What's In a Name?: In Conversation with Councilwoman Madison Nguyen
It started the afternoon I drove by San Jose City Hall with my grandfather in the passenger seat shaking his head in disapproval as we passed Ly Tong holding a hunger strike for the naming of a one-mile stretch of land on Story Road. The protestors marched in circles outside Councilwoman Madison Nguyen’s office chanting, “We want Little Saigon!” At the time, it never occurred to me that this uprising over the name of a street was just a small manifestation of a larger struggle for democracy that the Vietnamese-American community has been fighting since the loss of Saigon to communism. The largest turning point in my research occurred when I ventured down to City Hall myself to sit down and converse with Madison Nguyen about the seemingly small issue that has threatened her job and taken over her life in the last year. Like many other Americans, I wanted to know, “What was the real issue? Who is fighting whom?” Because I could not include the entirety of the interview in my research paper, below I have outlined some of the most poignant quotes from our conversation.
Filial Piety and Obligation
“One of the unfortunate things that happened with this controversy, which is very sad to me is that, we, meaning me, have a lot of supporters but they’re afraid to speak up. They become the silent majority. Speak your mind, it’s a new era. This is why we came to America because we have freedom of speech here. Nobody is going to condemn you for the things you say. Even young folks, I thought they’re past that, but they have certain bonds, certain ties to they’re family. So its understandable, if you live in a family where both your parents are like no, Little Saigon is the name, you know, and you’re thinking no, I think Madison has a point. Are you willing to risk your relationship just to protect me? Probably not.”
“This is a cultural ideology that we’re changing here, a social phenomenon that’s happening in the Vietnamese community in the last thirty years. For the first time, it’s getting so much attention because a public elected official actually stood up and said this is not right. This is not anything new to me. It’s happening in the last thirty years.”
Political Growing Pains of Ethnic Communities
“It happens in all ethnic communities…because we’ve only been here for the past thirty years plus, we have not encountered the true democracy here in America. I don’t think people understand what it means to have certain rights as a citizen, like freedom of speech. I don’t think they understand that because the old rhetoric and things they experienced in Vietnam still linger there. For the older generation, its everything and it builds on who they are.”
“It’s always fighting within the community. It’s always our people taking each other down.
Obviously in this situation right? It’s not about outsiders coming in and saying hey we’re going to imperialize your colony or whatever, its not about that anymore, its about us fighting within. And that’s so dangerous because from the outside they have absolutely no idea what’s going on so there’s no room for mediation. It’s always within, and because we’re such proud people, that our way has to be the only way, the right way.”
Splintering
“Election---people started realizing that the Vietnamese community was a powerful one to be reconciled with. It’s so ironic how the outside looks at our community and sees we’re a growing force, and yet within the community it’s so scattered. It’s dysfunctional to a certain extent. Because of this issue, now the outsiders are starting to look at our community and say yes, this is a dysfunctional community. In the last two and a half years, we propelled ourselves to a certain extent, politically speaking, in terms of political capital, downhill to you know, these people just want to fight themselves.”
Through my personal interview with Councilwoman Madison Nguyen, I began to understand the deeply rooted historical context for the current debate over the naming of the road. The name “Little Saigon” represents grasping on to the refugee identity and the capital of a country that was lost during the war. Those who have not yet moved on from their past, and are instead trying to rebuild their memories in America, hold fast to the ghost of Saigon. On the other hand, those who have decided to start anew in America are ready to leave their bitter losses behind in order to start fresh. Unfortunately, it is those who have not yet acclimated to American culture who are currently attempting to recall Madison for violating democracy during the naming controversy. The question now, remains when will Madison supporters, who she claims are the “silent majority,” finally exercise their right to free speech in support of the councilwoman?
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Posted by: Adrianna Melloy | January 2, 2010 11:21 PM