ok so

like i said last chap, this phrase kinda makes me uncomfortable.

it's probably no secret that i'm vietnamese. so you probably know why this is awkward for me.

like, on the one hand, i get it. it's a meme. it's supposed to be funny & harmless. ppl make jokes abt the plague or ww1/2 or whatever else all the time. heck, even i sometimes make vietnam war bush jokes or communist jokes or whatever. (if any of u don't know, bush memes refer to vietnam's guerilla (?) tactics against the americans during the vn war; everyone probably knows communist jokes tbh.)

but like, agh. i can't help but get annoyed when i see sb that's not vietnamese say "omg vietnam war flashbacks lololol." like, i don't wish to be one of those easily-butthurt people who get offended every other meme. but seeing non-viets make a joke out of a war that affected my country so much, that my people sacrificed so many things to win, that is still relevant in our history today (my grandma who is now 80+ lived thru the war, she knew what it was like to have to rush to bomb shelters and jostle to get rationed food and whatnot)... it just makes me uncomfortable, i guess. i mean, you've never even experienced any of that. even i as a vietnamese (is fortunate enough) to not know it first-hand. so what gives you the right to turn it into a joke, especially if you don't really understand the history & depth behind the thing you're referring to?

there's also the fact that in vietnam we are taught to have a lot of national pride, and respect & gratitude for those who fought for our freedom and stuff (bc we were repeatedly colonized & even split into 2 halves, until 1975 when we finally united as 1 country — and that's like, 45 years ago. barely any time ago in history time). and, i get it. maybe it's just me. maybe my grandma won't be offended if she hears those jokes. but, regardless, i hope this helps ppl understand why "vn war flashbacks" may not be such a great thing to say, often so casually. you haven't even lived thru that war, or maybe even understand our history etc etc. so don't use it as a joke, is what i'm trying to get across.

another thing abt this is that even nowadays, when vn is becoming more developed n stuff, there are still ppl who thinks we're a dirt-poor country still plagued by war. the (mis)belief that asian countries are still very underdeveloped and "primitive" is so wrong and kinda racist. like, yeah, (i can't and won't really speak for other countries but) it's true that vn is still a developing country. but that doesn't mean u can just use your racist lens to view us and any other kind of "minority," and assume we're all the same and all backwards!! (i suck at explaining shit like this, so bear w me pls.) so ofc a meme that reinforces this stereotype is just gna make me mad. (like imagine if you're from an alr a relatively-unknown country, and then everything ppl know abt it is "hahaaa u guys have a war" "lmaoo poor u u must be so lucky to be able to get out/travel etc" like bruh??? fuck that bs)

anyway, what i'm getting to tho, is that for vn in particular, due to the vietnam war mostly, and then french colonialism and stuff, a lot of people now still believe we are at war & undeveloped. and i hate that. in my opinion, it's not just a problem caused by other ppl's (by this i mean non-viets) ignorance and racism, but also sometimes by viets ourselves. one thing in particular that bothers me is vietnamese literature. there are a lot of great books about the french & american wars. (even my fav viet book, "tuổi thơ dữ dội," is about war during the french colonialism period.) but then that's it!! and that's not helping us is it? if you want ppl to start viewing u in a different way, u gotta put out a different image. sometimes, i really wonder why my country is still so obsessed w the past & past tragedies. i understand that may sound ignorant & entitled (after all, we attained our independence not long ago, plus i've never experienced war or anything similar to be able to say "no, my country does not need things that helps it deal w memories of a turbulent past") but like. bruh. i'm sorry i guess i'm just young and tired.

yea anyway thoe sometimes in vietnam i see restaurants named "indochine" and deadass saw one named "colonial" today and i'm like,,,,, am i supposed to admire shit like this or sth?? bc i can't, not rl.

that's all. thank u for reading!! hopefully u got sth out of this short rant hdjsghdhs 🥺🙏

edit:

another good argument as to why you shouldn't use the phrase is bc of how specific it is. idk if this makes me sound like a hypocrite, plus regardless of intention war jokes can still be hurtful bc wars are inherently very traumatizing & should not be viewed lightly (as is with everything else ppl say really, sometimes something that wouldn't matter to u may hurt others badly bc they've had different experiences), but i will still bring it up. the fact that in the joke you're throwing around a country's name so casually can be very hurtful to both its people and the country's image. good cases have been raised as to why the name "vietnam war" (as the war is referred to everywhere in the world except for in vietnam) is actually racist & has elements of victim-blaming, but i'm not gna go into that rn. what i'm saying tho, is that by being so specific, you're spreading harmful stereotypes about that country, and contributing to the preexisting misconceptions i mentioned above.

so, uh. in summary, try your best to be mindful of what you say. everybody has a certain degree of tolerance, and everybody can take jokes up to a certain point, but that's not an invitation for you to be ignorant &/or insensitive. and in this specific case, don't use a specific country/people/entity's past to try and be funny, especially when you don't understand it.