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If I see another flag of the Republic of the South I’m actually gonna break down 
For context, here’s a pic of the flag. It’s the flag of the Republic of South Vietnam which is still in use by a lot of viet diaspora. Sadly, though it’s suppose to represent freedom and democracy, it is almost always frequently brought into Pro-Trump rallies or anti-BLM protest
I’ma get into a lil discourse cuz this reallly bothers me! Amidst all the injustices going on in the world I think it’s also really important to talk about 1) community and history 2) the connection to complicity with injustices around us.
The flag is old and originates from a period of time where Viet nationalist were trying to unify and free Vietnam from colonial powers like the French and Japanese. The red stripes is the first of the eight Bát Quái trigrams and represents heaven and the South.
It’s symbolism amongst diaspora has a lot to do with ideas about freedom, peace, and democracy especially amongst those who were former boat people and growing up in Cali in the Viet community this flag is pretty much everywhere, emphasized as an important part of heritage.
Now this connects a lot to the political landscape of the Viet community in the states because a lot of these former refugees would go on to be a loyal base for the Republican Party for its strong anti-communist stance which made them feel heard, safe, and somewhat empowered.
A lot of problems in my opinion originate here, with a lot of this new devotion being tied to language barriers, the remaining grip of imperialism on Viet culture and philosophy, as well as proactive efforts to misinform and divide
This devotion to an idea of order, peace, and freedoms tied to access to American citizenship means antagonizing anything that seemingly challenges that new norm; that new sense of security and safety.
For instance movements like BLM or instances of simple voting were met with protest from Viet Americans while brandishing the flag. The flag therefore has become a symbol of the Viet diasporas rejection of many different progressive and equal rights movements going on in America
It’s very sad to see this flag being used to antagonize people fighting for their lives and for safety, freedom, and democracy. It’s a bigger shame because there’s this conflicting view of whether these older generation Viets are victims to post-imperialism or whether
They should be held accountable for making conscious decisions that can harm and impact not only marginalized peoples but the most vulnerable within their own communities; even themselves
