arrived at an age in which they have appropriated a substantial knowledge of the Vietnamese culture, yet they were also impressionable enough to adopt aspects of mainstream American culture. For these particular interviewees, their current status as recent or near-graduated university students also places them at a moment in which they must reconcile the various influences on their identities in order to prepare themselves for their diverse futures. We must examine the impact of the mainstream American culture on their lives and how this has altered or shaped their identities as Vietnamese Americans.
For the first waves of Asian Americans, adapting to American society often meant a need to appropriate ideologies of American thoughts and systems in order to create equality. This appropriation resulted from the racial discrimination directed against these Asian Americans. In reaction to this, Asian
But {Asian American} plantation workers did not concentrate their discontent against each other, rather, they usually directed their rage outward against their bosses and the system, seeking to gain greater control over the conditions of their labor and a greater share of the profits they had produced. Not passive and docile as the managers wanted them to be, they actively struggled to improve the quality of their lives on the plantation in many different ways.
100. Takaki, pg 142
These Asian Americans engaged in non-violent, and at times even violent, forms of strikes in order to attain better conditions for themselves. In addition, they also relied on legal means of challenging their oppressors, as seen in such cases as Wong Kim Ark v. United States. in 1898, which ruled that anyone born in the U.S. could not be stripped of citizenship
101. Chan, chpt. 5 Takaki, chpt. 4
Like other younger Asian Americans, 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans have appropriated aspects of American culture toward
We could call a spade a spade and we could see it as it is. And we don't have this upbringing of smoothing over things or valuing harmony over self-sacrifice. We're not ingrained with that Confucius thought that says `let bygones be bygones.' If we see ourselves being trampled upon... I don't think we're as likely to sit there and take it. We come from the mainstream society and just recently came back to the community, so we know how they the mainstream operate... and we're not intimidated by them... and we learn from American and EuroAmerican culture that speaking up for yourself and standing up for yourself is valued.
102. Interview with Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pp. 10-11
Unlike the Confucian and Taoist aspects of the Vietnamese culture, both of which stress order and harmony over individual gain, the American ideology of expressiveness and individual rights have been appropriated by the Vietnamese American 1.5 generation. This signifies a move toward the construction of a Vietnamese American consciousness, which incorporates this transformed Vietnamese Confucian ethic. We must also realize that much of this philosophy to defend one's beliefs, as espoused in Hoai-Thi's statement, is a necessary part of succeeding in American society, which stresses the notion that one must actively assert their opinions in order to attain affluence. 1.5 generation VAC activists have place this value over the Confucian or Taoist principles, both as a means of surviving in American society and establishing their personal beliefs and identities without having to sacrifice them in the name of order or harmony.
Another aspect of this breaking away from traditional Vietnamese culture is the fact that the 1.5 generation practice American notions of independence and individualism, which stresses the importance of achieving individual needs and goals, and placing group concerns in a subordinate position. Although Vietnamese Confucian and Buddhist teachings strongly urge self-perfection, this goal must lead toward the greater good of society and the individual must seek to improve the larger masses. According to James, the Vietnamese 1.5 generation often adopt mainstream American values of independence where parents and family are concerned and even rely upon these American standards to critique
They're (the 1.5 generation) more willing to argue (with their parents), maybe, more willing to object. Maybe because there's less reverence there... when they get their jobs, they might not be expected to contribute any of their success to the family. I think they become more independent, or at least they've ingrained this sense of independence or individualism. They're judging their parents from a mainstream criterion and they're judging their family from the mainstream perspective.
103. Interview #1 with Lam, James Chung, pg 13
This statement suggests that the 1.5 generation adopt American values of independence and individualism which can potentially undermine the Confucian family structure by breaking the extremely ordered hierarchical and kin structures. However, this notion also applies to the critical perspectives from the viewpoint of the 1.5 generation because they have not only adopted and practiced these mainstream American ideologies, but these young Vietnamese Americans also have utilized them as the standard by which they view themselves in relation to their family. Thus, this not only represents a skepticism toward traditional Vietnamese family and individual norms, but also demonstrates that the 1.5 generation have actually acquired and asserte the perspectives of American independence and individualism.
Despite these breaks from Confucian beliefs, Hoai-Thi does admit to practicing parts of this Vietnamese philosophy through her respect 'for elders and desire to help support her family. However, she conveys that her methods differ from traditional Confucianism, because of her intrepidity toward interacting within mainstream society, even in personal relationships:
I believed in helping them {my parents} out, I believed in filial piety and all of that good Confucius stuff, but not
104. Interview with Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pg 3
Although Hoai-Thi does believe in supporting her family, she also believes that this can be done without her actual presence within the confines of her parents' home. Thus we see a modification of traditional Confucianism, which usually stresses that children remain in the home for a long period of time or at least live with and take care of their parents in their own home. Although these 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans still exercise the preservation and practice of these traditional Vietnamese values, there still remains at least a skepticism, if not an outright rejection of the Confucian family ethic.
In addition to shifting away from traditional Confucianism, Hoai-Thi shows skepticism toward Vietnamese males, because she detests the fact that many adhere to the patriarchal system of Confucianism. This reflects her adoption of western forms of feminist thought:
I was with a white boyfriend for years and I just wouldn't date Vietnamese guys, because I think that they're patriarchal and misogynists.
105. Ibid., pg 4
The notion of outmarriage for Asian American women can serve as an expression of strong opposition against the traditional patriarchal structure and the oppressive confines of the customary role of an Asian woman
106. Mazumdar, Sucheta, “General Introduction: A Woman-Centered Perspective on Asian American History,” in Making Waves: An Anthology of Writings By and About Asian American Women. Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts, pg 16
In addition to resistance to patriarchal systems, Asian American women have benefitted from the feminist and civil rights movements in America. Esther Ngan-Ling Chow states, “They {feminist and civil rights movements} help them to become aware of their doubly disadvantaged positions as members of a racial minority and as females, to learn about the structural sources of their deprivation and social inequalities, and to acknowledge the need to resolve their unique problems”
107. Chow, Ester Ngan-Ling, “The Feminist Movement: Where Are All the Asian American Women?” in Making Waves, pg 364
108. Ibid.
Similarly, Vietnamese American women activists have also sought out new avenues in order to confront issues pertaining particularly to Vietnamese American women. For example, despite a resistance to male domination through the patriarchal Confucian system 'and a feeling of empowerment from the women's movement, Hoai-Thi felt partially alienated from true feminism. She believed that minority women were not adequately represented and helped. In response to this, she learned to appropriate her knowledge of women's issues within the context of Vietnamese women in order to
And being so involved in women's issues , the issues that women's studies presented were issues of women, but not specifically focused upon women of color, even though I would continually bring that up in any discussions, any activities and any programs, that I was involved with. When I was in rape crisis, I came in to work with a rape crisis center, because I wanted to focus on the plight of Vietnamese women who have been victims of rape during their passage over here... but I wouldn't press the issues, I wouldn't go to all ends to pursue a grant, to pursue a program specifically targeting Vietnamese women, like I would now.
109. Interview with Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pp. 4-5
Although her consciousness of women's issues led her to resist male domination, Hoai-Thi did not actively work toward pushing for issues concerning Vietnamese women, but instead worked in a rape crisis center which she believes targets white women. However, she does acknowledge a difference between then and now, because she currently struggles for the representation of Vietnamese women when women's issues arise. Through this example, we witness a moment in which a 1.5 generation Vietnamese American woman has weaved her mainstream knowledge of women's issues and speaking out for one's individual rights, with issues pertaining to Vietnamese women in order to attempt to resolve a dilemma concerning Vietnamese women in America. This moment reflect's Hoai-Thi's familiarity and reconciliation of both Vietnamese and American cultural values, which in turn reflects the struggle of constructing a Vietnamese American identity.
In addition to expressive ideals and women's issues appropriated from American culture, Bao states that consistent and frequent interaction with the American mainstream also helped to reinforce these acquired beliefs, as well as open her mind toward
The younger generation, we're more willing to work within the system because we do have the language ability and all that and the social skills to work within the system.
110. Interview #1 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi, pg 8
In addition, the 1.5 generation's knowledge of and proficiency with the English language places them in a unique position to both utilize these skills with the Vietnamese community, as well as engage in active dialogue with mainstream America. As mentioned earlier, language is essential in acquiring Vietnamese culture without distorting meanings, customs and traditions through translation. Likewise, the transmission of American culture is more easily accomplished with less distortion through an understanding of the English language. Since the 1.5 generation also commands strong fluency in English, they can more easily gain extensive knowledge of American ideologies and values than their older counterparts.
The interaction with the American mainstream allows 1.5 generation Vietnamese the opportunity to appropriate American culture toward the construction of a Vietnamese American identity, whether for personal reasons or in order to engage in community activism within the Vietnamese community. However, many from this group choose not to become active in or conscious about the Vietnamese community and instead decide to solely identify with the American mainstream. The members of VAC represent a small minority of young Vietnamese Americans who actually have brought their knowledge of the American mainstream for the purpose of bridging the cultural gap between larger American society and the Vietnamese
Unfortunately, I think they (the 1.5 generation) have mainstreamed and forgotten... it might not be any faults of their own. If all through your development, you don't see your own community, you don't see your people reflected in the curriculum, you don't see the opportunities to go back to the community and give back. Opportunities to service others {non-Vietnamese}, to mainstream, to go to the Peace Corps and do this and that, to join Christian fellowships and whatever, are all ways around {the issue of interaction in the Vietnamese communities in America}. But to go back to the community, you really have to seek it out, so it might not be their faults. We just need to make sure that generations growing up in this community are not forgetting their heritage.
111. Interview with Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pg 13
The younger generation of Vietnamese Americans seem not to engage in activism within the Vietnamese community. In addition, for whatever reasons, they instead move toward the American mainstream while simultaneously abandoning Vietnamese culture and the issues of the Vietnamese in America. This shift toward the mainstream undermines attempts toward reconciling one's identity as a Vietnamese American, because it potentially demonstrates assimilation into the dominant culture, with disregard for one's culture of origin. For VAC, community activism has directly linked Vietnamese American youths with the Vietnamese culture and how it interacts as a transplanted culture in the larger setting of American society. This examination potentially leads toward the exploration of one's identity as a Vietnamese American.
In addition to the appropriation of culture and values from the American mainstream, primarily EuroAmerican culture, the Vietnamese American 1.5 generation from VAC have also acquired a
One thing that directly affects our {the Vietnamese} community is in terms of economic inequality in terms of labor, especially in the large institutions like the garment industry, in which I'm doing research. The garment industry is based on a hierarchy and when it comes down to the bottom of the workers, it's usually ethnic minorities. They're the one's who are willing to work for these low wages and it's {the hierarchy} is always maintained, it's hard to change that. And specifically in Orange County, the Vietnamese are involved in the bottom of that ladder. And so it hasn't changed, I mean since we've been here in '75, the industry has remained the same and it's been there before Vietnamese have been involved in it. And even then, it's been reserved for ethnic groups, so the Vietnamese, when they came over, they're just filling in.
112. Interview #1 with Lam, James Chung, pg 3
The acquisition of knowledge concerning American social institutions also originates from ideologies and teachings from the American mainstream itself, as well as from research that resulted from movements such as the Civil Rights movements of the 1960's. This awareness of Vietnamese as minorities in the American social hierarchy helped to form and define Vietnamese American identity in relation to other groups in the U.S. Through this, one can better understand this new identity not only in and of itself, but also as a part of the larger network of ethnic groups in society. This reinforces the notion that the construction of Vietnamese American identity relies upon various components, such as Vietnamese and
In addition to the importance of group relationships toward the definition of Vietnamese American identity, we must examine the major source of the 1.5 generation's knowledge of American culture: the school system. In James' discussion of racial and economic hierarchies, he mentions that his views on the garment industry and American social institutions derives from his research in this area. This exhibits the importance of formal education toward the shaping of Vietnamese American identity. According to Huy, the American mainstream culture exists strongly in the school system and acts as the strongest and most primary means of transmitting American culture to Vietnamese Americans of the 1.5 generation:
Issues that the younger wave of activists choose to deal with are pretty much drawn from mainstream concerns, just because we go to school here and we hear about these facts from school here from the Caucasian population.
113. Interview #1 with Tran, Huy, pg 6
Whereas the transmission of Vietnamese cultural values occurs primarily within the home and Vietnamese community in America, the these 1.5 generation of Vietnamese American activists experienced and continue to experience exposure to mainstream issues through their schools and college campuses. For example, Hoai-Thi's involvement with rape crisis reflects the mainstream concerns of American society, rather than that of Vietnamese society and culture. However, the schools often ignore or marginalize issues
114. Interview with Nguyen, Hoai-Thi Phu, pg 2
Although the lack of representation of Vietnamese Americans remains a problem in school curriculums, this problem is not unique to this particular group, as other minorities also failed to see themselves depicted in their formal educations. In the late 1960's, students at San Francisco state College and the University of California at Berkeley organized to ensure ethnic studies programs to educate both minority and non-minority groups. The National Liberation Front served as the umbrella organization to unite these minority groups under a larger coalition toward implementing these ethnic studies programs
115. Bagasao, Paula, “Student Voices: Breaking the Silence: The Asian and Pacific American Experience,” in Change. Nov/Dec 1989 Article by Murase Article by Unemoto
This panethnic consciousness existed prior to the arrival of Vietnamese refugees to America and continues to have profound impacts on the construction of Vietnamese American consciousness. Typically, various individual Asian American groups combine their efforts, and this collective of Asian American consciousness precipitates the existence of this panethnic consciousness. However, we must keep in mind that this larger identity relies upon the interactions of groups which have already developed Asian American consciousness. Thus individual Asian American consciousness are necessary components toward the panethnic one. Since the Vietnamese arrived in the United States after the formation of Asian American Panethnicity, the existence of this panethnic consciousness precedes that of Vietnamese American consciousness. Thus, we must examine the influence of this panethnic consciousness on the construction and development of Vietnamese American consciousness. For 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans in VAC, this panethnic influence contributes to Vietnamese American identity in the two primary areas of activism and academics within the Asian American Studies movement. Through this panethnic influence, I argue that these 1.5 generation VAC
The resurgence of the Asian American Studies movement occurred at UCI in the 1992-93 academic year, when Asian American Panethnicity prospered as the various Asian American organizations united under the common goal of establishing an Asian American Studies program on this campus. Students held numberous meetings with faculty, staff and administrators in order to discuss the means in which this program would be implemented. Without much success, frustrated Asian American students took a more active stance through a demonstration in which over two hundred students occupied administration and presented UCI's Acting Executive Vice Chancellor, L. Dennis Smith, with a list of demands and petitions with thousands of signatures in support of Asian American Studies. In addition, a thirty-five day hunger strike, in which students camped out in front of the administration building, ensued. These actions eventually led to an agreement toward the establishment of an Asian American Studies program at UCI, which is currently in the process of development
116. Lindgren, Kristina, “An Unfulfilled Promise Spurs Protest at UCI,” in The Los Angeles Times. April 23, 1993
A considerable number of Vietnamese American students, including this particular group of 1.5 generation from VAC, assisted in this movement for Asian American Studies at UCI. For these VAC students, their involvement with the Asian American
117. Interview #2 with Lam, James Chung, pg 2
Through this Asian American Panethnic consciousness, James perceived connections and relationships between his experiences as a Vietnamese 1.5 generation in America with those of other Asian Americans. Although primarily learning about issues involving other Asian American groups, James eventually identified with them and their concerns and applied his awareness toward his own situation as a Vietnamese in America. Realizing that major differences existed between Asian American groups, James drew upon the similarities among these groups, especially their common experiences with the EuroAmerican mainstream and the panethnic consciousness that arose from these experiences:
In terms of this panethnic identity, I think at the University level, people who are involved in Asian American Studies do sense that type of identity somewhat and that's the reason I joined such a movement. You identify with this Asian American thing and you feel that it is personal to you. And from learning from Asian American issues, although it does focus on certain groups, like Japanese and Chinese Americans, you still feel that it's personal to you, because you're perceived as Asian basically (by the mainstream) and you feel that your experience is very similar to other Asian groups in America. So in that sense, you feel like that's the connection and you identify with what's going on.
118. Ibid., pg 1
James' experience represents a crucial example that the Asian American panethnic consciousness exerts a strong influence on identity construction for 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans. In his particular case, this panethnicity served as a point of origin for the construction of James' Vietnamese American consciousness. This not only demonstrates that Asian American Panethnicity aids in the development of identity for Vietnamese Americans, but that this panethnicity can also generate consciousness for Vietnamese Americans.
Bao's involvement with Asian American Studies at UCI illustrates another example of Vietnamese American consciousness construction through Asian American Panethnicity. However, in her case, this movement not only raised her awareness toward the level of Vietnamese American consciousness, but also asked her to raise the question of identity in general:
From my own personal experience at UCI here, if I didn't get involved in the Asian American Studies movement, which I guess mainly centers around or mainly focuses on Chinese and Japanese Americans Studies, I really wouldn't question my own identity. When I got involved with that, I really began to realize that you have to look deeper within your identity. I think that you really have to look at other Asian cultures to start trying to find your own identity.
119. Interview #2 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi, pg 1
In this particular case, Asian American Panethnicity served as a source in which Bao could draw from the experiences of other Asian American groups in order to both develop her identity in general and as a Vietnamese American. In addition, she was able to reconcile the tensions between the Vietnamese and mainstream EuroAmerican cultures. The examination of the roles and interactions of other Asian Americans with mainstream America illustrates models and examples of rich experiences which provide a point of comparison for Vietnamese Americans and other Asian Americans. For Bao, the first step toward developing one's own identity, in this case Vietnamese American identity, is to actively voice the need for representation of Vietnamese Americans within this larger Asian American Panethnic coalition. This, in turn, not only raises the issue of the role of Vietnamese Americans in this panethnic movement, but more significantly, the question of what aspects constitute Vietnamese American identity.
Although the UCI pan-Asian alliance immersed these Vietnamese American 1.5 generation students into the larger panethnic consciousness, the academic perspectives from Asian American Studies courses also served as a medium through which these particular Vietnamese Americans could learn about the history, experiences and issues of Asian Americans. This allowed these Vietnamese American students to relate the history and experiences of other Asian Americans to their own. They could also place themselves in the larger mosaic of Asian American and American history:
We read about these things and we find out more about Asian American history and it's personal, because you feel that you… that I could have gone through the same experiences and also see the similarities between the experiences of other Asian groups with Vietnamese experiences, treatments and resettlement.
120. interview #2 with Lam, James Chung, pg 2
Another crucial aspect of the impact of Asian American Studies on Vietnamese American identity concerns the issue of reconciling one's identity as a person who has influences from Vietnamese, mainstream EuroAmerican and Asian American cultures. According to Huy, Asian American Studies helped him to better understand his interaction with the American mainstream, yet he believes that some Vietnamese Americans of the 1.5 generation also benefitted because it reawakened them to their Vietnamese cultural roots in order to weave this cultural component into their identities:
For most of the students, I'm assuming here, but I think for a lot of Vietnamese American students, these classes help to qualify the Vietnamese side more than the American side, because these students grew up here. For me, these classes help in coming to terms with acculturation with the larger American society, so to speak, like finding out the problems that Vietnamese Americans and other Asian Americans have to go through, things that I may not have realized on my own that were brought up in these classes.
121. Interview #2 with Tran, Huy, pg 2
Huy raises the idea that Vietnamese American students benefit from Asian American Studies courses, not only in terms of identity reconciliation, but also as a means of either learning about the role of Vietnamese culture in America or the influences of American culture on Vietnamese Americans. In addition, Huy's statement also reinforces the notion that the experiences of Asian Americans proves essential for Vietnamese American 1.5 generation students because it influences them to assess their positions and roles in American society, in relation to the mainstream, as well as to
We must stress that Huy's reflection on his experiences are merely in relation to other individual Asian American groups, not so much with the larger panethnic movement. Although Asian American Panethnicity contributes to the construction of Vietnamese American identity for James and Bao, Huy asserts that he considered himself a Vietnamese American even prior to his exposure to Asian American Studies. According to Huy, Asian American Studies helped to reinforce his identity as a Vietnamese American, but served as merely an minor influence, rather than a large contributing factor toward Vietnamese American consciousness. We could support this claim with the fact that Huy admitted to having a superficial and lacking knowledge of the relationship between Vietnamese Americans and other Asian Americans:
To tell you the truth, I haven't thought much about where I stand in relation with other Asian American populations. I guess I've chosen, in one way or another, intentionally or unintentionally, to focus on Vietnamese American related or specific issues. In a certain way, all Asian Americans are in the same boat, so to speak. It really doesn't matter if you're Japanese American, Chinese American or Vietnamese American, although the other two groups might have established a longer presence here in the United States, however they still face the same problems that we do in terms of discrimination in the work place, at the university, or whatever. However, right now, I don't have enough time or my attention is not quite wide enough to even think about other Asian Americans, my relations with them, just because I can only concentrate on Vietnamese American issues for the time being.
122. Ibid., pg 3
As with other Asian American groups, panethnicity for these Vietnamese American students did not serve as a strong influence on construction of Asian American consciousness. Whereas the former had formed their consciousness prior to the existence of Asian
For those strongly influenced by Asian American Panethnicity in Vietnamese American consciousness construction, on the one hand, this larger movement sparked a need to form Vietnamese American identity. However, on the other hand, these 1.5 generation Vietnamese American activists eventually shifted toward “ethnic disidentification,” in which they disengaged themselves from this panethnic movement. This occurred for two primary reasons: first, these Vietnamese Americans felt marginalized and subordinated in the hierarchy of the Asian American Panethnic movement. Second, because Vietnamese American consciousness merely exists in its formative stage, it could not effectively interact, let alone intermingle, with the other well defined consciousness of other Asian Americans in this larger panethnic identity.
As emphasized by these Vietnamese American activists in some of their earlier statements, Chinese and Japanese Americans dominate Asian American Studies, as both a movement and an academic area of study. For example, Bao attributes her disidentification with this panethnicity because she felt marginalized within it:
I think that because we haven't been here as long as the Japanese and Chinese Americans or Korean Americans, we're overlooked sometimes. When we talk about Asian American Studies, in my mind I know that they're talking about Japanese and Chinese American Studies and I think it's partially our fault, but partially it's not, because of the history of the Southeast Asian community {in America}. There may be many of us {in the U.S. and at UCI}, but we haven't been here long enough to be at the same level as the other cultures. And sometimes I get the sense that they look down upon us or pity us because our community isn't as developed as theirs. We realize that differences do exist between us and sometimes that makes one group look down on the other.
123. Interview #2 with Nguyen, Bao Chau Thi, pg 2
Although Bao acknowledges that the differences in length of time in America and amount of research done on Asian Americans differ from one specific group to another, she asserts that the hierarchy within this panethnic identity marginalizes Vietnamese Americans. She believes that the larger identity limits the role and representation of Vietnamese Americans in this larger movement. She provides an example of this with a friend and colleague of hers within this movement who is a second generation Chinese American. Bao states that this friend often subordinated the importance of Vietnamese American representation in the panethnic movement and Asian American Studies. In addition, her friend often implied the notion that the length of time an Asian American group spends in the U.S. contributes to the legitimation of their overrepresentation.
James also expresses the opinion that lack of representation of certain Asian American groups perpetuates ethnic exclusion and the hierarchy within this panethnic alliance benefits some groups more than others:
One of the reasons why I did VAC was because of the disappointment of the whole Asian American movement, because it lacked representation of other, more marginalized groups, like Vietnamese groups, like Southeast Asian groups. It mainly focuses on Chinese and Japanese Americans and you feel like you're left out.
124. Interview #2 with Lam, James Chung, pg 3
The marginalization of Vietnamese Americans within this larger movement led to “ethnic disidentification” for these particular 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans. This eventually resulted in the formation of VAC and the move toward the construction of Vietnamese American consciousness within this organization which focuses on Vietnamese American issues.
For these Vietnamese Americans, their participation within the larger Asian American Panethnic movement parallels the moment when they are engaging in the search for their own identities as Vietnamese Americans. This context of consciousness poses a unique situation, because as previously stated, the existence of Asian American Panethnicity precedes that of Vietnamese American consciousness. Whereas other Asian American groups possess more developed ethnic identities and cultural similarities as Asian Americans, allowing them to more easily unite, these VAC 1.5 generation members engage in “ethnic disidentification” because their Vietnamese American consciousness requires further growth. The difference in degrees and types of ethnic consciousness formation created a cleavage between the more recently arrived
I think it was difficult to work with this whole Asian American identity thing, getting grouped together... it really wasn't grouped together. People who worked with Asian American Studies, they were a certain group of students who had the same idea, but I think the rest of the students didn't have that consciousness yet.
125. Ibid., pg 3
Because much of this Asian American panethnic identity primarily centers around American born Asians, these Vietnamese Americans expressed the sentiment that they could not identify with this panethnic movement. They felt alienation from this particular emphasis and believe that the movement actually favors American born Asians. This reflects Espiritu's notion that more newly arrived immigrants and refugees tend to disengage themselves from Asian American Panethnicity because they cannot identify with these American born Asians. However, James' statement suggests that part of this relates with the fact that Vietnamese American consciousness still exists in a developmental stage. This differs from that of other Asian Americans, who established more firm Asian American identities before forming this panethnic identity. This difference led 1.5 generation VAC members to exert their efforts toward the construction of Vietnamese American consciousness rather than concerning themselves with Asian American Panethnicity as a major issue.
However, one should not underestimate the importance of Asian American Panethnicity as a factor in generating and reinforcing ethnic identity for these 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans. This panethnic consciousness played a significant role, along with
Direction in the Midst of the “Cultural Crossroads:” The Formation of Vietnamese American Consciousness
Although I am not seeking to establish a definitive Vietnamese American consciousness, I would like to demonstrate that it does exist in its early stages. The 1.5 generation of VAC members represents the beginnings of an attempt to reconcile these multiple cultural influences. Vietnamese American consciousness begins to exist for any individual who acknowledges the possibility of its existence or that they themselves possess this consciousness. Of course, this newly formed identity exists in a unique manner for each and every Vietnamese American. Although Vietnamese American identity encompasses a wide variety of different factors, concrete evidence of some components have
Identity is a tool of location, how you locate yourself... I think anywhere you live, you need to find a sense of home and identity traces that sense of home, locates it. In terms of consciousness, I think you're talking in terms of community consciousness, that being Vietnamese American, it recognizes that I belong to the Vietnamese American community.
126. Ibid., pg 1
One's community shapes his or her identity and ideologies and this cannot be separated from one's cultural consciousness. However, ethnic identity comprises many intricate features, and for Vietnamese Americans, the integration of these diverse cultural aspects into a unique identity exists in many different combinations and variations. For example, Huy provides examples of this through his religious identification, as well as his interactions:
I would consider myself to be a Vietnamese American, if there is such a thing... it depends on the individual. I am one of those individuals who believes that there is such a thing as a Vietnamese American in as much as I'm Vietnamese as I was born and raised in Vietnam. I could remember a lot about it, the people, the country, the culture and even though I'm living in the United States, being part of my family, I'm
127. Interview #2 with Tran, Huy, pg 1
Huy's detailed description of his identity as a Vietnamese American merely presents a superficial aspect of this consciousness, because of the many factors which comprise it. Regardless of how one integrates the numerous cultural aspects, the 1.5 generation VAC members in this study acknowledge the existence of Vietnamese American consciousness and they themselves represent examples of the process and attempt to construct and develop this unique identity.
Although this identity does exist, its development, within a context which follows the construction of Asian American Panethnicity, places Vietnamese American consciousness in the midst of a “cultural crossroad.” This intersection of cultures allows these 1.5 generation Vietnamese Americans to draw from the influences of Vietnamese, mainstream American and Asian American Panethnic identities in order to formulate a new and distinct consciousness.
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Courtesy of Special Collections and Archives. The UC Irvine Libraries, Main Library 5th Floor, PO Box 19557, Irvine, CA 92623-9557; https://special.lib.uci.edu
http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb5x0nb45r&brand=oac4
Title: Cultural crossroads : the formation of Vietnamese American consciousness for the 1.5 generation
By: Pham, Vu Hong, Author, Vietnamese American Coalition, Author
Date: 1994
Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives. The UC Irvine Libraries, Main Library 5th Floor, PO Box 19557, Irvine, CA 92623-9557; https://special.lib.uci.edu
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Pham, Vu Hong