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re: Why did Americans put up with the Vietnam War?
Posted on 5/18/25 at 6:53 am to Tigergreg
Posted on 5/18/25 at 6:53 am to Tigergreg
The Ken Burns Vietnam documentary is much better than the Netflix.
Vietnam was fought as an insurgency and modern armies haven’t yet found a way to beat an insurgency. We were ran out of Vietnam the same way we were ran out of Afghanistan.
The only way to win an insurgent war is to stay home and not fight it.
Vietnam was fought as an insurgency and modern armies haven’t yet found a way to beat an insurgency. We were ran out of Vietnam the same way we were ran out of Afghanistan.
The only way to win an insurgent war is to stay home and not fight it.
This post was edited on 5/18/25 at 8:05 am
1
Posted on 5/18/25 at 6:58 am to Dex Morgan
Back then everyone believed what they saw on TV, the communist were coming for us if we didn’t fight back.
And of course the media was controlled by the government and portrayed a false image.
In the Netflix documentary LBJ calls a News executive and chews him out for making him look bad
And of course the media was controlled by the government and portrayed a false image.
In the Netflix documentary LBJ calls a News executive and chews him out for making him look bad
This post was edited on 5/18/25 at 7:09 am
Posted on 5/18/25 at 6:59 am to Dex Morgan
quote:
Why did Americans put up with the Vietnam War?
And why did we just spend 20+ years in the sand?
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:08 am to Dex Morgan
Far too young to grasp it at the time, but the narrative was clear - if you don't support the troops, you're a full blown commie. Period.
Then there's Jane Freaking Fonda, giddy as she sits on a AA gun that was aimed at our planes and pilots.
No one then as now seems to want to call things out for what they are. Don't buy the 'covid19' narrative? You're a denier. Don't think the virus came from a Chinese viral lab? You're a conspiracy loon and a racist.
That's how.
Then there's Jane Freaking Fonda, giddy as she sits on a AA gun that was aimed at our planes and pilots.
No one then as now seems to want to call things out for what they are. Don't buy the 'covid19' narrative? You're a denier. Don't think the virus came from a Chinese viral lab? You're a conspiracy loon and a racist.
That's how.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:12 am to Dex Morgan
No need to spin this, as the OP has.
Complex beginnings to the conflict are well documented
The US public did not support the war to a large extent.
Complex beginnings to the conflict are well documented
The US public did not support the war to a large extent.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:13 am to Hangit
back in the sixties there were alot of tv shows about ww2. combat, rat patrol, mchales navy, hogans heros, and others. of course we were superior in every episode and always outsmarted the enemy. the old john wayne movie The Green Berets was a good movie about how bad they were and how just our mission was. were we brainwashed?
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:25 am to Dex Morgan
The Vietnam War was a huge factor in stopping Communism. At the time, nations were falling to Communism “like dominos”. The danger was that the momentum would end up isolating the US. We had to stop the fall of the dominos and the Vietnam War did it. It was one engagement in a larger Cold War, in which the United States eventually wore out international Communism.
Understood in this context, the Vietnam War was part of a much longer, much bigger Cold War that was won by the United States.
Understood in this context, the Vietnam War was part of a much longer, much bigger Cold War that was won by the United States.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:30 am to Dex Morgan
People generally trusted the government and media more back then and didn’t want to be labeled as unpatriotic.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:31 am to Dex Morgan
We still thought we could stop communism while LBJ got rich.
Meanwhile the communists were taking over our schools, media, and labor right under our noses.
Meanwhile the communists were taking over our schools, media, and labor right under our noses.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:36 am to Penrod
While we were fighting Communism around the world, it spread like wildfire in our colleges. People like John Brennan, Bernie, AOC, hold positions in our government. The old shell game.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:37 am to Dex Morgan
First time the media covering the war that were in Vietnam and had TV cameras and every night, it was in the news. The gubment couldn't control much media. People started raising hell to get out. It became one of the big topics of the presidential election.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:41 am to Dex Morgan
quote:
Seriously, why? Of all the useless wars, that was #1. Literally nothing to do with the US but people in the US let LBJ murder their sons for it. Was the propaganda on another level back then?
Edgy take has no edge.
WWI saw millions lose their lives for a dick-measuring contest. It was just as useless.
Hindsight that isn't even 40/40, much less 20/20, is funny.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:41 am to texas tortilla
quote:
back in the sixties there were alot of tv shows about ww2. combat, rat patrol, mchales navy, hogans heros, and others. of course we were superior in every episode and always outsmarted the enemy. the old john wayne movie The Green Berets was a good movie about how bad they were and how just our mission was. were we brainwashed?
The Hollywood movies made about WWII were very Pro-American and showed that we were righteous in our fight. The public at large was behind the war effort after we were attacked at Pearl Harbor, and the homeland did its part to support the war effort. By the time we got involved in Vietnam, television had come of age and there was lots of news about the war, soldiers getting killed and civilians. During WWII, the same was happening, but it wasn't front and center and our goal was clear. People questioned our involvement in Vietnam. There never was a clear goal other than stop the spread of communism, but what then? It wasn't realistic and too general,
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:44 am to Dex Morgan
i was 3 when it started and 14 when it ended so cut me some slack bro.
on the other hand i was 40 when the war in afghanistan started and 61 when it ended that's on you bro!
veitnam only spanned 3 presidencies afghanistan spanned 4.
on the other hand i was 40 when the war in afghanistan started and 61 when it ended that's on you bro!
veitnam only spanned 3 presidencies afghanistan spanned 4.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:45 am to Good Times
quote:
While we were fighting Communism around the world, it spread like wildfire in our colleges.
Man, you said it! It retreated to the Universities.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 7:50 am to Dex Morgan
We didn’t. After five years or so Americans started raising hell. It just grew.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 8:11 am to Brosef Stalin
quote:
There were tons of protests. What do you expect them to do?
There were a lot of skulls crushed during the protests.
My parents and grandparents commonly discussed with friends that the government killed JFK and the local mafia took out Oswald as a cleaner subcontractor.
There was an obedience to government and an underlying fear and respect.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 8:15 am to prplhze2000
LINK many say that when walter cronkite turned on the war that was the beginning of the end.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 8:17 am to TDFreak
quote:
continuation of WWII.
Patton was right.
They killed him for it.
Posted on 5/18/25 at 8:24 am to Dex Morgan
There was a gradual shift in public opinion. In the beginning people bought the Gulf of Tonkin provocation combined with checking the spread of communism. The public also expected a very quick win. After a few years and controversy over drafting so many kids the public gradually moved to opposing the war and just getting the hell out.
As a college student I did not participate in protests but I openly opposed the war because it was unwinnable based on no clear support from the Vietnamese citizens. Our troops fell into booby traps because the citizens we were defending didn't want to warn them and thus get involved.
As a college student I did not participate in protests but I openly opposed the war because it was unwinnable based on no clear support from the Vietnamese citizens. Our troops fell into booby traps because the citizens we were defending didn't want to warn them and thus get involved.
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