I don't want to sound like an asshole but can you shoot me in the direction of corroboration? I have generally concluded that legacy media is complete propaganda but I had always believed most of what I heard from the media back in the day (I'm 68 so I was in High School toward the end of the war). I went to Saigon about 23 years ago for a few weeks and heard some stories from various people (military and locals) on both sides of the issue that were very contradictory but it was difficult to tell if people were lying or just misinformed. I also went to the Vietnamese war museum and the American war museum and the stories they told were basically exact opposites. I went to the palace as well out of general interest. For what it's worth I really liked my visit there.
You are not an asshole for requesting corroboration. My essay is intentionally bereft of direct citations. My source material is a wide array of books, articles, memoirs, transcripts, and PDFs of excerpts from all of those types of sources.
My assertions here fly in the face of the popular perception of that conflict. It was while I was taking a particular course while obtaining my undergraduate degree that I first noticed there was a distinct incongruity between the perception of the war and the data from the war.
I'm not at my desk right now, so I don't have any good titles for you in the moment, but one place to start is the book Military Intelligence Blunders by John Hughes-Wilson, chapter 08 or 09. If you send me a DM and keep harassing me, I can definitely dig up some more titles and maybe even send some PDFs your way.
I'm semi-illiterate when it comes to computer stuff even though I have been making a living on computers since 1985 as a graphic designer. What the heck is a DM and how do I do one?
It means Direct Message, and it is a way for us to communicate in a less public way. I just sent you one, so if you check your notifications on substack, which is most likely a little bell shape, you should see a message from me
Conservatives cling to the myth that America lost the Vietnam war as much as the liberals, just for different reasons. Liberals like the myth because they're self-hating traitors, but conservatives like the myth because it bolsters their belief that a handful of patriotic nobodies can fight the combined might of the US military to a stand-still. It's a standard talking point in the pro 2A community, usually trotted out when an anti-gunner asks if they really think their penis compensator would be enough to win a civil war.
People correctly think we lost in Vietnam b/c the US took 350k casualties for nothing - South Vietnam folded like a cheap suit almost instantly after we left and it turns out Vietnam’s government is of no concern at all to Americans.
It’s true the press will lie constantly to advance its ideological goals, but that’s a given now and always. The lesson of Vietnam is: don’t fight other people’s battles. When the yammering starts about defending Taiwan, it will again be worth remembering.
I don't want to sound like an asshole but can you shoot me in the direction of corroboration? I have generally concluded that legacy media is complete propaganda but I had always believed most of what I heard from the media back in the day (I'm 68 so I was in High School toward the end of the war). I went to Saigon about 23 years ago for a few weeks and heard some stories from various people (military and locals) on both sides of the issue that were very contradictory but it was difficult to tell if people were lying or just misinformed. I also went to the Vietnamese war museum and the American war museum and the stories they told were basically exact opposites. I went to the palace as well out of general interest. For what it's worth I really liked my visit there.
You are not an asshole for requesting corroboration. My essay is intentionally bereft of direct citations. My source material is a wide array of books, articles, memoirs, transcripts, and PDFs of excerpts from all of those types of sources.
My assertions here fly in the face of the popular perception of that conflict. It was while I was taking a particular course while obtaining my undergraduate degree that I first noticed there was a distinct incongruity between the perception of the war and the data from the war.
I'm not at my desk right now, so I don't have any good titles for you in the moment, but one place to start is the book Military Intelligence Blunders by John Hughes-Wilson, chapter 08 or 09. If you send me a DM and keep harassing me, I can definitely dig up some more titles and maybe even send some PDFs your way.
I'm semi-illiterate when it comes to computer stuff even though I have been making a living on computers since 1985 as a graphic designer. What the heck is a DM and how do I do one?
It means Direct Message, and it is a way for us to communicate in a less public way. I just sent you one, so if you check your notifications on substack, which is most likely a little bell shape, you should see a message from me
Thank you for this essay. I knew very little of this.
Conservatives cling to the myth that America lost the Vietnam war as much as the liberals, just for different reasons. Liberals like the myth because they're self-hating traitors, but conservatives like the myth because it bolsters their belief that a handful of patriotic nobodies can fight the combined might of the US military to a stand-still. It's a standard talking point in the pro 2A community, usually trotted out when an anti-gunner asks if they really think their penis compensator would be enough to win a civil war.
Haunting.
People correctly think we lost in Vietnam b/c the US took 350k casualties for nothing - South Vietnam folded like a cheap suit almost instantly after we left and it turns out Vietnam’s government is of no concern at all to Americans.
It’s true the press will lie constantly to advance its ideological goals, but that’s a given now and always. The lesson of Vietnam is: don’t fight other people’s battles. When the yammering starts about defending Taiwan, it will again be worth remembering.
Damn wtf. We do live in a clown world.