The issues that you write about are so much more complex than can be covered in a simple post.
First, I want to make it clear that when I mentioned the money, I was responding to Jarah's aside about how it only costs $10M to overthrow the Laotian government. She referred to the amount to take a shot at Quay Hays, but in doing so, I felt that it undercut the actual significance of the amount that Vang Pao hoped to raise and the means by which he was going to do it--which I conjecture would have been at the expense of poor Hmong families.
As a member of the Hmong community myself, I know very well the issues my people face both in the US and abroad. But for those who needed the history and current events lesson, your post served well.
Of course, the Hmong in Laos and Thailand have the right to defend themselves from harm, to live their lives without fear of persecution from their neighbors or their own government, to have homes, and to raise their families in peace--all the things that many Americans, myself included, often take for granted. But the injustices that are being inflicted on the Hmong are not very different from what is occurring and has occurred to other peoples in other parts of the world. And as evidenced from the ongoing bloodshed in these places, particularly in the Middle East, violence is not the way to right injustices or to restore any sort of order or peace. Whether you call it freedom fighting or terrorism, no matter how noble or just the cause (which in itself is often subjective), those two terms hold no distinctions for me if innocent lives are lost in the process. There are ways to be an activist and to have your voice be heard without having to resort to violence, and I stand firmly on that point.
Now how much of a terrorist is Vang Pao or his alleged co-conspirators really? According to the press, these men plotted to overthrow the Laotian government and cause destruction on the scale of 9/11. To say that I'm more than a little skeptical about the accuracy of this reporting is an understatement. But even if only some parts of it are true, I would still be disappointed in the course the general chose to take. I can't help but think that his actions can only hurt the community, though many others are of the opinion that his possible incarceration may be the catalyst needed to bring awareness to the Hmong plight abroad.
That being said, I'm sure I'll have just as strong of an opinion in the near future about the way this case is being handled by government officials and whether these men are even given a just or fair trial. There is a general paternalistic attitude toward the Hmong that is reflected in the news as well in many of the posts and comments I've seen that also concerns me, but that just opens another can of worms that's probably better left closed for now.
Just to clarify a few things...
The issues that you write about are so much more complex than can be covered in a simple post.
First, I want to make it clear that when I mentioned the money, I was responding to Jarah's aside about how it only costs $10M to overthrow the Laotian government. She referred to the amount to take a shot at Quay Hays, but in doing so, I felt that it undercut the actual significance of the amount that Vang Pao hoped to raise and the means by which he was going to do it--which I conjecture would have been at the expense of poor Hmong families.
As a member of the Hmong community myself, I know very well the issues my people face both in the US and abroad. But for those who needed the history and current events lesson, your post served well.
Of course, the Hmong in Laos and Thailand have the right to defend themselves from harm, to live their lives without fear of persecution from their neighbors or their own government, to have homes, and to raise their families in peace--all the things that many Americans, myself included, often take for granted. But the injustices that are being inflicted on the Hmong are not very different from what is occurring and has occurred to other peoples in other parts of the world. And as evidenced from the ongoing bloodshed in these places, particularly in the Middle East, violence is not the way to right injustices or to restore any sort of order or peace. Whether you call it freedom fighting or terrorism, no matter how noble or just the cause (which in itself is often subjective), those two terms hold no distinctions for me if innocent lives are lost in the process. There are ways to be an activist and to have your voice be heard without having to resort to violence, and I stand firmly on that point.
Now how much of a terrorist is Vang Pao or his alleged co-conspirators really? According to the press, these men plotted to overthrow the Laotian government and cause destruction on the scale of 9/11. To say that I'm more than a little skeptical about the accuracy of this reporting is an understatement. But even if only some parts of it are true, I would still be disappointed in the course the general chose to take. I can't help but think that his actions can only hurt the community, though many others are of the opinion that his possible incarceration may be the catalyst needed to bring awareness to the Hmong plight abroad.
That being said, I'm sure I'll have just as strong of an opinion in the near future about the way this case is being handled by government officials and whether these men are even given a just or fair trial. There is a general paternalistic attitude toward the Hmong that is reflected in the news as well in many of the posts and comments I've seen that also concerns me, but that just opens another can of worms that's probably better left closed for now.