View of Vietnamese Exchange Students as Communists - Research Paper Example

Stereotypical View of Viet se Exchange as Communists Introduction The Vietnam War was the most costly and longest in the history of America. It was a watershed in the United States’ history and it increased and exposed cracks in the country’s social structure (Nichol 21). The involvement of American government in the war was seen as part of the wider containment strategy that aimed at preventing the expansion and eventual takeover of communist in South Vietnam. One of the most notable outcomes of the war, after it ended in April 1975, was inflow of thousands of Vietnamese into America and subsequent migration of some Vietnamese citizens into America in search of education and employment. After the end of the war, the American government accepted thousands of refugees from Vietnam as citizens of the United States (Ferry 18). Before the end of the war, there were only a few thousand Vietnamese living in America, majority of whom were students, spouses of American military personnel, civilians who served in South Vietnam, or Vietnamese diplomatic corps members. As the number of Vietnamese living in America increased, some Americans had stereotypical view of them as communists. In particular, there is a stereotypical view of Vietnamese students as communists. These stereotypes have been fed by anti-communist ideology that continues to persist in many of the America’s learning institutions (Ashwill 13). This paper will discuss the stereotypical view of Vietnamese exchange students as communists. After the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, waves of migration from Vietnam to the United States were witnessed. The number of Vietnamese seeking refuge in America rose considerably over the years. The Orderly Departure Program that was created by the United States and that allowed people who were interviewed and approved by American authorities to migrate to the United States further enhanced immigration into the United States from Vietnam (Parker 14). While Vietnam War-caused instability was the main reason for immigration from Vietnam to the United States, other factors contributed to the migration. When the United States withdrew, the South Vietnamese was toppled by the North Vietnam and the Vietnamese with ties with South Vietnam government had to seek refuge in the America to avoid being oppressed or killed (Ferry 55). Poor economic and political situation in Vietnam caused immigration. The war between China and Vietnam in 1979 further led to immigration. Since the end of the Vietnam War, the United States of America supported South Vietnam and accepted those refugees who had close ties with the American military and South Vietnamese government. Greater social and economic stability greatly contributed to the immigration – it was a major attraction for immigrants to the United States because it presented more and greater opportunities for the Vietnamese (Parker 14). Available data indicate that the Vietnamese are America’s fourth largest minority group. Recent data also indicate that there is increasing number of Vietnamese exchange students in America’s learning institutions, particularly universities and colleges (Lorenzo, Frost and Reinherz 289). Since the America’s involvement in the Vietnam War that was viewed as aimed at preventing expansion of communism, stereotypes emerged regarding Vietnamese people in America, including students. There are various types of stereotypes that are assigned to Vietnamese exchange students and that \ often create conflicts with their peers and cause them emotional distress (Ashwill 13). The main stereotype assigned to Vietnamese exchange student is that they are communists and that they subscribe to communism ideology. Most of them are viewed advocating for communism tendencies even when they are pursuing genuine cause during their studies in various colleges and universities around America (Educational Testing Service para4). Since the Vietnam War was associated with anti-communist ideology, most Vietnam students in exchange programs in America are often perceived as anti-capitalist because of the country of origin. Most American students and students from other Western countries believe that the Vietnamese students may be opposed to the capitalism aspects including free market, competition, market forces determining the prices of goods and services, private ownership of property. The stereotypes are informed by the view that communism is against capitalism ideals and instead advocate for ideals such as communal ownership of property, and state control in the production process, as well as in determining markets (Nichol 79). Stereotypes assigned to the Vietnamese exchange students range from behavior and personality stereotypes, the mannerism and physical appearance stereotypes, socioeconomic status, to educational stereotypes. It is worth noting that these stereotypes are largely associated with communism aspects. In other words, communism breeds certain behavioral, personality, and mannerism attributes just like how capitalism does (Lorenzo, Frost and Reinherz 294). Some behavior and personality stereotypes assert that Vietnamese exchange students are passive, compliant, devious, sly, submissive, obedient, stoic, sneaky, and submissive. They are also said to tend to hang out in groups and condescending to other races. Along with that, the stereotypes assert that Vietnamese students stay with their own race and that they are racists who are not willing to try to be Americans, as they do not wish to mesh with the American culture (Duan and Vu 225). In respect to the mannerism and physical appearance, the stereotypes assert that Vietnamese exchange students are poor communicators, slanted eyes, short, and eyeglass wearing. Stereotypes associated to the socioeconomic status and attitudes towards money are that they are poor, greedy, stingy, and like working in the grocery stores, restaurants, and in dry cleaning as they study (Angela and Yeh para 5). Regarding education, the stereotypes assert that Vietnamese students are nerdy, overachievers, geniuses, uninterested in fun, and are great in science and math (Educational Testing Service para4). Stereotypical view of Vietnamese students as communists not only creates conflicts among peers, it also result to emotional distress among the Vietnamese exchange students (Lorenzo, Frost and Reinherz 299). More worrying is the fact that such stereotyping limits these students’ access to resources and opportunities. Because of stereotypes of Vietnamese exchange students as communists, there are higher levels of distress among these students as they are threatened, excluded from activities, and sometimes called racially abusive names (Ashwill 13). Research on the impact of the stereotypes on students and specifically on Vietnamese exchange students reveal that low and high-achieving students experienced anxiety and this affected their performance. They are unable to perform well in the academics because they feel embarrassed and depressed to seek help from American students and students from other Western countries. A study by Educational Testing Service in the year 1997 established that stereotyping of minorities usually lead to the neglect of the student services’ development and support for many of the exchange students especially from Asia who have low economic status and are undereducated (Educational Testing Service para4). The stereotypical view of Vietnamese exchange students as communists, as well as stereotypes in other regards such as in education and socioeconomic status have raised psychological and social concerns. The stereotypes cause psychological distress to students and they are unable to perform better that they could have without the stereotypes. Besides, they fear to seek help from fellow students particularly those from capitalistic nations (Duan and Vu 225). As a result, some of the Vietnamese students fail in classes but still refuse to seek help for difficulties because they believe that their failure in academics may cause their race or nationality shame or lose face. Since most of them perpetuate their academic problems, they are left feeling depressed and isolated. However, it should be acknowledged that some Vietnamese exchange students excel academically and are not distracted by the stereotypes (Angela and Yeh para8). It is essential to acknowledge and recognize that whether the Vietnamese exchange students are having problems academically or excelling, they experience, social and school stresses to uphold their communists image. Although they performed better academically and recorded fewer delinquent behaviors compared to other students, the Vietnamese exchange students reported more social problems, withdrawn behavior, and depressive symptoms. Besides, they had poorer self-images because of the communism image attached to them. They also reported more dissatisfaction with social support (Lorenzo, Frost and Reinherz 298). Additionally, Vietnamese exchange students have reported experiencing ethnic and racial discrimination by their peers, a situation they largely attribute to the stereotypical view they are communists (Educational Testing Service para7). They demonstrate the psychological and social struggles resulting from the communists’ image, which foster anti-Vietnamese sentiments and discrimination from their peers. Most of them report that American students are mean to them and that they are being laughed at or insulted by classmates and therefore unable to like school or make new friends (Angela and Yeh para7). These students sometimes face physical altercations with peers in social interactions and in school. Hostile school environment and racial tensions may divert Vietnamese exchange students’ focus from their studies to destructive activities or less productive activities (Lorenzo, Frost and Reinherz 303). The psychological and social concerns arising from the stereotypical view of Vietnamese students as communists have prompted the Vietnamese Students Association and the college and university authorities to focus their attention on mitigating the impacts of such views and to try eliminating or significantly reducing the stereotypical view. Efforts have been made to address administrators, teachers, counselors and students’ assumptions about this group (Angela and Yeh para 7). In addition, college administrations, counselors, and teachers have made efforts to understand stereotypical assumptions made against Vietnamese exchange students particularly in respect to communism and figure out how they shape interactions among students, and effectively communicate that they are concerned and that they want to help (Duan and Vu 225). Conclusion It is evidently clear from the discussion that stereotypes about the Vietnamese exchange students are prevalent. In particular, these students are viewed as communists, a situation that has made many of them have difficulty in the school and social life. As has been noted, the stereotypes attached to the Vietnamese exchange students are largely based on the view that they are communists and that most o them have not embraced the capitalist ideals that are norms in the United States. As has been noted, stereotypes assigned to the Vietnamese exchange students range from behavior and personality stereotypes, the mannerism and physical appearance stereotypes, socioeconomic status, to educational stereotypes. Most students believe that communism breeds certain behavioral, personality, and mannerism attributes just like how capitalism does. The stereotypical view of Vietnamese exchange students as communists have raised psychological and social concerns. The stereotypes have caused these students emotional distress and have created conflicts between them and their peers. In some instances, it has limited their access to resources and opportunities. Worse still, the stereotypical view has affected the academic performance of some of the students. Therefore, there is need for such views to be discarded and ensure that the Vietnamese exchange students and other minority group students are not discriminated against based on their economic and political ideologies, race, or nationality. Works Cited Ashwill, Mark A. "Vietnamese Students in America: A Force For Renewal." Chronicle Of Higher Education 48.36 (2002). Angela, Kim and Yeh Christine. Stereotypes of Asian American Students. 2012. Web. 07 Dec, 2012. < http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-4/asian.html> Duan, Changming, and Vu Paul. "Acculturation Of Vietnamese Students Living In Or Away From Vietnamese Communities." Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development 28.4 (2000): 225. Educational Testing Service. Stereotyping shortchanges Asian American students. 1997. Web. 07 Dec, 2012. Ferry, Joseph. Vietnamese Immigration. Philadelphia: Mason Crest Publishers, 2004. Print. Lorenzo, M.K., Frost, A.K., & Reinherz, H.Z. “Social and emotional functioning of older Asian American adolescents.” Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 17.4 (2000), 289-304. Nichol, Bryan. Vietnamese Americans. Checkboard Library, 2004. Print. Parker, Lewis K. Why Vietnamese Immigrants Came to America. New York: PowerKids Press, 2003. Print. Read More