The Troubles And Vietnam In The 1960's

1516 Words4 Pages

In the context of the apartheid, "The Troubles" and Vietnam in the 1960's there was a lot of protest. These protest were for many different issues, and came in various forms. They all feared for their nations and strived for change. Through this, key events took place that would shape history, and stay important to this day.



In 1948, South Africa passed a monumental law that would shape the nation for decades to come. This would be known as apartheid. The apartheid was a racially-motivated law that separated the white South Africans from the black, brown or mixed South African in the country. The word is Afrikaans for "the state of being apart". A literal translation meaning "apart-hood". This meant that everything in South Africa …show more content…

or "hippies". These people protested against the violence. They wanted peaceful approaches to the situations, and did not want the young males of America to fight a "rich mans war". They also protested against the mainstream culture. Where everyone was just conforming and brainlessly joining or supporting the war, without looking into it. They feared that people were losing their own identity and individuality. The protest of the counter culturists didn't just come in the form of banners and signs, but through their everyday life. They grew their hair out, and wore eccentric and bold outfits. Something the general public would never do. They also traveled around a lot, and could not be keep to one address which was also seen as a rebellion to conform to the social norms. This war was the first ever to be televised, you could see it everyday on the news and develop your own opinion. Some saw this as the right thing to do, and that the government knew what they were doing and that they should be trusted. Others did not see the point, America had no sufficient reason for going overseas. They saw it as a waste of millions of dollars and thousands of lives. The war sent shockwaves through the media and contributed to a new culture for the …show more content…

Unfortunately violence played a major role in a lot of this, and there were thousands of casualties across all three of these events. This was not the only similarity. Most notably, was how they all had some form of the protest through music. Music was seen as a way to address the issues of these events in a non violent way. In South Africa, songs such as "Nelson Mandela" helped to get the message of Mandela's imprisonment to people all over the world in a fun but effective fashion. In Ireland, the band U2 sent a powerful message to fans and people a like when they released "Bloody Sunday". Where the band questioned "The Troubles" and sang about the harsh realities of it all. In the Vietnam War, names such as Bob Dylan stand out. Bob Dylan strongly fought against the war, his music passionately portrayed his feelings for it. He believed the government was making grave mistakes, and thought their actions were cowardly. At times he even wished death upon them.

They also shared many differences. The apartheid was between the white and blacks of South Africa, and was a racial dispute. Whereas the Anti-Vietnam protest was between just Americans who had different opinions on the war. Furthermore, "The Troubles" and Apartheid were not actual wars, like the one in Vietnam. Their methods were also different. Groups such as the ANC and the IRA, were not afraid to resort to violence., but Counter-Culturists preferred to not

Open Document