Why were soldiers in the Vietnam war targets of such hatred from protesters? (read details)?

Question

The protesters of the Vietnam war expressed disgust at the war AND the soldiers. This time around, protesters are against the war but are (I believe rightfully so) placing the blame only on the shoulders of Congress and not the soldiers directly. But many the soldiers of the Vietnam war were drafted so outrage directed at the soldiers was even *less* warranted than it could be today. What do you think has changed in the minds of the American people for this to occur? Any anecdotes from Vietnam vets would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Vietnam was the first war that was captured everyday and night on the evening news. People would eat their dinners, while glued to the TV and saw pictures of babies, children, as well as women and men that had been the victims of Napalm and other explosive devices. Since the soldiers were there, and since they were fighting the war, they were blamed for the outcome. As with the war in Iraq, there is no way to distinguish between a "good guy" and a "bad guy". They dress the same and act the same. In Vietnam, a person might feed you in the morning in the chow hall, then come back at night and try to kill you.
There wasn't any rules of engagement, as there are today. There weren't any policies, such as in WWII. In WWII, the allied forces would go into a country and keep the land that they had won. In Vietnam, they would go in and capture a hill, then leave, then come back and leave once again. The morale of the troops was terrible. Why take a hill, loosing 100 troops, only to give it up a week later, and the enemy retake the hill. Then two weeks later, come back and loose another 100 troops taking the same real estate once again. That was the policy of the leaders during the Vietnam war. Propaganda was key for the US political wheel. Didn't matter what was going on, only the perception that we were winning, no matter how many lies.

Answer 2

The majority of the protesters of the Vietnam war were young, and identified with the soldiers because at that time there was a draft, and they did not want to serve. There were a few in the most extreme fringe of the anti war movement that felt men should refuse to go to war, and expressed disgust, but it was rare. Most people realized that we had an involuntary army and did not consider them heroes and the older generation did not understand since the had gone to war willingly in WWII and Korea. The emphasis placed on the actions of the fringe of the anti war movement is a dodge to conceal the fact that society as a whole, and the older generation that actually ran things, did not respect Vietnam veterans, because were draftees, and we lost the war. The people who run things today were the young during the Vietnam war, and they or their friends were the ones that suffered from the government neglect of veteran's needs, and they do not want it to happen again.

Answer 3

Rocky Horror Picture Show? Ok I admit it's been a while since I've seen it.

I'd like to comment on what Meg said,"The people who run things today were the young during the Vietnam war, and they or their friends were the ones that suffered from the government neglect of veteran's needs, and they do not want it to happen again. "

The most of the people that run things today (e.g. the president) joined the national guard to avoid combat duty. Unlike today where the guard can be sent to Iraq back in the 60's it was a way for a lot of rich kids to serve their country but avoid combat.

Maybe that's part of the motivation in sending the a guard. The population has a short memory. If we see the guard being sent to active duty then it gives the illusion that Bush and others were in harms way when they really were realatively safe. Just a thought.

Answer 4

The Vietnam war happened to dove-tail with the great sweep of cultural change that was already under way in the 60s. The one fueled the other, in fact, and helped give it focus and impetus. Lines were drawn, and a social schism occurred along political lines, where the counter culture set itself apart psychologically from the people who were going off to war, whether they were drafted or not. By not declaring themselves conscientious objectors (and by not growing their hair long, lol) the soldiers were seen as tacitly supporting and enabling the war effort, and hence (justifiably or not) they were seen as morally culpable. If anything, the left wing in the U.S. aligned itself more with the Viet Cong "freedom fighters" than it did with their fellow Americans embroiled in the conflict. It was also the first war to make the nightly news, so any atrocity that occurred was disseminated quickly in prime time. The My Lai massacre (in which hundreds of unarmed civilians were slaughtered, mostly women and children) certainly helped to galvanize the negative sentiment that was already growing towards the people fighting the war, and might have single-handedly been responsible for the term "baby killer". There was also the famous photograph of the children fleeing a napalm attack, with their clothes and skin burned off. Apart from the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib, there hasn't been a single event in the Iraq War to stir the same sentiments. The government also made the smart decision (from a press standpoint) to embed reporters closely with the troops, so that a natural sense of fellowship and sympathy would develop.

Answer 5

Much of the outrage is a myth. Since it was the draft it was everyone's brother or father going over and there was not a widespread hatred for the soldiers. This does not mean that there were some who felt that the soldiers did not do their duty by refusing to go so expressed anger at them, but the idea that there was widespread anger is a right-wing myth. It is meant to disparage pacifist demonstrations against the war as being anti-American.

Answer 6

No. To people elisting today the Viet Nam experience is somthing they read about in a history book. Viet Nam protesters were never part of the military, and there were a very small number that refused to fight after they saw the atrocities that were committed in 'Nam. You also have to consider that most of the soldiers that went to 'Nam were drafted into service, they had no choice. Toaday's military is 100% volunteer, they are doing a job that they want to do, so the premise of your question is flawed.

Answer 7

The media is mainly to blame. You have to remember that this was the first TV war for us, and the media. Up until then, media images of a war were censored news reel footage and John Wayne movies. People at home saw "the horrors of war" because that was what was reported on the evening news. The same goes for today's news coverage. The more horrific and insane the more news worthy it is. The soldiers were not generally hated but the media showed the protests against returning vets and therefore it was believed to be widespread.

Answer 8

because the sub cultures of the 60's said the soldiers where baby killers and other statements like that. Also the war was and is unpopular. My father was a BM3 in the Navy from 65-69 and he had been spit on in an American airport and told he was a baby killer. My father never went to Vietnam but he had plenty of up close time with the Russians.

Answer 9

There were a lot of acusations during the Vietnam War that soldiers were doing a lot of killing of women and children - not just killing them, but in horribly barbaric ways. I know that's one of the reasons that some vets I know were spit on when they came back. They were called "Baby Killers" for years.

Answer 10

The protesters were brainwashed by the liberal professors and politicians. We would hear about some professor making a radical speech and the next day, Charlie would respond with new vigor. Charlie knew the war would end because of the protests. The treatment of the returning troops was really a minority of radicals that got a majority of press! The ones doing the spitting were mostly female. We have those same ones today as politicians and professors. Most people don't realize that most troubles of today are the result of our education going radical left!! USMC 60-68