I'm not trying to comment on whether or not communism is good or not. Personally I don't think that it is and the fact that Vietnam is a communist country was something the concerned me when I was relocating here. I was thinking to myself that maybe someone was going to be watching my every move and things were going to be seriously restricted as in what we are allowed to do while we are here. I just figured there was going to be a lot of rules and the constant fear of getting thrown in the gulag.
I don't know what life is like for someone that actually is Vietnamese but for those of us that live here that are not actually Vietnamese this country seems a lot more freedom filled than others I have lived in that harp on about how free they are all the time. As far as you can tell by just walking around and living here, there really aren't any rules yet is isn't lawless and crime-riddled. I have never found myself in a situation that I considered to be dangerous and I have only ever seen police a couple of times in the years that I have been here.
The idea I had in my head about big brother watching your every move doesn't really seem to be the case. I mean, I guess it could be and they are just really good at staying hidden but as far as needing to produce your papers at every corner or something really oppressive like restricting movement is concerned, that doesn't really happen here. I'm far more restricted about where I can go and what I can do in my home country of USA.
I don't think this necessarily has to do with communism being the law of the land though. It may have more to do with the fact that the government here is quite poor in comparison and they can't afford to be all up in everyone's business all the time.
I will say this: People don't get all worked up about politics and elections the way that other countries do and while not many people really want to talk about it I think that is because there can't really be an opposition party in this country. I've never seen an election sign in Vietnam so I don't even know if they even have elections.
It may actually suck for Vietnamese people but from my perspective as an outsider living here for multiple years I would prefer this governance over the "freedom" that I had back in America any day.
This is just a cool roundabout near the beach. It's been a while since I've seen hammer and sickle flag
I'm not pro communist at all. To be honest I am likely pro-a-government-that-doesn't-really-exist. All i want from a government is for them to mostly get out of the way and leave me alone. At least from my perspective in my life here now, that is what the government appears to do and I like that.
I have visited Vietnam a few times and I enjoyed these trips. I think being a communist country has contributed to Vietnam's relatively low crime rates.
That's probably a very good point. When I do hear about arrests and crime in the news the people arrested are normally getting what we would consider extremely harsh sentences for their crimes.
Sounds kind of laid back and opposite to what we are seeing in China. Vietnam has always fascinated me as the people generally seem happy which is the opposite of most Communist countries.
it is all very perplexing to me as well. People genuinely DO seem happy even though this is a very poor country.
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ
Even though Cambodia is not technically Communist, it is certainly authoritarian, and legally the framework of Vietnam and Cambodia are very similar, after all Vietnam set up the government and laws here. I would say neither country is 100% Communist, after all, private enterprise not owned by the state is allowed.
That being said, like you, I am not pro-anything, perhaps anti all governments I have encountered, some less than others. Because I don't vote and don't really believe in politricks, I have no reason to say bad things about the ruling party here, and I fell at my age my stupid opinions on politics are mine and mine alone. For this reason wherever I go in the world, I feel it is my responsibility to adapt or move, but not to be a revolutionary where politics are concerned, especially in a place that hasn't give me citizenship. I totally agree with you, it's not as bad as it sounds, especially to 'Mericans. At least a poor person can have $500 in savings and a dream, and be totally successful with a good idea, kind of like our country in the Ellis Island days minus the racism but plus no chance at citizenship 🤣.
Yeah as a visitor you don't want to get involved in politics at all. That will be a quick way to get deported or put in jail.
I don't even remember what they were attempting to protest but someone was trying to organize some sort of public protest in the expat community against the government and some Vietnamese people in the group chat said something along the lines of "guys, this isn't Los Angeles, if you do that shit here you are going to jail." I was never going to participate in it anyway but I thought the blunt response was pretty epic.