John BullMar 16, 2023

On 16th March, 1968 Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Jnr was flying helicopter reconnaissance for an attack on an alleged North Vietnamese-controlled village at My Lai.

As the ground attack developed below, Thompson realised he was in fact witnessing something something else:

A massacre.

He decided to act. /1 ๐Ÿงต #history #histodons

Show threadMal ็”„/kalessin/PeriMar 16, 2023
@garius excuse me. I have no quarrel with the information you are presenting here but is it possible to give a content warning? Fwiw I am Asian (not Vietnamese) and I agree/know the US military routinely commits war crimes.
Show threadAilbheMar 16, 2023
@perigee @garius yes, good idea, much of the thread is very disturbing
Show threadMal ็”„/kalessin/PeriMar 16, 2023
@ailbhe @garius it's also a heroic story about a white savior which is, yes, very inspiring. But its heroism is founded on an assumption that the US presence in Vietnam was in any way just. Which I think is not a settled question in many Asian minds (if not others' too).
Show threadJohn BullMar 16, 2023

@perigee @ailbhe That is absolutely not the intention here, and I do feel a misreading.

If anything it's the opposite. To highlight just how entrenched that idea was, how incorrect and the disastrous consequences of that.

In terms of 'white saviour'. The documented proof is that Thompson's actions were the ones that brought what was happening to an end. That this was true, and the enormous cost to him of doing so, shows again how horrific US imperialism had become.

Show threadMal ็”„/kalessin/PeriMar 16, 2023
@garius @ailbhe I am a sympathetic reader and I do find your narrative inspiring, John. But I am also keenly aware that while Thomason's actions and advocacy were heroic, they benefit from survivorship bias and cultural bias. No one was listening to Vietnamese voices or protests or pain or suffering. That was just common currency at the time. Is it possible to also find and celebrate Asian heroes from the same conflict? Is it not possible that their stories would be at least as inspiring and heroic? Or is this really all about the white experience?
Show threadokanogen VerminEnemyFromWithin
@perigee @garius @ailbhe
There's room for more than one narrative. Maybe you should write (or boost) another rather than demand others do that work? Why shame someone who shares a viewpoint which doesn't entirely meet your needs?
Mar 16, 2023 at 2:51pmWeb