Also, the parallels between Nixon and Trump are so stark, except that Nixon was better at it because he wasn't, to quote our Secretary of State, a fucking moron.
I just started Episode 9 (sorry to revive this old thread, but I need to discuss with people and H isnt watching with me). What I really never understood was the antiwar protesters' hatred of the troops who came home, especially those who were drafted. Of course, there were some horrific atrocities committed, like the My Lai Massacre, but it seems that in general, they were scared young men (and some women as nurses, which was also so interesting and I had never heard!) just trying to survive and get home. It really bothers me.
Also Nixon reminds me so much of Trump, just sneakier in his shadiness.
And McCain's video struck me so much, I think because I "know" him and know how his life went afterwards and how the Orange Turd treated his service
this is why the Vietnam Women's Memorial (adjacent to the Wall on The Mall) is so important. women vets raised the money themselves for it. when i saw it in DC in 2010, i bawled .. such brave women who weren't even a footnote in history had to fight for a memorial recognizing their contributions.
thanks to school being closed bc of wildfires in NorCal, i get to catch up ... on episode 4 now
I only caught 3 episodes, but I thought they were good.
*spoiler, kind of*
I was kind of disappointed with the ending. It seemed to suddenly end but didn't really give any history of Vietnam post-war. But in the first episode he went into depth into a lot of the history of that country leading up to the war.
It kind of felt like the last episode didn't have proper closure but had a rushed ending.
FWIW though, I liked the episodes that I was able to catch.
I just started Episode 9 (sorry to revive this old thread, but I need to discuss with people and H isnt watching with me). What I really never understood was the antiwar protesters' hatred of the troops who came home, especially those who were drafted. Of course, there were some horrific atrocities committed, like the My Lai Massacre, but it seems that in general, they were scared young men (and some women as nurses, which was also so interesting and I had never heard!) just trying to survive and get home. It really bothers me.
Also Nixon reminds me so much of Trump, just sneakier in his shadiness.
And McCain's video struck me so much, I think because I "know" him and know how his life went afterwards and how the Orange Turd treated his service
I have met many Americans who thought it was easy to dodge the draft and hence the hate for those serving. It was also the first televised war and most Americans were shocked. My father was poor and white, being drafted gave him an education and a lifelong love for Vietnam (along with a lifetime of PTSD), for him dodging the draft was not an easy option
@emotionalpoet I felt that was an intentional choice to represent the fact that that is what the US did when we got out we acted like it no longer mattered. The vets didn’t talk about it, the US didn’t deal with Vietnam, and so on. Once we left we left totally. It was abrupt and left many on both sides struggling to process and survive in the aftermath.
The end was rushed and had no closure, I thought the directors were maintaining that feeling by presenting the ending the same way.
And I can’t believe that 56% of the country thought the students shot at Kent State deserved it. Blows my fucking my mind
Wasn’t it eerily reminiscent of protests today and the attitude of the public?
As far as protestors, I think that it was things like the mai lai massacre and negative attitudes towards the military. You still see attitudes like that on the far left today.
I only caught 3 episodes, but I thought they were good.
*spoiler, kind of*
I was kind of disappointed with the ending. It seemed to suddenly end but didn't really give any history of Vietnam post-war. But in the first episode he went into depth into a lot of the history of that country leading up to the war.
It kind of felt like the last episode didn't have proper closure but had a rushed ending.
FWIW though, I liked the episodes that I was able to catch.
I would have liked to have heard more about how the war influenced their lives and personal lives.
And I can’t believe that 56% of the country thought the students shot at Kent State deserved it. Blows my fucking my mind
Wasn’t it eerily reminiscent of protests today and the attitude of the public?
As far as protestors, I think that it was things like the mai lai massacre and negative attitudes towards the military. You still see attitudes like that on the far left today.
It's amazing how we often think we're living in such a unique time, and then watch something like this, and, nope, it's really not. This documentary was so incredibly timely, which obviously wasn't planned since it was 10 years in the making, but things like Nixon saying he was too busy watching football to see the hundreds of thousands of protesters, the shady back room dealing, even his campaign secretly getting involved in derailing the peace process before the election! No wonder Trump admires him so much.
Post by redmonkeystomper on Oct 12, 2017 9:24:16 GMT -5
I need to finish watching this, I started it after seeing this thread. My dh was born in Vietnam in 1973. His father was in the service and met and married his mom but then was relocated either to another area or sent home. My mil tells stories of digging holes and putting her babies in them. She lived in South Vietnam. When the US was evacuating Americans her friend told her since my dh had his American Citizenship papers she should go to the embassy to see if they could evacuate. She went 3 hours alone and they told her she didn't have time to go back and she should leave without her 2 sons (ages 4 months and 2 yrs). She rushed back to get them and her sister (10 yrs old) and made it back to get in one of the last helicopters. They landed in California and the Red Cross helped reunite her with her husband. I really need to write her story down for her and get more details. But this documentary is very interesting in watching it thinkibg about my dh being over there as a baby.
I need to finish watching this, I started it after seeing this thread. My dh was born in Vietnam in 1973. His father was in the service and met and married his mom but then was relocated either to another area or sent home. My mil tells stories of digging holes and putting her babies in them. She lived in South Vietnam. When the US was evacuating Americans her friend told her since my dh had his American Citizenship papers she should go to the embassy to see if they could evacuate. She went 3 hours alone and they told her she didn't have time to go back and she should leave without her 2 sons (ages 4 months and 2 yrs). She rushed back to get them and her sister (10 yrs old) and made it back to get in one of the last helicopters. They landed in California and the Red Cross helped reunite her with her husband. I really need to write her story down for her and get more details. But this documentary is very interesting in watching it thinkibg about my dh being over there as a baby.
That’s an incredible story. If she’s up for it, maybe you can get her to tell her story on video to keep for your family