Joseph Tiu ASA 002 A03 Week 6

        This week, I looked at the article Hmong Does Not Mean Free by Mouavangsou K. I found this article interesting because it highlights the importance of exploring in-depth the culture and history of those around us. As the article mentions, there are so many misconceptions of Hmong history, culture, and traditions where even the meaning of the word ‘Hmong’ itself was said to mean ‘free’ when other Hmong communities do not necessarily agree. These misconceptions were tied to a lack of education regarding Hmong history, culture and practices, instead only having a few brief mentions in the history books as well as non-Hmong authors writing to criticize or mock Hmong practices that they see as strange.

           

            I agree with the author’s main points, especially when there were ideas being raised of the Hmong community coming from a primitive and illiterate tribe. As the author pointed out, there is a deeper history and context surrounding these ideas which do not paint them in such a negative light. The result of this misinformation is that others, even members of the Hmong community, can self-apply these notions and stereotypes. This is not necessarily good and can lead to those in the Hmong community to disregard what others see as a ‘primitive’ culture in hope of being more ‘American.’ The effects this can have on one’s self-image is sad, as it diminishes the pride one has in their history and origins. Of course, this is not something that is unique to the Hmong community, as other minorities can also have their histories, cultures, or practices misrepresented in media which can form stereotypes and biases, even to the point of self-applying these biases.

            This can create a cycle in which we accept these false biases as true, imposing these biases upon ourselves and further propagating this cycle. Truly, the key to solving this would then be awareness to the issue and that is exactly what this class is about and what the author did in this article. My question now is what we can do to spread awareness about what we know now? How can we explore the history and culture of not just the Hmong community but other minority communities as well? Culture and history are complex and should be observed through unbiased lenses so when can we really say we understand it for what it really is and not a simplified or westernized version?

Mouavangsou, K. N. (2019). Hmong Does Not Mean Free. In Fight the Tower. United States:  Rutgers University Press

Penstone, J. (n.d.) iceberg Model of Culture [Online Image]. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.