Speaker. many harsh words have been said concerning the men. women. and children who have fled from South Vietnam in the face of the Communist takeover of their country and have sought refuge in the United States. Some Members of Congress have said that there were already "too many Orientals" in their districts. Other legislators have requested that the refugees be sent to any district but the one they represent. Newspaper columnists such as Nicholas von Hoffman have said that the refugees are less than honorable and should not be welcomed to the United States. Most outrageous. perhaps. was the cartoon which appeared in the Washington Star by Oliphant. picturing the Vietnamese refugees standing before the.Statue of Liberty as a band of thugs. The real American spirit. however. is not the one represented by these narrow and ungenerous sentiments. In the end.
Identified stereotypes
Vietnamese refugees are portrayed as less than honorable and as thugs.