Most Polled Back Shopkeeper’s Rights

Most county residents believe the Communist symbols that provoked weeks of demonstrations in Little Saigon are offensive, but a majority say both the shopkeeper who displayed them and the protesters acted within their rights, a Times Orange County Poll has found.

The telephone poll of 600 randomly chosen adult residents was conducted from Feb. 26 through March 2, before police raided the video store on Friday to remove alleged evidence of videotape piracy and found that the Communist Vietnamese flag and photo of late leader Ho Chi Minh had been removed.

Truong Van Tran sparked a furor by displaying the symbols in his shop at the heart of the county’s Vietnamese community, where many residents fled the Communist regime after suffering at the hands of its leaders. As many as 15,000 protesters have surged into the nearby streets since mid-January in angry rallies, keeping Tran away and his store closed.

Of Orange County residents polled, 53% found Tran’s display offensive.

Older residents were far more likely to be offended than were younger respondents. While 62% of those 55 and older called the display offensive, only 44% of those ages 18 to 34 did so. Republicans also were more likely than Democrats--62% compared with 52%--to say they are offended by the symbols.

Despite their distaste, most county residents believe Tran was entitled to put up the display. More than half said he was within the bounds of his 1st Amendment rights in putting up the symbols.

Nearly 6 in 10 Democrats and about half of Republicans said Tran was within his rights. Older respondents were less likely to agree.

The display “is a little offensive,” said poll respondent Ruth Haydis, 68, a retired secretary and registered Democrat from Huntington Beach. But “until they change the 1st Amendment . . . he has the right to do this. My feeling is if the people would just ignore him and nobody go to his store, that maybe he would just go away.”

At the same time, a strong majority of Orange County residents support the rights of the protesters. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said the protests were appropriate, with relatively little variation by age or political affiliation.

All the same, some were critical of protesters.

“I think they have the right to protest, but I think when they’re fighting and throwing eggs and beating people up . . . that’s overstepping their boundaries,” said Vito Nash of San Clemente, a registered Republican and 44-year-old warehouse manager. “But they do have the right to protest, just like the store owner has the right to display the items.”

Vietnamese American community leaders say the poll results are reassuring proof that the public supports their cause.

“I’m encouraged that a super-majority of Orange County residents agreed that the Vietnamese American community has the right to protest Mr. Tran,” said activist and attorney Van Thai Tran.

The attorney said he regards the finding that 4 in 10 do not consider the symbols offensive as “just an incentive to wage an educational campaign to explain that they represent pain and suffering to the Vietnamese people.”

One expert said the poll results are in line with Orange County’s historical conservatism and strong military ties. “Orange County had strong support for the Vietnam War and it was a center for military activity with its proximity to three military bases,” said Jeffrey Brody, assistant professor of communication at Cal State Fullerton who teaches a course on the Vietnamese American experience.

“We have a great many veterans here, and of course they would find the Communist flag and portrait of Ho Chi Minh offensive,” he said.

That majorities of respondents support Tran’s rights and those of demonstrators as well simply shows that people understand and respect the rule of law, said Brody.

“You may disagree with what someone is saying, but you defend their right to say it,” he said. “That’s very much a value shared by the founding fathers of this country. The 1st Amendment give you the right to demonstrate and the right to display the poster. That’s the beauty of it.”

Times correspondent Harrison Sheppard contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Display Distasteful, but Protected

Although a small majority of Orange County residents find a Little Saigon merchant’s display of Communist icons distasteful and believe the almost daily protests they have engendered to be appropriate, most also think the action is protected free-speech rights. Older residents and Republicans are the most offended by Tran’s action.

* Vietnamese immigrants and others in Westminster’s Little Saigon have been protesting a shopkeeper’s display of the Communist Vietnamese flag and a portrait of the late Communist leader Ho Chi Minh. Do you find the display of these items offensive, or not?

*--*

Yes No Don’t know Total 53% 42% 5% 18-34 years 44% 52% 4% 35-54 55% 42% 3% 55 & older 62% 31% 7% Republican 62% 36% 2% Democrat 52% 41% 7%

*--*

*

Protesters have staged demonstrations against the display almost daily in Little Saigon since it began in mid-January. Do you think the protests are appropriate, or not?

Appropriate: 66%

Not appropriate: 28%

Don’t know: 6%

*

Some say the shopkeeper has overstepped his free-speech rights in displaying the Communist symbols. Do you agree or disagree?

*--*

Agree Disagree Don’t know Total 41% 53% 6% 18-34 years 39% 57% 4% 35-54 36% 58% 6% 55 & older 54% 39% 7% Republican 49% 48% 3% Democrat 34% 58% 8%

*--*

Source: Times Orange County Poll

About the Poll

The Times Orange County Poll, addressing several topics in the news, was conducted by Baldassare Associates under the direction of Cheryl Katz. The random telephone survey of 600 Orange County adults was conducted Feb. 26 through March 2. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 4% at the 95% confidence level. Statistically, this means there is a 95% chance that the results would fall inside that range if every adult resident in Orange County were interviewed. For subgroups, such as residents of regions, the margin of error is larger.