Thank you for your answer. It was both excellent and humbling. I realize now that my discipline in dialectical materialism has been lacking.

I had asked you guys to prove me wrong from the very first comment. Unfortunately, the answers I received are a bit unconvincing.

Maybe the document you provide can change my world view, but I must take my time to read it first.

Gender is a social construct often upheld by patriarchal societal standards. The being of a man or a woman comes with many societal expectations, and quite a lot of people don’t agree with that.

Do you mean “gender role”?

Patriarchal societies often have different expectations for people of different biological sex. A Confucian society would expect a man to follow the Son of Heaven and a woman to follow her father or husband. This is gender role, and gender equality means the abolishment of gender roles.

I don’t think I can agree with conflating the concept of “gender” and “gender role”.

Now, I only want to comment on the gender aspect as I am sure that you, master observer that you are, can acknowledge stuff like intersex people existing, who are born with both sets of genitals for example.

After some thought, I think I see your point. If one considers intersex a biological sex then their true gender should be separate from their sex. Is that what you were trying to convey?

Now, gender as we know it now has evolved in capitalist societies

Please tell me what the concept of gender was like in other societies. Be it Medieval Europe or Imperial China or whatever society you are familiar with.

Non binary people, for example, have been around since the beginning of mankind and have even been acknowledged by historic societies.

Please provide me documents. I may take my time to research them.

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Happiness and sadness are easy to comprehend because all humans experience it. Their biological mechanisms have also been studied and partially understood by science. “Gender feelings”, not so much. Let put it this way: How can a biological male, who was never a female, know the feeling he feels is that of a woman?

What is “feeling like a man”? What is “feeling like a woman”? What is the biological mechanism that determine these feelings?

I can observe a person who has near death experience telling me they met god. Should I take it as face value?

A person telling you, “I feel like a woman” today but next week telling you “I feel like a man” is something that can be observed.

I don’t think my society is willing to accept such fickleness, even if we are willing to accept transgender.

“72 genders” is incomprehensible to me too, and I believe that it is incomprehensible and illogical to most people in the world who are not familiar with the West.

The crux of the issue lies in the separation of the concept “gender” and “sex”. Wheras “sex” is material and observable, “gender” (as defined by Western leftists^[1]) is anything but. It is measured by having the person “identifies” themselves as one.

But if a concept is not observable and not material, how is it different from a god? Should we, who adhere to dialectical materialism and scientific principals, see it as anything of worth?

Or maybe I am wrong, maybe the fluid gender can be objectively measured as a material concept with observable effects. If you think I’m wrong, please explain.

It can deliver powerful anti communist propaganda and capitalist apologia disguised by the “word of god”.

This is very true. I have never seen any cult that isn’t anti-communist, be it Falun Gong, Unification Church, or others.

BTW, I recommend following @darrion_nguyen on Twitter if you want to know more about Vietnam, he is more knowledgeable than me regarding Vietnam and anything geopolitics.

I can’t speak for China, only Vietnam.

LGBTQ+

When it comes to LGBT, we are generally quite indifferent to it. It is not our jobs to interfere in other people’s business. That was my impression of our social attitude towards queer people.

Legally speaking however, our laws are still behind in some aspects, such as not yet recognizing same-sex marriage, but it does not ban it either. Same-sex couples are allowed to held symbolic weddings as well as living together under the same roof. It’s just that they won’t enjoy the same legal rights and obligations as required for hetero couples. But fret not, our laws are getting more and more open, it was more open in the 201X than the 200X, and it will not doubt be more open in the future.

Women rights

The Communist Party of Vietnam in all its time of existence has been tirelessly advance women right and gender equality. I can confidently say that right now, I can feel no social discrimination between men and women. Women occupy just as many jobs as men do. In my household, my father and my mother are equal in decision making.

Anti-racism

I don’t think racism is relevant to Vietnam.

But we do have ethnic minorities (I am of Nùng ethnicity, while the overwhelming majority of Vietnamese population is of Kinh). Ethnic minorities often receive favorable aids from the government in term of poverty eradication and education.

Respect for youth and elderly

Our culture inherits Confucian elements, and our government encourages positive traits such as filial piety while discouraging negative traits that are no longer compatible with modern time and socialism.

Regarding cults, why are the US, South Korea, and Japan so full of cults? And does Europe have a cult problem?

Be more specific. What do you consider “conservative”? What do you consider “progressive”?

This reminds me of my younger years, YouTube kept recommending me China Uncensored. They kept feeding me anti-China propaganda, I actually believed them, that the Chinese government is somehow oppressive. But then by the sheer absurdity of their lies, I began to doubt their words.

Is this the new COSMIC desktop or still just GNOME?

That show is obvious to Vietnamese, no doubt.

For the wider East Asian culture however, there’s Journey to the West. It contains allegory and political commentary on the corruption, decadence, and weakness of the Ming Dynasty. In Journey to the West, both the Taoist Celestial Court and the Buddha side are corrupt in their own ways. These elements have sadly been removed in the 10,000 Chinese cinema remakes. These remakes are profitable, but soulless and forgettable.

I did know you were joking but I didn’t know “bureaucratos” until you explain it to me. Cultural difference, I guess.

Regarding the Celestial Bureaucracy (or Heavenly Court). Nowadays, it is often used in fictional works as a metaphor for actual government to criticize the government. Actually, it is not just “nowadays”, it has always been used as a metaphor for actual government.

Well the Vietnamese don’t worship Greek Gods, but many people are superstitious. Their beliefs range from Feng Shui, to Wu Xing, to demons and ghosts. I’ve heard of parents who prevent their son from marrying his lover simply because their ages incompatible. And there are reports about people of minor ethnicity in remote areas who rather invoke a shaman for an illness rather than call a doctor, even if the illness is lethal.

You implied that your business outlasts your former employer’s? Serve them right! What a shitty company. Losing trust is detrimental in business so their bankruptcy is only natural.

Regarding “lubrication”, many people including my parents believe that the right middle men (“cò” in Vietnamese) can speed up the process. They don’t have any basis to this thinking though. It’s like a secular form of Asian superstition. Regardless, I now have a habit of reading the nameplates of gov employees should “difficulty” arises.

It’s kinda expected that our immigration laws aren’t the best. Vietnam as a developing economy would expect to export our own labours abroad, rarely do we import labours.

Anyway, it’s nice to hear a story that contradicts what I find on /r/Vietnam subreddit. Let’s hope that the government continue to modernize and improve bureaucratic efficiency. And may the God of Wealth bless your business.

Tried working for a foreign company as an employee, got cheated badly, lost most of my assets, didn’t know what to do.

Did they only pay you in “equity” instead of wages?

Also, how was your interaction with the government? Did you have to “lubricate” with your money to make things go faster?

Understandable.

BTW, I’m a bit surprise when I find out you were actually a foreigner migrated to Vietnam, which is a developing country. I was always under the impression that talents usually rather migrate to a more developed economy, not only for higher life quality, but also more advanced technologies. What made you decide to open a tech company in Vietnam instead of anywhere else?