Eating Your Own Guts

[Subsidized Period Restaurant in Vũng Tàu on 8/19/26]

Today I encountered a poissonnier who makes 50K đồng [$1.91] an hour. Since his Vũng Tàu room costs $133.85 a month, he has decided to move to Phước Tỉnh, half an hour away on a motorbike. There, he’ll pay just $19.12 a month. For this, he’ll get a room large enough to cook in, plus his own bathroom, so sufficient. His cheerfulness in relating all this to Nhi, the Ông Bầu barista, was admirable. Just as praiseworthy was her soapy fragrance, I must admit. Even for those not versed in French, a poissonnier, it should be obvious, is one who poisons people, though not on a Pfizer or Astra Zeneca scale.

A kitchen helper at his seafood joint makes $2.10 an hour. A waitress makes less, and there’s no tipping. If all these wages sound pathetic to you, keep in mind that just $2 will pay for enough vegetables daily, for two or three people even. A standard bánh mì with meat costs 76 cents even in pricey Saigon. During Nhi’s five-hour shift, she’s mostly idle, so has time to be bored to death by her cellphone, or talk to me, when I’m sad, desperate or creepy enough to bother her. Today, I helped her out, though, by checking on US prices for iPhone 17 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 5G. To her shock, they’re more expensive than in Vietnam. I also explained to her American list prices don’t include taxes, always substantial.

Nhi has 300 FaceBook “friends.” Unlike nearly all Zoomers, she’s not into selfies. Even on her recent trip to Đà Nẵng, Huế and Hội An, she didn’t post photos.

“Everyone is bragging,” I stated the obvious. “Does anyone send you photos to complain about their hard working conditions at, say, a factory?”

“No. None of my friends work in factories.”

“What about older friends?”

“I don’t have older friends.” Then, “My friends have jobs like mine, you know, in a café or a clothing store.”

“So not too hard.”

“No.”

“You know, people also post photos of what they’re eating. Everybody is enjoying fantastic meals! Does anyone send you photos of a miserable meal?”

“No.”

“You know, to enjoy yourself isn’t admirable. Who doesn’t know how to do that? Even dogs can enjoy themselves. Much more admirable is what you can endure.”

From 1975 to 1986, Vietnam suffered severe food shortages. Factors included war against Cambodia, war against China, centralized economic plannings, collapse of the Soviet Union, American economic sanctions, expulsion of Chinese and hundreds of thousands of people kept in reeducation camps. This coincided, exactly, with the boat people exodus. Though a true horror, it has a sanitized name, thời bao cấp, or subsidized period. Your government will take care of you!

At English Wikipedia, there’s a pretty photo to illustrate this period. In a small but neat living room is a radio, television, fridge, tea set, wooden furniture, some books on a shelf and, of course, a framed photo of Uncle Ho. Nowhere are chickens or even a stinking pig raised indoors to avoid detection. This snapshot is equivalent to the Apollo lunar module at the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

Weirder still are newly opened restaurants that claim to recreate this memorable era. Since those who suffered it can’t be too nostalgic about swallowing insufficient, inferior rice mixed with sorghum or cassava, most diners at Subsidized Period joints were born after this nightmare. Plus, their menus contain plenty of meat or fish, so don’t even try to be authentic. Though the Vietnamese Communist Party is still in power, Communism in any real sense has faded, so it’s time, as in Eastern Europe, to indulge in some Communist chic. Serving foreigners, Việt Kiều and the nouveau riche, Cộng Café is a Vietnamese chain with vintage photos of haggard Viet Cong soldiers on its walls. It’s cool.

So lucky to be alive, we need not look backward to fancy about going hungry, for the real experience is coming, for billions. There are still many, though, who don’t believe it matters much that shipping chokepoints are being blocked, seaports and oil refineries have been destroyed, rising prices in fertilizer have caused fewer crops being planted, so much lower yields of critical grains such as rice and wheat will be harvested. Bizarre weather patterns, most likely caused by weather warfare, have also disrupted farming worldwide. On top of all this, there’s fear the US or Israel might use nuclear weapons on Iran, to stave off defeat. Iran is threatening to bomb US bases in Europe. Shit talking Trump is humiliating Oman and South Korea, two reliable allies, but he’s been flinging shit at all US vassals since being installed, again, by Jews.

In March, the USS Gerald R. Ford had to dock because of an onboard fire, suspected by many to be sabotage by sailors going apeshit after being at sea for too long. The always upfront Trump regime denied this as fake news. Now, the USS Abraham Lincoln must leave the Arabian Sea after at least six sailors tried to commit suicide by jumping overboard. They hadn’t just been afloat forever but forced to eat, day after day, insufficient and crappy food. Since the US navy depot in Bahrain has, for months, been inaccessible, decent provisions couldn’t reach them. To counter this “fake news,” the Trump regime released a video of an Oriental sailor pigging out on monster portions, though he “missed his frigging rice.” At first, I thought this showed the contrast between the US and Chinese navy, then I realized the Oriental was serving Uncle Sam, so all must be well. Ingesting so much, this dude should consider sumo wrestling after his discharge, if he’s not killed by an Iranian missile. Most likely, he’s nowhere near the Persian Gulf, or just an actor.

Even no food at all shouldn’t be a problem. In 2024, Hung Cao clearly stated, “What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat ’em and ask for seconds. Those are young men and women that are going to win wars.” As Navy Secretary, Cao can just order his squids to devour and relish their own guts.

As I chattered with Nhi, two children, a 11-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy, wandered in to sell lottery tickets. Such sights were common 25 years ago, but they disappeared until three years ago, or after the Covid stunt. Last week, I saw Nhi eating white bread with just one fried egg, seasoned with soy sauce. At Ông Bầu, she’s not allowed even one cup of coffee per shift, only water. With her house just two doors away, Nhi can always run home to get something. Her two aging dogs, unusually hideous, are also allowed to keep her company inside Ông Bầu. Nhi never complains.

Nhi’s dogs don’t quite trust me. They often hide under her chair.

Managing to pet one, I said, “The saddest thing about having dogs is that they always die before you.” This was clearly idiotic, since if you die before them, you wouldn’t know, would you? “Like us, they also get sick from all sorts of diseases. Some of them also go blind.”

With angelic patience, she routinely puts up with my babbling. For this, I’m grateful.

Let’s end on a hopeful note. Iran’s expulsion of all Judeo Christian genociders from the Persian Gulf is a historical milestone. We must hope they’ll clear every last one from Asia. Among themselves, they can indulge in whatever. It’s their business, as usual.

[Dresden, 10/16/15]

[Berlin, 12/3/15]

[Leipzig, 1/5/16]

[Vũng Tàu, 8/13/26]

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