Brittany Tran Menacing. Corrupt. Threats. These characteristics revolved around Asian Americans during the period of growing Asian immigration during 19th and 20th century America, collectively culminating into the idea of the Yellow Peril.
The Yellow Peril is the intense fear that Chinese immigrants will invade and destroy the West in hordes, subsequently extending to all Asian groups. These xenophobic ideas manifested from the enduring fears underlying European society of the exotic “Orient” and included ideas of Asians as threatening, uncivilized, disease-ridden aliens whose purpose was to pollute pure, white society with non-Christian ideas. Yellow Peril beliefs are a form of racialization, the phenomenon in which ideas about different bodies are socially constructed by people in positions of power with particular agendas, who imposed their authority by specifically associating Asian Americans with repulsive characteristics. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Yellow Peril discourse was perpetuated by Asian exclusion policies and fueled the anti-Asian movement. Due to the increasing Asian immigration during this period, Yellow Peril fears intensified and US officials sought to decrease immigration, so they built Angel Island Immigration Station in the San Francisco Bay to selectively exclude Asians from entering the US. On Angel Island, Asian immigrants were detained for months to years in demoralizing conditions, subject to intense medical exams and nearly impossible interrogations, and were essentially imprisoned because they were isolated on the island. Yellow Peril discourse further justified the growing anti-Asian movement during this period. Xenophobic actions ranged from racist phrases hurled at Asian Americans walking on the streets to outright violence. For example, almost 300 attacks against Japanese Americans were recorded in San Francisco in 1906. Anti-Asian exclusion groups and laws were also implemented in response to growing Yellow Peril fears—predominantly those of Asians taking jobs from white laborers. Laws like the 1917 and 1924 Immigration Acts were imposed to restrict Asian immigration, while white labor groups like the Workingmen’s Party of California and the Asiatic Exclusion League pushed for Asian exclusion. Ideas that Asians were sources of contamination also stemmed from Yellow Peril beliefs. When smallpox overwhelmed San Francisco in 1876, health officials immediately blamed it on the “filthy and diseased” Chinese immigrants living in Chinatown, which was deemed a “plague spot.” Public health officials targeted Chinatown through surveillance, random inspections, and the nuisance law; authorities justified that this law was enforced to prevent environmental pollution from contaminating living spaces, but it was realistically used to regulate Chinese immigrants by controlling their conduct in public spaces and evicting them from their properties, while justifying these actions by maintaining Yellow Peril ideas that whites needed to be protected from “filthy” Chinese people. The current treatment and ideas towards Asian Americans are linked to historic Yellow Peril beliefs. Anti-Asian racism across the US ranges from microaggressions to violence, which has increased significantly with the COVID-19 pandemic because of foreigner racialization: between March and August 2020 alone, over 2,583 incidents of anti-Asian racism were reported. This specific form of racialization associates Asian Americans with Yellow Peril ideas that Asians are deviant, public health threats who must be infected simply based on their appearance and COVID-19’s Chinese origins. Characterizations of COVID-19 as “the Chinese virus” by powerful parties for political purposes further associates Asian Americans with disease and low standards of living. Ever since the rise of “China plague” and “China virus” discourse in the beginning of October, anti-Asian racism spiked once again, while ideas of justice and revenge against China began to circulate rapidly. This resurgence in Yellow Peril discourse is simply a rearticulation of historic ideas that Asian Americans are foreign, diseased, and in need of public health assistance, making Asians even more vulnerable to racism than before. Although rooted in history, Yellow Peril discourse has not yet disappeared; it still reverberates throughout our society today through Asian American discrimination and mistreatment.
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Richard Lu It’s 10:00 AM on a Saturday and you’ve woken up with a terrible case of bedhead.
“That’s alright, I’ll just take a shower” you think to yourself. Yet, the more time you spend scrubbing and brushing your hair, the more it becomes apparent that your messy hair has won. Finally you turn to your trusty last resort: a fresh haircut. You immediately call your favorite salon, but much to your surprise, no one picks up. The hair salon is closed today. In fact, it’s been closed for a few months now, and it’s not alone—all of the salons are closed! That’s been the case for the majority of Americans since early 2020—especially for those in California. However, to understand how we got to this point, we’ll first need to look at a recap of the events. As COVID-19 began spreading to the United States and much of the rest of the world in February 2020, California’s state governor Gavin Newsom hastily put his foot down on March 19, 2020 with the hopes of stopping the spread within the state dead in its tracks. In his rather terse “stay at home” order, Governor Newsom instructed for the entirety of California—except for “essential workers” such as health care providers—to remain at home and close their businesses in order to reduce contact between individuals. Included with those that had to close (and with no future reopening plans in sight), salon and barbershop owners were rendered helpless as they watched what for many was their only source of income slip away into the vice of COVID-19. This salon shutdown hit Vietnamese Americans in the state the hardest, as Vietnamese Americans own nearly 75% of all salons and comprise nearly 80% of the nail technician workforce in California. After being left in the dark for several months, the beauty services industry finally caught a break in late July when Newsom allowed for services such as barbershops, nail salons, and massage parlors to reopen in outdoors accommodations. However, by then the damage had been done; though they were allowed to reopen outdoors, only an estimated 20% of all salons actually reopened. The other 80% of salons were either on the brink of collapsing on rent (and therefore logistically could not reopen in time) or had closed down permanently. In fact, in a survey done by CalMatters in regards to reopening, 1/10 salons in Santa Clara County reported that they had permanently closed as a result of COVID-19 and Newsom’s lockdown order. This late break ended up being short-lived though, as sudden spikes in COVID-19 cases in California forced Newsom to lock down the state once again in early December 2020. With that, the fate of what was left of the Vietnamese American-owned beauty industry went up in the air. This brings us to today: early 2021. With salons and barbershops still closed and again with no true reopening plan in sight, many Vietnamese Americans in California (and various other states as well) are left counting the days until they can no longer provide for themselves and their families with their underwhelming unemployment benefits of $100 a week. On top of that, with a normal median salary of $23,000 for nail technicians, it’s unlikely that the average salon worker has enough money in their savings—if any at all. However, the damage done by these shutdowns is far from being solely financial. When the March lockdown first started, Newsom’s message included a shocking statement that immediately garnered discourse within the Vietnamese American community: “This whole thing started in the state of California—the first community spread—in a nail salon. I just want to remind you, remind everybody, of that. I’m very worried about that.” The community demanded sources. Facts. Proof. Newsom’s statement seemed to come out of the blue, and with no response from the governor even amidst the community’s overwhelming demand for evidence, it only sounded more and more like a lie. Regardless, the negative image of salons generated by Newsom had already done it’s damage. In its wake, nail salons saw monumentally low customer volume when they reopened; shops that normally saw dozens of customers a day would be lucky if they managed to see 10 during COVID-19 times. Over the course of the three months that they were allowed to reopen, it was clear that salons—and the Vietnamese American community—were once again at the mercy of COVID-19. Now, it would be erroneous to not mention the certain victories that the Vietnamese American community achieved in the face of COVID-19. Though many were rendered financially helpless with the initial closures, this did not stop the community from voicing their upset against Newsom’s blind-eye toward nail salons. In fact, it was the community’s relentless efforts in getting their discontent through to Newsom that finally pushed him to include salons in the reopening plans of August 2020. On top of that, their collective effort to collect, produce, and donate PPE equipment to health professionals helped prove that the Vietnamese American community (and their salons) are more professional than many perceived them to be. So, while the world continues its grand battle against the proliferation of COVID-19, the Vietnamese American community and their salons anxiously stand by waiting for the moment when they can finally reopen—that is, reopen for real. In the meantime, it’s important to make sure that we do our duty in stopping the spread as well. Wear a mask in public, maintain a minimum distance of six feet from other individuals, and stay at home. Though the world is separated, stopping the spread of COVID-19 remains a collective effort, and it’s imperative we remain faithful of social distancing procedures and the health professionals fighting for our lives. Calvin NguyenVietnam means many things to different groups and people. A political and military blunder- a fallen domino in the arctic wind of the Cold War. A napalm-burnt graveyard of fathers and brothers who could never live their lives in full. A red fortress of the people that stood against Western imperialism. From a perspective less swayed by political and personal bias, Vietnam is a land of rich culture, delicious cuisine, beautiful architecture, and intricate history. Home to many. Was home to many more who found a new home overseas. Vietnamese Americans are one of the largest, yet most recent, immigrant groups in the renowned American melting pot. In 2017, it was estimated that over 2 million Vietnamese Americans lived in the US, mainly centered around California and Texas. Within California, the Vietnamese community established itself heavily in Orange County, followed by large communities in Los Angeles, Santa Clara, and San Jose. Here at UCLA, Vietnamese Americans are represented by a variety of organizations, from the Vietnamese Student Union to Vietnamese Community health. To promote the diversity of cultures and ethnic groups within our campus, it’s crucial to understand the history and background of the Vietnamese community. This begs the question: what caused the influx of these immigrants to the US? This two-part blog post will answer this question by touching upon both modern Vietnamese history and the history of the Vietnamese American community. In this first part, I’ll explore the foundations of modern Vietnam and how the Vietnam War escalated and concluded. In the next part, I’ll explore how the Vietnam War’s aftermath led to the immigration wave to the West that set the foundations of the Vietnamese American community today. Buckle up- it’s story time. Vietnam’s contemporary history is one intertwined with imperialism and intervention. During the 19th Century, the recently unified Nguyen dynasty of Vietnam was conquered, colonized, and fractured into three separate political states by France: Tonkin (North Vietnam), Annam (Central Vietnam), and Cochinchina (South Vietnam). For over half a century, Vietnam became known as French Indochina; the colony was heavily exploited for its resources, serving as yet another puppet to a European power as empires stretched across the globe. Rebellions and anti-French sentiments were widespread, but nothing was able to permanently dislodge the French occupation. In 1940, during the Second World War, after the fall of France and the establishment of the Vichy French puppet regime, Vietnam was occupied by Imperial Japan. During the half-decade long occupation, the deterioration of Japan’s military situation and strategic bombings over French Indochina led to a horrific famine, killing over a million innocents. The end of the war brought no end to Vietnam’s conflicts; after Japan’s surrender, France reinvaded Vietnam in an effort to maintain control over its fading colonial empire. Supported with US aid, the French were able to reoccupy Vietnam’s south, but faced heavy resistance from the Vietnamese that steadily became more organized thanks to aid from communist countries. In 1954, after nearly another decade, led by communist leader Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnamese forces were able to decisively defeat the French at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, leading to a total French withdrawal from Indochina and the signing of the Geneva Accords. The Geneva accords split Vietnam at the 17th parallel, dividing it into North Vietnam and South Vietnam; North Vietnam was run by a communist government and headed by Hồ Chí Minh, while the South established a democratic government supported by the US. Although the Geneva Accords mandated that a vote eventually reunite the split country, South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm refused to do so. During the 1950s and 1960s, South Vietnam would be wracked with political corruption and unrest. Ngô Đình Diệm’s government faced an insurgency from communist guerrillas (later formally organized as the Việt Cộng). Additionally, Diệm’s government actively adopted anti-Buddhist policies (Diệm was Catholic), and religious violence erupted in the streets of South Vietnam; a Buddhist priest famously burnt himself alive in the streets of Saigon to protest Diệm’s government. In 1963, Diệm was overthrown by a military coup and assassinated by military officers, setting the stage for political instability that would plague the South for the rest of its existence. Meanwhile, the United States was steadily increasing its military presence in South Vietnam, attempting to preserve democracy in the region. During the Cold War; the domino theory was a prevailing concern amongst American politicians and military men, predicting that the communist ideology would steadily crawl across Asia from China to India if left unchecked. With China falling to communism in 1949, Vietnam was predicted to be the next domino to fall. Prior to the 1960s, the power of America was not fully committed. However, its military might would dramatically escalate in 1964, when the USS Maddox, a US Navy warship, was allegedly fired upon by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. The incident led President Lyndon B. Johnson to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolutions, providing him extreme power to confront North Vietnam and wage military action against the spread of communism.
In the next decade, Vietnam became a horrific battleground between communism and democracy. Communist forces included the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN), the regular army of North Vietnam, as well as the Việt Cộng, a political movement based in South Vietnam that heavily used guerilla forces. Opposing the communists was South Vietnam with its Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), heavily supported by the US Armed Forces and the Australian Defence Force. The US, though unable to fully commit its entire power against North Vietnam due to the conditions of the Cold War, still utilized airstrikes and brutal technologies; napalm was deployed to burn out entire jungles, while Agent Orange was a chemical agent utilized to destroy forests and rough terrain that could conceal opposing forces. Across the duration of the war, over seven million tons of explosives were dropped across Indochina. Despite overwhelming military strength, the US was unable to decisively defeat the North. Communist forces famously employed guerilla tactics against the US, using incredibly colossal tunnel systems, building booby traps, and frequently ambushing American and Australian troops. Additionally, the Việt Cộng and PAVN created the Hồ Chí Minh trail, a massive logistical supply route that ran through the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia; despite heavy bombings, the trail kept running throughout the war and provided immeasureable aid to communist attacks and offensives. Within the US military, the situation seemed nearly unwinnable; during the dawn of 1968, during the Vietnamese New Year, communist forces launched the Tết Offensive, a voracious attack that struck across the entirety of Vietnam, employing the aforementioned Hồ Chí Minh trail. Surprise raids launched from guerillas hiding in coffins overwhelmed the unsuspecting defenders, and frontlines became convoluted and scrambled as communist forces swarmed into South Vietnam; attacks even reached the heart of the country in the southern capital of Saigon. Though the offensive was defeated, its effects upon morale were unrepairable. Public outrage within America rang across the country, and individual soldiers within the military often became disillusioned with the war. Vietnam proved to be an immensely unpopular war amongst the Western forces, with young students protesting heavily against intervention. Student protests at universities were met with violence from the national guard, and the infamous Mỹ Lai massacre perpetrated by US forces cast doubt upon the “righteousness” of the American military. Western forces gradually began to pull out of the warzone from domestic pressure. By 1973, a peace agreement was reached between America and North Vietnam. In its new policy of “Vietnamization”, the US withdrew its military combatants to let South Vietnam fight its own war, followed by Australia. Eventually, South Vietnam stood alone against the North Vietnamese domino- in two years, that domino would finally fall. In 1975, the North launched a tremendous offensive against the South, aiming to finally eliminate and annex their neighbor once and for all. Without military aid from the US, South Vietnam quickly crumbled to North Vietnam’s onslaught. During South Vietnam’s final days, planes from across the country carried evacuees to nearby nations affiliated with the US. When the airports were bombarded, the evacuation of the South was carried out with the US Navy and helicopter fleets instead. Crowds erupted across Saigon as the North raced closer to the capital, with remaining American personnel and at-risk Vietnamese civilians were evacuated first. As the end drew near, evacuators grew so desperate to rescue as many people as possible that they pushed helicopters into the sea to make room for other landing helicopters faster. Finally, the domino fell. On April 30th, 1975, Saigon was captured (Or from the North’s perspective, “liberated”). There was no more South, and there was no more North. There was only Vietnam. The Vietnam War was now at an end, with the continuously fractured country finally united under a single banner- a banner that fluttered in the opposite wind against the American flag, but a banner nonetheless. However, the end of one story always leads to the beginning of another. The fall of Saigon was the primary evocation of Vietnamese immigration to the West, setting the stones for what would be the forerunners of today’s Vietnamese American community. In the next blog post, we’ll study the final evacuation of Saigon with greater detail, and better understand how Vietnamese immigrants were forced to flee their homes in search of a better life in America. But that’s a story for another day. |
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