a dying colonialism
i recently read a book called a dying colonialism, by frantz fanon. he was an algerian, involved in the war for independence from the french, on the side of the algerians. it's a must read by anyone interested in how occupied peoples fight their occupiers and the psychology of being occupied. the book states that the occupied fight through a war of attrition, knowing that eventually, their occupier will run out of steam. this tactic has never failed and never will. terrorism is a huge part of this. terrorism is used by all entities who don't posses the means to fight their enemy on a level playing field. it is a tool that has been used in every modern war, including the american revolutionary and civil wars and jewish fight against the british for control of israel.
in the book mr. fanon stresses a seemingly trivial facet of the algerian war. the french, being notoriously secular, attempted to forcefully "liberate" the female population from the religious confines of islam by making them discard their headscarves. these women, while having the desire to be liberated saw the occupation as something much more distasteful. so instead they wore their headscarves out of defiance and the scarves became a symbol of the resistance to colonial rule. they were so unhappy about being occupied that a symbol of their subservience, which they disdained became a rallying cry and a source of nationalist pride.
let's look at the 1980s made for television movie red dawn. it was an anti-communist propaganda piece made during the cold war to pose the question, what if the "evil empire" - the soviet union invaded the united states? it was a laughable look into the psyche of cold war hawks at the height of the reagan era. the americans in the movie did whatever it took to rid themselves of their occupiers. they fought tooth and nail, even to the death for their belief in the restoration of "america". these are the same americans who shop at lowes and walmart and eat at perkins. the same americans whose passions in life never go beyond football and nasscar. the same americans who rolled over and played dead when george bush quite literally stole the presidency from al gore. the same americans who can't be bothered to vote out of laziness. they put everything on the line for their unwavering belief in the restoration of good, old fashioned american "freedom" on the tv. americans have no concept of what it's like to be an occupied country - with the exception of native americans, of course. it is nothing short of humiliating. only through their televisions could they come anywhere near comprehending.
vietnam was a country that had been occupied by the chinese for a thousand years. eventually the french took over, only to lose it to the japanese during the second world war. after the war, the french were eager to regain control of their chunk of southeast asia. however at this time, vietnam and a host of other countries decided it was time to cast away their colonial masters and the soviet union took full advantage of this timely situation. countries all over africa, south america and southeast asia sought independence and the soviets were more than willing to lend a hand, much to the united states' dismay.
after the war, ho chi minh asked the united states for recognition and support for an independent vietnam, even attempting to stoke the emotions of the americans by citing the declaration of independence, but was snubbed. realizing that "now is time" for his country to seek it's independence, he then sought help from the soviet union and the newly installed communist regime in china, who gladly gave him their support. he didn't care who gave him the tools necessary to gain the country's freedom, only to have them. if the united states would have supported his bid for independence, vietnam would have been a footnote in history, another place mid-westerners couldn't find on on a map, but instead turned into a situation that nearly tore the country apart.
france, still reeling from it's humiliating loss of algeria was desperate to control it's last remaining colonial territories. during it's attempt to control vietnam, france lost more soldiers in vietnam than did the americans in their involvement. at some point, they realized that they would not be able to keep hold. the united states, in the height of it's anti-communist phase, decided to take over the conflict and the french made their exit. the u.s. government made the case for it's occupation of vietnam in a nicely wrapped package, in the form of an analogy. the countries of the world were a series of dominos, with south vietnam being the first in line. once south vietnam fell to the communist threat from the north, the rest of the "free" world was sure to follow.
how ironic is it that the very country whose declaration of independence and shedding of their colonial masters had inspired ho chi minh to freedom was now occupying their own country?
the united states along with an earlier version of a "coalition of the willing", which included australia, spent billions of dollars and sent hundreds of thousands of fresh faced boys to put an end to the communist threat. tens of thousands were killed. those who survived suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, preventing them from ever having any semblance of a normal life. countless sums of money were spent. an entire country's environment destroyed. families were torn apart, bad, bad, bad, etc.
eventually, the united states, as had happened with the french before them, ran out of steam. the vietnamese had defeated the greatest military power on the face of the earth, badly.
the united states fled with it's tail between it's legs and left that part of the world to it's own devices. so, for about 30 years vietnam has finally been in full control of it's own destiny, able to evolve on it's own and grow as a society and decide it's own future, unhindered, for the first time in over a thousand years and look what's happened. it has become a capitalist's wet dream. corporations are falling over themselves to take advantage of massive amounts of cheap, submissive labor and the country is more than willing to be a player in the globalization game.
vietnam, the lynchpin of the free world fell to the communists, only to evolve into exactly what the united states wanted it to be in the first place - a subservient capitalism and adopter of globalization. was the free world ever in any sort of peril after the "fall" of saigon? no. did all the dominos fall and the rest of the world succumb to the appeal of communism? no. was the vietnam war was a complete waste? yes. all those people killed, on both sides, all that damage, money, etc. and now nike makes it's shoes there.
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