On Saturday Sept 24, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune published in their editorial section a "Counterpoint" by Tau Hang entitled: "Don't judge Hmong by what one man did." That the Strib would publish such a piece as written, demonstrates yet again that they are either; following their usual political agenda or "Stuck on Stupid", or both.
To me, it seems that Mr. Hang, has not done his people a service with his writing. His emotional piece includes much that should have been left unsaid. He begins:
After reading several articles in the papers, I am disturbed about the sentiment that the Hmong community has received due to the actions of one man. Chai Soua Vang's trial and verdict might have ended but their effect will ripple through the community for years. It's too bad positive news doesn't have the same effect as negative news does.
There hasn't been any positive news in this case, other than that the monster, Chai Vang will not kill again, at least not outside of prison.
Tau Hang continues, detailing his own family's service to this country, with his father having served in the Hmong Army, and brother having served in the US Army in Afghanistan. Both he says, have put their lives on the line for this country.
It saddens him that many don't know why the Hmong people are here in the US; that it wasn't by choice that they had to flee their country. It saddens me too, but I know that the young are rarely aware of, or concerned about, anything that happened before their own memories began. Many of them have little or no awareness of the sacrifices of their own fathers, uncles, and grandfathers.
Mr Hang then plays the Race, and Oppressed Minority Cards:
The media, trial and the people of Hayward, Wis., said the murders weren't about race. I can understand why folks would want to retaliate against Chai's family about the murders, but what I can't understand is when other Hmong families are terrorized because of one man's actions by bumper stickers that read "Save a deer, Kill a Mung" or hate e-mails and letters that hope for the genocide of the Hmong race, all because of one incident in the woods of Wisconsin.
So no, you can't say race didn't play a factor if all this resentment toward the Hmong exist. It's a part of everyday life, especially if you're a minority. The media, when describing Chai Vang, said he was Hmong. They didn't even give him the decency of calling him Hmong-American. Another murder would have been reported as done by John Doe, an Irish descendant.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning Chai's actions and I'm not saying what he did was right. But I've been in similar situations. I know what he might have been feeling. I've been forced off the road into a ditch. I've been in stare-down confrontations at school. I've heard the tauntings, racial remarks and the slurs. I know the feeling of fearing for your life. All this because I look different. Who knows how I would have reacted had I been there?
I won't quote the entirety of Mr. Hang's remarks as that could be counterproductive. Suffice it to say that he and the Strib have failed to recognize the crux of the matter. That is: To my knowledge, no Hmong or
Hmong-American, including Mr. Hang, has been heard denouncing the statements of the family of Chai Vang. Mr. Hang couldn't even concede that what Chai Vang did was "wrong". He says, "All this because I look different." Truth is, he looks like Chai Vang, the
only Hmong-American that most "Majority" people know.
No one "deserved to die", for calling someone a "Chink", Gook, or anything else for that matter.
Mr. Hang has failed to consider the perceptions of the "Majority". With these murders, how many more Chai Vangs might be out there? Mr. Hang comes close to suggesting that he might be one. How many more will there be? Will they, as in the Urban Ghetto, start blowing people away, if they feel they have been "dissed"?
Some years after many Vietnamese arrived here, we heard about young Viet gang-bangers killing one another. Will we now be confronted with young Hmong gang-bangers killing us? Will people forgo deer hunting in the upcoming season, to avoid meeting Hmongs in the woods?
Such questions, not fully formed in the minds of most people, are festering in the subconscious minds of many. The resultant unease, and perhaps fear and anger, have resulted in racist expressions by some immature individuals. However; has Mr. Hang observed the taunts, slurs, and threats that go on between kids of the same race that are pervasive in the run-of-the-mill Junior High School?
To me, it is perfectly understandable that the the Hmong People are afraid and angry with the backlash that they have received so far. The emotional statements of Chai Vang's family also are understandable, considering their loss and grief. What they don't understand however, is that White People are now afraid of them.
Mr. Hang states:
We'll never know who fired first. It's a "he said, she said" situation. But at least some closure will hopefully come of this now that the trial is over and the verdict has been decided.
He is wrong on both counts: It's a "he said, they said" situation, they being the wounded survivors of Chai Vang's massacre. Chai himself was not injured.
There is no closure. The taunts, slurs and threats will continue and increase, with each cry of "Racism!", and "Oppressed Minority!". I'm sure that the Strib will be happy to exploit all of these.
Chai Vang is a monster, and a Terrorist. After 9/11, most Americans have little regard for Terrorists, or for people that justify them. By their silence, especially after the "deserved to die" statements, the Hmong people have inadvertently placed themselves in a position similar to Muslims in this country, who blamed us, and said that we "deserved to be attacked".
Prior to the massacre, few if any, were uneasy with the presence of Hmong in their midst.
What is necessary to achieve the Closure that Mr Hang and I both desire, is that he and his People understand the dynamics of the situation, as presented here.
Influential and respected leaders must speak out, publicly and emphaticlly, to reassure the rest of us. They must emphaticly state that "No one deserves to die, regardles of what he has said, even though disrespectful!" Some expression of gratitude for what (mostly) White Americans have done for them, is also in order.
Most productive, will be a public apology from the Chai Vang Family for their intemperate statements.
I have discussed this situation with my good friend and neighbor. He is a caring, compassionate person, as are all other Hmong people that I know. He is a Lutheran lay minister in the Saint Paul Hmong community, and has agreed to spread this message. God willing, the relationship between Hmong and White Americans can and will, become better than ever.
