Asian American Views On The War (1972)

ASIAN AMERICAN V I E w s ON I M E \ A/ A R

Brandeis Asian American Student Assoc,

A

As A s i a n p e o p l e l i v i n g i n t h i s c o u n t r y , we f i n d i t n e c e s s a r y , a t t h i s moment o f a n t i - w a r a c t i v i t y a n d i n a c t i v i t y , t o p r e s e n t some of our views concerning the Indo-Chinese war, perspectives generally neglected by the present movement.

We f e e l v e r y s t r o n g l y t h a t U . S .

involvement in Vietnam, both military and political

is an imperi­

a l i s t and racist involvement, in keeping with America's inhumane p o l i c i e s a n d t h a t i t m u s t b e r e c o g n i z e d anci o p p o s e d o n t h i s b a s i s .

Our own e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , r a c i s t m a n i p u l a t i o n , a n d particularly with the denial of the existence of racism against Asians in America magnifies our concern with the present struggle.

Imperialism i s the stage of capitalist development during which the wealtn of a strong nation state depends upon the exploitation of other nations and nation states.

I t is characterized by military

intervention or conquest, puppet regimes, brutal exploitation of "native" labor and above a l l by a pervasive racism that degrades and s t r i p s o f a l l human d i g n i t y t h e p e o p l e o f t h e o p p r e s s e d n a t i o n .

The American Empire i s vast and diverse, ranging from colonies like Puerto Rico and accessible fuel reserves like Iran to rich f r u i t areas like Guatemala to nations that serve as l i t t l e more than American brothels. part of

They a l l h a v e t h i n g s i n common — t h e y a r e

the Third World, their peoples are colored and they are

now f i g h t i n g b a c k f o r n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n .

Clerely Vietnam i s a cornerstone of t h i s empire.

T h i s i s why

t h e U . S . h a s e x p e n d e d s o much e f f o r t i n c r u s h i n g t h e movement for national liberation, beyond perhaps the tangible economic benefits to be reaped fror: natural resouces and cheap colored

labor.

R a t h e r t h a n a l l o w V i e t n a m t o become a n i n s p i r a t i o n t o o t h e r c o l o n i z e d

p e o p l e , t n e U . S . t r i e d t o make i t a n e x a m p l e t o n a t i o n s t h a t m i g h t c o n s i d e r opposing American interests.

The military, p o l i t i c a l , economic, and cultural presence of the U.S. in Indochina i s clearly an attempt to impose American interests on the Vietnamese people.

T h e U . S . ' s d e n i a l o f V i e t n a m ' s r i g h t t o d e t e r m i n e i t s own

political and economic structure has been backed by ten years of genocidal bombing, biological warfare, and armed troop intervention; by the forced migration of thousands of Vietnamese people into 'pacified" areas; and by political maneuverings to establish an American controlled 'popular'' government.

Imperialism, in a l l i t s forms, Is fundamentally a racist policy.

I t subjugates the interests and wealth of one nation to those of another.

But imperialism involves not only exploitation but an exploitation facilitated by the imposition of one culture upon another.

Almost without exception,

the culture imposed has been Western European and the race white.

People

who a r e c o n s i d e r e d a n d b e g i n t o c o n s i d e r t h e m s e l v e s r a c i a l l y a n d c u l t u r a l l y i n f e r i o r become d e m o r a l i z e d a n d a r e e a s i e r t o c o n t r o l a n d e x p l o i t t h a n a proud and angry people.

The Vietnamese, however, a f t e r almost a century

of imperial brutalization, are s t i l l a proud and angry people.

The Vietnamese people's refusal to accept an inferior s t a t u s , their refusal to relinquish their right to self-determination led the U.S. to military invasion in an attempt to prop up the f i r s t domino which i s r e a d y t o f a l l , n o t t o S o v i e t o r C h i n e s e d i r e c t e d Communism, b u t t o a movement t h a t s e e k s t o r e s t o r e human d i g n i t y t o

all Third World people.

America's presence in Vietnam is itself a racist imposition of U.S. will on Asian people.

But the U.S. has gone far beyond the

attempt to direct the policies of an Asian nation.

The dehumaniza-

tion process of Asian people in the eyes of their oppressor has been facilitated by the use of such terms as 'the enemy, or "Cong," in the place or as ''Asian lives been raised.

the Vietnamese people.'

•'gook,1'

Slogans such

cheap1 ard "Asians • pe-.rj like vermin, ' have

The formula used on the oppressed is a physical one.

The air war is causing far more civilian than military casualties.

Bombing has destroyed the lar.d#of Vietnam so that the Land pro­ duces malaria and chemical poisons rather than food. tinues to use outlawed anti-personnel bombs.

The U.S. con­

However, unable to

couirol the people of Vietnam, the U.S. has decided to destroy them altogether.

After alt, Asian lives are cheap.

But the Vietnamese have refuted this claim by fighting and living and providing the entire Third World with inspiration and pride.

The American way as it has ev&lved has bacome a reactionary

way that goes against all that is decent, hopeful, unselfish, and ethical among human values.

The American way is a dead way.

This,

too, the Vietnamese have taught us.

In this country we, like our Black, Brown, and Red sisters and brothers, are engaged in a struggle for liberation from the same r". < ?

i,>r,

linpvia i

P

^bfond.

Historically,

we have been dehumanized, enslaved flnd s iaitghmrcd. continues.

While lands in Asia, as in Africa and Latin America,

are turned into American military bases, our communities in the U.S. are quickly being appropriated by the government and by the greedy

c a p i t a l i s t c o r p o r a t i o n s w h i c h s u p p o r t iv.

f o r t h e i r own p r o f i t .

In our Asian

c o m m u n i t i e s , t h e H o l i d a y I n n h a s i n v a d e d S . F . C h i n a t o w n ; B e l l T e l e p h o n e Company h a s p u s h e d i n t o N . Y . , T u f t s Mew E n g l a n d M e d i c a l C e n t e r c o n t i n u e s t o p r e y o n Boston Chinatown, "redevelopment plans' remains of S.F. Manilatown.

threaten to evict Filipinos from what

These aggressors steal our lands without regard

for our people's welfare â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they use dollars instead of bullets, but their policies are the same.

Just as American economic imperialism i s exploiting the ' cheap ' labor and natural resources overseas, "cheap " ghetto labor i s used in garment factories which cheat the people of fair wages; offices hire Asian cleaning m a i d s f o r v i r t u a l l y n o t h i n g , : a n d t h e U . S . Wavy d e g r a d e s o u r F i l i p i n o b r o t h e r s b y m a k i n g them s e r v i l e o r d e r l i e s ,

S h o d d y w a r e a r e dumped i n t o T h i r d World

ghettos at prices higher than elsewhere. like those abroad, are colonized.

T h u s we a n d o u r T h i r d World c o m r a d e s ,

We a r e b o t h u s e d a s a s o u r c e o f manpower

and as a "good market" by oppressive corporations.

Through the mass media, educational systems, and literature of this coun­ t r y , we a r e t o l d o f t h e m e n t a l , p h y s i c a l , a n d s p i r i t u a l s u p e r i o r i t y o f t h o s e who o p p r e s s u s .

Our o p p r e s s o r s h a v e d e n i e d u s t h e p r i d e a n d t h e s t r e n g t h w h i c h

c a n come w i t h a t r u e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e c o u n t r i e s a n d t h e h i s t o r i e s o f o u r origins.

Instead, they have seen i t f i t to assign us roles in their history.

A s i a n s , f o r e x a m p l e , when p o r t r a y e d a t a l l , a r e s e e n a s t r e a c h e r o u s v i l l a i n s , barbarous assigned be

their

benefits

killers, us

"natural

cooks, from

or

buck-toothed roles'

laundrymen,

"our"

in and

government,

houseboys.

their

Our

society.

gardeners. hospitals,

oppressors

They a l l o w In order and

to

insti-

us gain

have to

t u t i o n s , we must f i r s t beg f o r a t t e n t i o n and then t o l e r a t e s n i d e i n q u i r e s intq^very f a c e t of our l i v e s , The FBI makes our people l i v e i n f e a r w i t h t h e c o n s t a n t r e ­ minder t h a t because we look l i k e t h e enemy, t h e y c o n s i d e r us a po­ t e n t i a l enemy i n need of s u r v e i l l a n c e ard c o n t r o l .

In m i l i t a r y

t r a i n i n g c e n t e r s , Asian-American d r a f t e e s a r e s u b j e c t e d t o use a s p r a c t i c e t a r g e t s s o t h a t G . I . ' s can b e g i n t o form t h e r e f l e x i v e l i n k between an A s i a n f a c e and p u l l i n g t h e t r i g g e r .

Thus a s long a s t h e Vietnamese people a r e c o n s i d e r e d gooks, we t o o a r e g o o k s .

Their s t r u g g l e i s our s t r u g g l e .

Our common

t a s k i s t o work a g a i n s t i m p e r i a l i s m .

Here we o f f e r some r e f l e c t i o n s on t h e s o - c a l l e d ' a n t i - w a r ' or"peace" movement.

Those whose primary c o n c e r n i i s w i t h American l i v e s and Ameri­ can economic l o s s nave taken a r a c i s t and n a t i o n a l c h a u v i n i s t p o s i ­ tion.

We must r e j e c t t h i s s t a n d s i n c e i t d o e s n o t speak a t a l l t o

t h e s l a u g h t e r of A s i a n s .

However, a p o s i t i o n based s o l e l y on c e a s i n g t h e murder of Asians only begins to deal with the situation.

I t does n o t r a i s e

t h e c r y a g a i n s t imperialism a l t h o u g h i t does decry r a c i s m . p e r i a l i s t i m p o s i t i o n 0 i s , by n a t u r e , a r a c i s t a c t .

\ •

Im­

Imperialism

u s e s r a c i s m t o f a c i l i t a t e both e x p l o i t a t i o n and e x t e r m i n a t i o n ,

The

o n l y n o n - r a c i s t p o s i t i o n i s t o advocate t h e r i g h t of t h e Vietnamese people t o s e l f - d e t e r m i n a t i o n 1 I f we e x p l o r e a l l t h e p o s s i b l e ways of o b t a i n i n g "peace" i n Vietnam, we a r r i v e a t t h r e e p o s s i b i l i t i e s :

f i r s t i s F i x o n ' s peace,

i . e o , an American v i c t o r y i n and t h e subsequent d i r e c t o r i n d i r e c t c o n t r o l of Vietnam; second i s a mutual l a y i n g down of arms; t h i r d

is supporting the Vietnamese struggle for self-determinism.

Nixon's peace we can reject, without further consideration.

It

is an imperialist peace., a peace attained after the consolidation of the American Empire.

Those who caxl for a cessation of fighting-, who call for sides'

'both

Co lay down their arras arte negotiat- a settlement assumes that

the J.S. has a right tc negotiate or even to have an input into the affairs of

the Vietnamese people.

to intervene.

It is-uT.es tha'

the -J-S

This "right 1 is th< "right' of imperialism.

reflects naivete and a lack of historical knowledge.

has a right It also

Its advocates forget

that a cessation of fighting and a negotiated settlement were reached in 1954 with the Geneva Accords.

It was an agreement that went against the

interests of the Empire and consequently the U.S. disregarded it, suspended ejections, set up a puppet regime and finally intervened with military force This hisuoricdJ^exaiaple shows us that imperialism recognizes no negotiated .-egreements, no concepts of fairness or justice and seeks only to maintain its own interests with brutal genocidal force.

Those pacifists, moralists and humanists who appeal to the government to end the war because it is morally wrong are equally naive.

They make an appeal to a force that knows no morality, a force

that has a single goal, to consolidate the empire.

They are deceived

by the many faces of imperialism known by such names as "white man's burden, and "making the world safe for democracy."

They believe in the good

intentions of this force and feei that one only needs to redirect, it by showing how it has deviated from its true

oal.

History shows us that

empires retreat not because they have viola Led morality, but because they were forced by economic

fnd military pressures to do .o,

Britain die rot withdraw from

India because it recognized its immorality but because it was economically, militarily impossible to remain. will not end imperialist Tars

Ideas and-appeals

material force must be countered

with material force.

TJhat does

i*~

only one approach

mean, then to oppose imperialist wars?

There is

and that is to assert in whatever way possible

the right of the oppresseo people to self-determination.

Toi- means

that the U.S. must withdraw all troops and war material from. South­ east Asia.

It must end political and economic support for the re­

gimes of Thieu, Lon Nol, and Souvana Phouma.

It also means that the

U.S, must not supervise or force ''fair" elections upon the people, or enter into any negotiations either as a party or as a mediator.

Only in this way can peace be achieved, for as long as certain human forces in this world attempt to take from the people what is Liioir.^ ho it- nflfi onhood, food, clothing, shelter, or dignity, there will always be wars.

The only way to end the war in Vietnam

to strive for the defeat ol imperialism.

Acknowledgement:

"A3ians and the War" Asian Political Alliance, Detroit

1972

is