Most recent public comments by Elizabeth Riezinger https://nowcomment.com/users/17125 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408308 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408308 This reminds me of the previous attempt at translation for the word kho-siab. There's a huge difference in the past that Hmong Americans hold with them compared to Americans. It transcends simple description, it transcends facts. The 'invisible' that they must overcome after the bombings can only be described visually and with emotion. This whole essay is attempting to get at that I think, again mimicking the ways that Americans will never be able to understand. This devastation is so extreme and yet Americans tend to glaze over it, or be brought to white, guilty tears that are still lenses of their exoticism. No matter how Hmong Americans try to make Americans understand, they just never will because they do not have to hold the hands of ghosts. Wed, 11 Nov 2015 16:31:55 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=406772 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=406772 If you replace the word 'war' in this sentence, with the word 'life', you get a saying about life that i'm sure we've all heard. Life is a plethora of mixed emotions and experiences, ranging from all kinds of varying descriptions. I don't see war as being about longing, or love, but often media and movies represents it in a romanticized way. This perpetuates perhaps a dangerous idea that war is just a part of life, perhaps even essential. Things such as rape are glazed over and instead we are directed to focus on the romance, the courage, the "fun". War should not be naturalized in this way, and instead should be used to educate those on the real life consequences of war, some of those being mentioned in the rest of this article, rape, abandonment, gore, and oftentimes pointless violence. Mon, 09 Nov 2015 16:58:43 -0500