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Vietnamese Charactersistics

Gullibility, timidity, apathy - I can see how this three legged stool would
help the French conquer Vietnam...
Wasn't there also quite a large technological difference
between French military equipment and Vietnamese military equipment about 1870,
(was that when the French conquest happened?  I remember being told French rule
lasted 85 years, and I know it ended in 1954.)
Perhaps the three legged stool can explain the loss by the south of the ever
escalating conflict with the north between 1954 and 1975.  
How does it fit into the success of the north?

Observations of my Vietnamese friends in the US: I find most of them
are driven by a goal, which they pursue with dogged determination, more than
most of my other friends.    The goal may be starting a
business, in which case they will work 2 jobs to get enough money to start.
The goal may be becoming an engineer, in which case, if school doesn't go
well, they'll withdraw for a while and then try again.  Or the goal may be
to become a doctor, and if that doesn't work, they'll try another profession.
There are setbacks, but they don't give up, they will try other routes to
other careers if they encounter too much resistance, and their goals are
high.  They're often unavailable for social events because of these goals.

Another characteristic:  My Vietnamese friends are more connected to their
families than I am to mine.  Their parents have more influence than mine did.
Parents are still running the job and educational choices of some of my friends
who are in their twenties.  My friends are fairly often unavailable because
they have to help a brother or a sister renovate a house, or help out in a
relative's restaurant.

A third characteristic:  My Vietnamese friends are much more interested in 
consumer "stuff" than I am.  They all have very large televisions, and
karaoke machines, and laser-disks, and comparatively luxurious cars.  I am
amazed at
the land-office business the local Vietnamese video-rental place does.  People
rent 10 or 25 tape kung-fu series and watch the whole set in a week's time...

Mark in Minneapolis
 


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