[Winona Online Democracy]
(I wrote this before reading the posts today from Vicki and Cathy, so some
of this has been covered more thoroughly by them...I'm sending it anyway.)
Phil Carlson's reply to Ms. Giebel should say it all, except that I'm
afraid Phil's point may be a little too subtle. To put it plainly: no
matter where your family history originated, the chances are good that when
they first arrived in the U.S. they were subjected to the same kinds of
insults and prejudice regretably displayed in Ms. Giebel's letter. The only
exceptions of which I'm aware would be American Indians, who were already
here, and possibly upper class English colonists. (Someone feel free to
augment my historical knowledge here!)
Another point that I thought was generally known but maybe not. When our
government (under a Republican administration, by the way) undertook the
so-called secret war in Cambodia and Laos, they enlisted the help of the
Hmong, with the promise that they would be taken care of after the war.
Instead thousands were left behind to fend for themselves when American
troops came home. I believe many Hmong rightfully feel that there remains
an unpaid debt for their loyal and vigorous participation on the U.S. side
during the Vietnam War.
I think it's also important to point out that if there are Americans
starving to death in the streets, that tragedy needs to be blamed on the
rabid tax-cutting fervor of the last few years in St. Paul and Washington.
Our budget crisis in MN is not a quirk of fate--instead it's the logical
result of conservative policies that leave our poorest citizens jobless,
hopeless, and without an adequate social service safety net. Please, let's
not scapegoat recent Asian immigrants who simply want to work hard for the
American dream, much like our grandparents and greatgrandparents did.
Scott Lowery
----------
"The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are
selling--their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons,
their notion of inevitability. Remember this: We be many and they be few.
They need us more than we need them. Another world is not only possible,
she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing."
Arundhati Roy
"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."
Zora Neale Hurston
sent by:
Scott Lowery
461 Sunnyview Drive, Rollingstone MN 55969
home phone: (507)689-4532
school phone: (507)454-9573
home email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
school email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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