Freewrite

The 1000 years celebration of the founding of Hanoi was an interesting time for me as a political science and history student. The rabid Vietnamese nationalism that the UC students and others aligned with imperialism expected to see was not nearly as prevalent as predicted. This did not surprise me because the WWII-era Asian nationalism and anti-Western imperialism that served to combat the spread of the capitalist-imperialist system has been largely sidelined as Asia integrates into the global capitalist-imperialist system. What remains is not a cultural pride and hatred for vulgar uncultured philistine Western Liberal hedonism; rather the nationalism that I see is a crude form of racial chauvinism. It makes sense to me that this would be the case among Vietnamese who want to emulate Western culture, politics, economy, etc. So to conclude, my experience with the 1000 years celebration was in part a lesson in (or more accurately a confirmation of what I already knew about) Western cultural imperialism.

My unapproachable political-philosophical musing aside, I had a great time during the 10 day celebration. Walking around Ho Hoan Kiem at night was a remarkable experience. The lights, people, and music contributed to an atmosphere of positive energy and good will. The food festival at the Ho Tay waterpark was equally enjoyable for me, despite the fact that there was very little vegetarian food for me to eat. I went to the festival two days in a row because I enjoyed it so much. I was really happy when a grizzled American War veteran grabbed my shoulder, pointed, and said in a low, powerful voice “get out”. After he repeated himself a couple times and I began to understand what he was feeling, I smiled and said I agreed with his sentiment. It’s so sad for me to see all the revolutionary ideals that his generation fought and died to protect sold out by the comprador and national bourgeoisie. This old man’s generation may have sent the imperialists home in body bags, but the imperialist system eventually won out. I feel like crying when think about this great comrade’s life. He was a true patriot and genuine human being. The generations that followed and sold Vietnam out to the West are traitors to the spirit of anti-imperialism and national liberation. They are traitors to their culture and to their ancestors. While I was happy to see a comrade in person, the reality of the global situation caused it to be a moment underscored by sorrow for me.

Lastly, I want to say that I was really annoyed by the negative attitudes that the UC students displayed toward the celebration, granted I wouldn’t expect them to behave any other way. For imperialist citizens to say such things on Vietnamese soil really ticks me off.