Cultural Differences

dreamcatcher27371
Registered User
Posts: 5
(6/6/01 10:04:27 pm)
| Del All Cultural Differences
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A Vietnamese cultural expression of friendship and closeness that was particularly hard for me to become comfortable with was that of two men friends holding hands when they were walking somewhere in public. I heard many US G.I.s refer to Vietnamese men as "faggots" when they saw them holding hands in public. This resulted from pure ignorance of the culture and the practice had absolutely
nothing to do with sexuality. The practice of same sexes holding hands was common but a couple of the opposite sex holding hands in public was a cultural no-no.

We were informed of this practice during our pre-deployment training phase but when I was actually in a situation where it occurred, I was really self-conscious.

My counterpart, a VNN Senior Chief, and I were going out for a couple of beers in Cho Lon. As we walked along the street, Hoi reached down and took hold of my hand and continued walking and talking as if everything was just great. I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying because here I was, walking down the street, holding hands with another man! God! I knew every American that saw us strolling along hand in hand were saying "Hey, look at the faggots!" I remembered that we were taught this custom but at the time that didn't help much. I was very relieved when Hoi dropped my hand and started into one of his favorite bars.

Eventually, I became accustomed to the practice and got to the point where I would grab Hoi's hand when we started down the streets. It was a bond of friendship; Hoi was proud to be seen with his American friend and I was proud to be holding the hand of my Vietnamese brother.

The fact that Hoi was a martial arts instructor for the VNN was assurance that anyone giving us a hard time about holding hands would get a quick lesson in Vietnamese Customs.



LarryJK
Senior Chief Moderator III
Posts: 101
(6/6/01 10:26:23 pm)
| Del Re: Cultural Differences
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On convoy through Saigon particularly, we would see Viets walking with their arms around each other. Took some getting use to seeing things like that.

homer4
Moderator
Posts: 830
(6/7/01 1:16:55 pm)
| Del Re: Cultural Differences
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Yes!!!,we round eyes could and were crass to put it lightly...ignorant and cruel more honestly with this custom.
...and two hard boiled eggs.

106RR196LIB
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 128
(6/7/01 3:20:58 pm)
| Del Re: Cultural Differences
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I noticed this habit when I was near the villagers. I asked about it when I first saw it. We were down in the village and we asked about the gay people. A friend of ours in the village said they were not gay but just friends. There was a little confusion when they went to get a real gay person to show us. It was a language problem - they thought we were looking for a gay prostitute or someone male who would have sex with a GI! WHOOOOOPS!
When the S Viets draft people for military service they surround the village at dawn. At daybreak, everyone is ordered into the street and a house to house search ensues. Gay people are exempt and nobody tries to fake it. They are brutally abused if they claim to be gay. (you know how)Cretins are also exempt. There is much crying and begging. Bribes are accepted openly. The wealthy are notified in advance to be out of the village on draft day. The draft is remarkably like our own system. There are differences and similarities in our cultures.
Mike H