Viet Cong Release Statement In Defense Of Band Name

Controversial Canadian post-punk outfit Viet Cong have issued a statement in defense of their band name, at the same time offering pseudo-apologies to those members of the public who have expressed offence at their choice of moniker.

"Our band, Viet Cong, has existed for a little over three years now. When we named ourselves, we were naive about the history of a war in a country we knew very little about," the band explained in the statement, which they released to Pitchfork. "We now better understand the weight behind the words 'Viet Cong'."

"We feel it is important to let you know that we never meant to trivialize the atrocities or violence that occurred on both sides of the Vietnam War," they continued. "We never intended for our name to be provocative or hurtful."

The infamy of Viet Cong's name choice gathered steam recently in the wake of the cancellation of a planned performance at Oberlin College, in Ohio, with the venue's promoter calling Viet Cong "a name that deeply offends and hurts Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American communities".

In the light of that cancellation, Viet Cong wrote in their statement: "We truly appreciate the seriousness of the feedback we've received, and we will continue to be open to listening to issues and concerns from all perspectives."

Despite their new-found understanding and appreciation for basic historical research, though, and their admission that they "don't take any concerns about the name lightly", the band don't seem to have any plans to actually change the name, signing the statement "with love from the band Viet Cong".

Either way, the earnest statement and its acknowledgment of people's concerns is a far cry from earlier responses from the band over concerns about their band name, previously preferring to take the tongue-in-cheek route, as when they suggested they could rename themselves to "Diet Dong".