First day off in a while. Not quite sure what I should do with my time. Probably start working more on the Java studies. I've been slacking severely on it, with the excuse of work and being tired helping me put off the whole endeavor. I really shouldn't. When I wake up then!
I enjoy talking about Vietnamese history. It's interesting to me to know more about the motherland, and understand how things came to be. I like learning about Ho Chi Minh, and how he and the United States government interacted with one another over the decades. Personally, while I don't particularly agree with what he did, I can understand why Ho did what he did, and I do rag on the US a bit for the missteps.
That doesn't mean I enjoy communists and communism. There's a very big reason why my family immigrated to the United States after the fall of Saigon. We didn't come over because we liked the weather any better. We didn't come over because we heard that disco was pretty swell. We fled. Family members died during the war, communist reeducation camps were sprouting up, and my family had ties to the wrong side come 1975. A lot of families had to flee in the wake of American withdrawal and communist takeover. A lot of families, mine included, had to take to boats that weren't sea-worthy, and brave dangerous, shark-infested waters. They had to deal with pirates, and while my family was fortunate enough to only lose some money, many others suffered much worse fates. They were made to stay in refugee camps in neighboring countries, before finally being shipped to America. It's a fairly common story for a large portion of the Vietnamese population that came over during the 70's.
So, I'm going to get mad if there's any insinuation at all that there's red in my wool, my family's wool, or anywhere close to the bloodline. Frankly, even just asking whether or not I had any red family members is MORE than enough to set me off. I don't care if it was an honest to God question with only the best of intentions behind it. Know your damn history, and just don't ASK those questions. It's basic. Vietnam War ends. Communists win. All of a sudden, there's a flood of Viets in America. Hurr.
But even if you decide to ask me that question, if you hear me get mad, REALLY mad, drop the fucking subject. I don't care if you apologize, I don't care if you don't, it doesn't fucking matter. I'm just mad, it'll be okay. But when I say to you "You DON'T ask a person from a communist country if they have communist family members", I'm NOT asking you to try and undermine my statement by turning to a Chinese friend and asking them if they're communist. Their humorous response makes you feel all the more confident that you're in the clear and that it's perfectly awesome and fun to ask me if my family, MY family who lost people, who went through all this shit because of communism, that it's perfectly fine to ask me that STUPID question.
WHY. You KNOW me well enough, or at least I HONESTLY HOPE YOU DO, to know when I'm mad. WHY DO YOU PUSH THE ISSUE. BECAUSE YOU FEEL BUTT-HURT THAT I'M YELLING AT YOU? BECAUSE YOU THINK I'M BEING UNREASONABLE? YOU THINK THAT BECAUSE A FRIEND SAYS IT'S OKAY TO ASK THAT QUESTION THAT IT'S OKAY TO ASK ME? KNOW YOUR FUCKING AUDIENCE.
You don't know my family background. That's fair. You were curious. Fine. Is it unreasonable that I get mad? Yes, because I should just be able to explain my dislike of the conversation in a calm and considerate tone. But why do you insist on pushing the issue, knowing how mad I am? Why do you ALWAYS insist on trolling?
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