"They hate Americans there"

In Vietnam, we were learning so much about resilience, resourcefulness, and history.  Nearly everyone I told about our plans for independent travel in Vietnam assumed the Vietnamese would hate us.  I learned a few things about the US-Vietnam war:
War means more to the side that lost.
We are not all associated with our home government.
War recovery is critical and governments rarely offer what is needed to rebuild.
Vietnamese people rebuilt despite their government.

I've also traveled in Cuba, where it was assumed Cubans wouldn't like Americans.  Cubans, Vietnamese, and many other people have good reason to not like Americans or to not like American foreign policy, and desire Americans to put more pressure on our government to change policy.  I understand the possibility for hostility.  I've also rarely experienced it.

(I also rarely refer to myself or any US citizens as "Americans."  I'm using that word here for expediency.  Here's my objection: the Americas cover two continents and many countries.  Adopting "American" as the short-hand for a US citizen seems to assume domination or superiority over those other countries and identities.  It would be more innocuous if US foreign policy didn't often reflect that same domination.)

I don't necessarily identify with the US government.  I want to be careful in my thoughts here.  I've been active against the war in Iraq & Afghanistan since 9/11.  I've been a long-time member of the movement against mass incarceration, which is a challenge to US domestic policy.  I do feel it's my responsibility to challenge the US government, especially because I live in the US and have more access to it than many people in the world.  I also pay taxes, which means I'm not innocent.  And I benefit from being a US citizen-- I have an access to the world denied many people of other nationalities (not even considering race privilege and class).  If Vietnamese people were resentful towards me because of US war crimes, I would understand it.  Interestingly, they never seemed to be.  If anything, Vietnamese attention was mainly directed at China, and sometimes France.

I also learned more about war resisters within Vietnam.  Many of those who didn't, or couldn't, go to Canada defected within Vietnam.  There's also a large population of conscientious objectors in Japan.

There are certainly parts of the world where I wouldn't travel due to danger or hostilities towards Americans.  However, the more I travel the more I realize that if you are respectful, aware, and engaged in learning, you'll rarely encounter hate.

Kevin wearing a Muhammad Ali shirt in Vietnam.  People we met did remember Ali's act of solidarity by stating in 1966, "No VietCong ever called me Ni**er!"