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Why do Vietnamese in Vietnam feel offended and annoyed when overseas Vietnamese criticize Vietnam and Vietnam?

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This question is not so black and white as is implied.

Generally, one can find 4 types:

Viet Kieu that criticize Viet Nam

Viet Kieu that don’t criticize Viet Nam

Domestic Vietnamese that criticize Viet Nam

Domestic Vietnamese who don’t criticize Viet Nam (although this is rare indeed)

Criticism of Viet Nam can be multi-dimensional; Politics, Economics, Social Conditions, Environment…really across all Environments (Legal, Technological, Environmental, Social, Economic and Political; or Even Demographic, Financial)

But generally, the issue behind this question is Government and Political or Legal Issues. But for some can also highly involve Economic or Financial and Social. These intertwine. For example, government policy on education, and the control of it, that holds back entrepreneurship that could help advance the skills of the Vietnamese. Sometimes real issues, far beyond the political for some, with real implications for Vietnams development. Or the degree to which Civil Society organizations can organically form to develop skill-sharing networks across the country to promote best practices in social, agrarian or industrial fields with ability to openly discuss associated issues and promulgate perspectives that can help increase efficiency and proficiency of actors and agents in the society..

But, whether criticism exists, and that there are those that are bothered by it, or not, involves a range of Psychological factors. These would range from beliefs held, true or false, and the range of cognitive and sense-making factors involved in creating and holding a belief.

Aspects of the issue could be jealousy on the one hand, or could be mere wearisome on the other. Some may be jealous of the material prosperity of their foreign-domiciled aunts, uncles and cousins. On the other hand, some may be tired of all the political issues and merely want to see the country develop and prosperity to rise. Some may lament what was taken from their families (those inside and outside the country) and be critical. Some may have moved past and understand that perfect situations are not achievable but one need be more pragmatic abut the situation from today to tomorrow.

The Vietnamese are a remarkably open people. They, unlike many others in Asia, while being vehemently nationalistic, are more culturally open to new ideas and ways. They are far less culturally boxed-in then North East Asians. And they hold, and openly discuss, a wide variety of perspectives. It is how one acts on those ideas that can cause problems.

I have seen disagreements between Viet Kieu over this very issue. Really depends if one is looking at yesterday or tomorrow. But all of them, want a better tomorrow for the homeland of their birth. I suspect that if change ever comes to Viet Nam, that they are a country that can handle the transition well as they maintain individuality and a spirit for a sense of a community in a way I find unique regionally/globally.

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Must have some truth to make the Vietnamese in Vietnam to feel offended and annoyed. Otherwise, they would laughed at and ignored the criticisms.

I wonder why the overseas Vietnamese bother to look back at the HORRIBLE place where the leaders and many followers never had the morals of ruling the oppressed people?! I am only happy that I was lucky to be a Boat People to escape out of the horrible country.

The US and foreigners never wanted to recognize the ugliness of dropping the ally Republic Vietnam (South Vietnam) to let it got destroyed by the bloody dictatorship communist regime! They behave like the former enemy VC and Vietnamese communist party to conveniently just FORGET the immoral past!

No Vietnamese inside or outside can make difference in contributing to the country without being compromised by following the evil dictatorship communist systems. Your hands are dirty when you play with dirty people! You have to be blind with morals when you are the front seat driver who can pay $3,000 to get away with a dead accident. Please don’t ask for proofs!

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It’s like a backseat driver. If you think things could be done better, then get over here and do something about it. It’s easy to point out problems from 10000 km away.

A lot of the criticism is not fact based because they aren’t actually here and just gossip about things they think might be happening, if you are actually here you see things are different and most of the criticism is unwarranted.

Certain criticisms can be boiled down to “Democracy good! Communism bad!” As the US has become a plague-infested crime-ridden burning dystopian nightmare, this is becoming less and less fact-based and more and more an opinion unsupported by the facts.

A lot of the criticism for 2 & 3 has to do with continued hatred of the losing side of the Vietnam war against the winning side, and no matter of evidence is going to change their minds because they can’t bring themselves to admit that “the enemy” could get anything right. Vietnam has a lot of things to criticize about that it is reasonable to criticize about. Obvious things like corruption, embezzlement, red tape, poor public health care, poor environmental standards. Other things are really amazing compared to certain developed countries, how safe the country is, how fast the internet and the investment in public infrastructure, worker protections, speed of development, how reactive the government is to public opinion etc. Usually the criticism from overseas Vietnamese doesn’t highlight real problems and ignores things that are being done right. So it just feels off and ignorant.

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