A Shortcut to the American Dream Reader’s Report.pdf

Ch. 8: A Shortcut to the American Dream?: Vietnamese Youth Gangs in Little Saigon Leilani Hilliard AAAS 2100-02 10-4-2023

introduction My Reader’s Report is based on the Beyond the Model Minority: Asian American Communities and Social Justice Education chapter 8 “ A Shortcut to the American Dream?: Vietnamese Youth Gangs in Little Saigon”, written by James Diego Vigil, Steve C. Yun, and Jesse Cheng. This chapter describes the experience Vietnamese Immigrants have faced in Orange County California, and what became of their adaptation to new western society. This report will go over various themes such as struggles immigrant youth have faced in the U.S. and newfound families. A Shortcut to the American Dream? 2

Summary of Main Ideas Conflicting Changes of Internal and Cultural Values With the adaptation of western values, the Immigrant youth and their parents both took those values in different directions. While the parents believed that it was more important to hold onto their heritage and work as hard as possible in order to survive, the youth believed it was better to incorporate western values into their own and embrace change. In Vietnam, it was normal for parents to be strict, believing it was the best for their kids, however now being in America kids disagreed with that parenting style and refused to abide by it because it was the “American way”. These conflicting ideas of whether or not to embrace change led to divisions between children and their parents that only grew bigger over time. Struggles of Immigrant Youth Younger Vietnamese Immigrants faced significant struggles while adapting to the differing cultural values in the U.S. Not only did most struggle with English, but also fitting into the standards they were held to whether it was at home or at school. Their parents usually worked long hours all throughout the week, leaving the kids by themselves. They additionally continued to hold their kids to high expectations and were pretty strict. This made most of the youth feel alone and overwhelmed, leading them to lash out towards their parents.

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Summary of Main Ideas cont. NEED FOR STRUCTURE AND ACCEPTANCE Due to the diminishing structure and values previously held in traditional Vietnamese families, most youth aimed to find acceptance and structure elsewhere, mostly being in gangs. Within these gangs, they were able to create new “families” and provide each other with the support and comfort they needed. As Vietnamese youth faced numerous disparities, family difficulties, and social pressure, gangs provided a release from their daily struggles. Without the comfort and structure of their traditional families, they sought for that social and psychological support from these gangs.

Interpretation o Reading through this chapter was very interesting and I noticed how it primarily highlights conflicting views and reaction towards the mixing of cultures. It seems like the majority of the conflict within these immigrant families was due to miscommunication, or lack thereof, of internal and shifting vales. While parents saw this as their children lashing out and becoming uncontrollable due to influence of western values, the youth claimed the influence of western culture gave them the courage to escape from cultural beliefs they didn't agree with. Growing up in a Vietnamese household I feel like this chapter was very accurate in describing the differing values. Parents always held strict control over their kids while holding them to higher standards, all because they wanted their child to succeed. Meanwhile, being on the receiving end, it felt overwhelming, outdated, and that the standards were impossible to achieve, resulting in kids lashing out any way they could. Vietnamese youth felt that they had no other choice but to join gangs given their situation. Even though these gangs could put them in dangerous situations, they held onto them due to the courage and support they were provided with. While I don’t think either side is truly “at fault” with the divide between parents and youth, communication and collaboration of internal values most likely would have provided both sides with the support and comfort they needed during these times. A Shortcut to the American Dream? 5

Questions 1. How would you describe the “American Dream”? 2. If you were put in a similar situation with pressure from your own family, school, and environment, do you believe that you would do the same? 3. Does the “model minority” put immigrants or minorities at an advantage or disadvantage? 4. Do you think there was anything that could’ve been done to prevent the splitting between immigrant families? 5. Do you believe the youth’s/parents reaction to the changing of traditional values due to western influence was the right way to go about it? How could they have adapted better? A Shortcut to the American Dream? 6

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summary Adapting to living in the U.S. wasn’t easy, and for Vietnamese immigrants, many took the change in different ways. While parents decided the best way was to work as hard as possible to support their families and reject the majority of American changes, the youth believed it was best to change and embrace American values. This collision pushed the youth to seek those values in newfound gangs, where they could have the acceptance and family structure they desired. A Shortcut to the American Dream? 7

thank you