Subj: Re: A poet's response to ABC Nightline / 14 October 2004
Date: 10/15/2004 5:36:40 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: pam< >@taylor.k12.fl.us
To: PoetLinhDVo@cs.com
Dear Brother,
I am in awe. I believe your words now are more intense, more spiritual, and
more needed than ever. The ballad encroaches on the lies that the world and
the media prefer to believe. It is no different in Iraq, China, and other
places where the freedom bell is not fully allowed to ring. Linh, your heart
and your words is that bell. Ring it loud, just like the liberty bell that
rang out when America decreed that it was not going to take tyranny anymore.
People are no different now than they were then. Freedom is freedom - tyranny
is tyranny. When one fails the other lives. The important part is that they
cannot live together. It is now time that the human spirit is allowed to
smell the sweet air of freedom, but it cannot exist if lies are allowed to
cloud the truth. Allow your Vietnamese brothers and sisters to breathe again
even if it only in spirit. It is a start. With one bell will come another
and another. In time the chorus will be heard and the Divine will cast the
final note.
Your sister,
Pam [Teacher]
Subj: Re: A poet's response to ABC Nightline / 14 October 2004
Date: 10/15/2004 3:41:24 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: dath< >@cwnet.com
To: PoetLinhDVo@cs.com
I very much enjoyed your poem. I happened to
watch "Nightline" last night, and I didn't even know that particular
show was going to be on. I was absolutely floored that Nightline would go so far
in order to make John Kerry seem like he was an honest man. These are my
thoughts:
Nightline said they followed canals to get to this village and this area. How do they know they even have the right village or place. And if it was the right place, how do they know that the Vietnamese people were really even there when Kerry was there. And if they were there, after some 37 years do they really remember the specific attack and that specific day. I'm sure they all marked it on their calendars! They never saw John Kerry. Furthermore, these Vietnamese people admitted they were VC and they had a government watcher right there during the interviews. So what else would they say. They are under communist control. Why would anyone believe they were telling the truth? Except for someone that would go to any extent to get John Kerry elected two weeks before the election. John Kerry is a hero to the communists.
But let's assume all these facts were true. The Vietnamese VC that they interviewed didn't even agree with one another. John Kerry himself said the person he ran down and shot was a thin teenager in a loin cloth. These people said the person killed was a 26 or 27 year old bigger guy in black pajamas. And they all, even the husband and wife, disagreed on what happened.
Furthermore, why hasn't Nightline spoken with the Swiftboat men to find out what really happened. After all, they were there for sure. I could see that John O'Neil was very angry, and I don't blame him. I would like to see you and other Vietnamese Americans call in to Rush Limbaugh and some of the radio shows, or write editorials in newspapers, and tell the truth about communist Vietnam.
It is also my opinion from having lived in Vietnam from 1970 to 1975 that sometimes my Vietnamese friends would tell me what I wanted to hear rather than the truth. I always felt it had something to do with saving face, but I never really understood that completely. There seemed to be a culture difference in what Americans would say was
"not telling the truth" but Vietnamese saw as saving face. You would understand that much better than I would. Therefore, I wouldn't necessarily believe what they said. Obviously they were speaking Vietnamese, and who even knows if the translator was translating correctly. Again, you would know that.
Overall, I cannot see why Nightline would even put on a story that depended on former VC who are under communist control and are being observed by a government watcher.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Maris [Viet vet wife]
Subj: Re: A poet's response to ABC Nightline / 14 October 2004
Date: 10/16/2004 11:42:25 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: dtc< >@sbcglobal.net
To: PoetLinhDVo@cs.com
Hi Linh - Thank you for sending all the wonderful information. Strange - I hardly ever stay up to watch Nightline, and the Vietnam program was on the one night I watched. Your poem is wonderful, thoughtful and pertinent. I am very touched by the responses you received. I don't think that Ted Koppel is truly a biased reporter/journalist, but his network and producers certainly are and they are mostly responsible. At the least, how many VC men wore loincloths anyway? Your website is fabulous. Don't ever stop! Bless you, Diane M.
[Physician]
A Poet's response to ABC Nightline
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