My Email To Janet

I sent the following email this morning to Supervisor Janet Nguyen regarding the “anti-communist” protesters in Little Saigon.  I will share her response, should she send one, once I receive it.  It is time that we get her position on this issue on the record.

—–Original Message—–
From: Sean Mill [mailto:seanhmill@vivenet.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 9:16 AM
To: janet.nguyen@ocgov.com; info@janetforsupervisor.com
Subject: Alleged “anti-communist” protesters

Dear Supervisor Nguyen/Janet,

Recently there has been a lot of attention paid to folks in the Vietnamese community, who claim to be “anti-communist”, leading protests or threatening protests.  These folks have targeted Irvine Valley College, USC, The Viet Weekly and Nguoi Viet Daily to name a few.  They are using threats, intimidation and physical assault as a means to push their political agenda.  I would like to know where you stand on this issue.

Do you support the actions of folks like Ky Ngo and Trong Doan?  Do you approve of tactics in which they use bomb threats, intimidation and physical assault?  I would like to hear your opinions on this.

 According to your friend Art Pedroza you oppose these protesters.  He wrote on the LiberalOC last night, “I speak to her quite often. She has in fact told me that she is in no way connected to the protesters and she is not supporting them.”

Is this true?

I believe that people have the right to say and believe whatever they like.  It is the bedrock on which this nation was founded.  I don’t believe that people should be forced to constantly face an angry mob of thugs and be threatened or physically assaulted on a daily basis just because folks don’t like what they say or do. 

The situation at Hi Tek Video in 1999 is a prime example of this.  Truong Van Tran had the Constitutional right to have a picture of Ho Chi Minh in his store and to fly the flag of Vietnam if he so desired.  It wasn’t a smart business move on his part, but it was his right.  But rather than simply boycotting his store, mobs of thugs acted out violently.  They even went as far as to attack a U.S. Vietnam vet when he went there and told them that in America people have the right to place Ho Chi Minh’s picture anywhere they want.

The actions of these thugs/protesters is akin to the treacherous actions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.  There actions seek to infringe on the rights of others.  They believe in free speech as long as they like what you have to say.  That is quite un-American.

Please clarify your position on this matter.  You either support freedom for all or the thuggery of a few.

I want to thank you in advance for your time and I eagerly await your response.

Sincerely,

Sean H. Mill

9 Comments

  1. Sean Mill:

    Of course Janet is not going to publicly oppose the protesters in Little Saigon. If she does, she will be seemed as a pro-communist person. Since this is an election year, I will put my bet on it that she will remain indifferent to keep any little support , if any, she might have from the Vietnamese community. In my opinion, if she takes any action against the protesters, it is no less than a “political suicide.”

    To followup with your prior article on this issue, I think your insinuation of the protesters as being “thugs” is quit harsh. Some of these protesters are well-respected individuals in the Vietnamese-American community. To some, they represent the democratic southern Vietnam. Sure, some of these protesters had overreated in the past and violated some laws, but that’s why we have law enforcement (to enforce the law) and the judicial system (to interpret the law). A good example would be all the legal proceedings that are occurring with the protesters at Nguoi Viet newspaper. I believe that these legal proceedings will have a “chilling effect” on future protesters to protest peacefully and in an appropriate manner.

  2. Sean,

    If I were you, I would not hold my breath waiting for a response to your email. This is not because your question is not vald, it’s just that she would not really benefit by responding in our forum.

    I believe however that the premise of your question is unreasonable. Freedom of speech is not an either/or scenario. I have known Supervisor Nguyen for several years. While we may disagree on numerous public policy issues I am confident that she and I agree on the rights of free speech and public assembly.

    I am certain that Supervisor Nguyen does not support the communist regime in Vietnam. I am certain that she supports the rights of individuals to oppose communism, and protest against individuals and businesses which they perceive as having a different point of view.

    I am equally certain that Supervisor Nguyen does not support the tactics of harassment, vandalism of private proprety, or interferance of the rights of citizens to operate and patronize a business, as legitimate methods of expressing free speech.

    The question should be this:

    Does Supervisor Nguyen respect and support the rights of all individuals to express their political point of view in a peaceful and lawful manner?

    I believe the answer to that question is a resounding YES.

  3. “I am equally certain that Supervisor Nguyen does not support the tactics of harassment, vandalism of private proprety, or interferance of the rights of citizens to operate and patronize a business, as legitimate methods of expressing free speech.”

    If that is the case she should come out and condemn those that are acting in this manner.

    There are only a small group of agitators in these group of alleged “anti-communist” protesters that are involved in these activities. However this small group of folks has a stranglehold on Little Saigon and nobody will stand up to them.

    They are using the Vietnamese immigrant community’s hatred of communism to further their own political agenda. They know if they label somebody a “communist” that the community will react angrily against that person. The person is most likely not a “communist” and simply disagree with the political agenda of the extremists.

    Janet should condemn this. But we both know that she does not have the courage to do so.

  4. I know that Martin over at Total Buzz has indicated that he ha spoken with both Supervisor Nguyen snd Hoa Van Tran and will post something on it soon.

    I just do not see a need for Supervisor Nguyen to make a statement on a matter which has a rather obvious answer.

    And no, the is not Art Pedroza posting under the alias of Chris Prevatt. I’m only guessing here, but I expect her answer to be similar to what I have stated in my prevuous comment.

    “I am now cicking ny heals together three times while saying… I’m not a Janet hack; I’m not a Janet hack; I’m not Art Pedroza.” 🙂

  5. Chris,

    In other words what you are saying is that what Art said Janet told him is not the truth. Either Janet lied to him or he lied in his post.

    He claims Janet does not support these protesters, but from what Martin Wicksol has intimated she does support them.

  6. I wouild have to reread the statement from Janet’s unofficial spokesman Art Pedroza, and God knows I am resistant to any connection to Art’s statements on Janets behalf. I will say that support for the rights and views of the protesters does not convey support for unlawful acts of violence and vandalism.

    If Art was trying to say that Janet dose not support the unlawful tactics of the protesters, then his statement is consistewent with here statement in support of the position of the protesters.

    I know I am splitting hairs here, but I do not see the two positions as mutually exclusive.

    For the record I am not sure I agree with your premise that Art Pedroza is a liar. I view him as more of a B-rated fiction writer.

  7. Chris and Sean: Ustedes know I enjoy, respect, and value your posts, but no reason to bash on Art at every chance–it’s as tiring as SMS (ha!) taking potshots at every LiberalOC contributor. That said, great challenge, Sean–but are those crickets I hear chirping in Janet’s office?

  8. I just had an observation. A lot of Reeps, when they disagree with you on something (anything) they call you a liberal. When a Viet disagrees with you on something, they call you a communist.

    It appears to be easier than thinking.

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