Most recent public comments by Christopher Oo https://nowcomment.com/users/17127 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408598 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408598 I am struck by the continued reference to ghosts and invisibility. It seems that not only do the Hmong have to hold the hands of ghosts in their day-to-day recollections of surviving the war, they too must work not to become living ghosts as they struggle to survive in Western society. To me, this is the ultimate tragedy of war -- it erases its victims. It erases them literally, or as we see here, figuratively, by driving them into lives of suffering and isolation. Our culture's indifference to the costs of our endless wars also perpetuates the survivors' invisibility. By refusing to acknowledge what has happened, we are turning our backs on those whose survival depends on us acknowledging and listening to those whom all those things happened to. This for me is why there seems to be a theme also of trying to avoid slipping into silence. The silence and invisibility induced by war is a perpetual continuation of its violence. Having voices out there who can give us the other side of the story are essential to us realizing the full implications of our wars. War thrives when there is no to speak out against it and these Hmong voices are fighting ongoing battles every day to try and not let the silent suffocation of war's aftermath become their reality. In this way, these people will be living and reliving the war long after the last bombs have dropped. Thu, 12 Nov 2015 00:10:48 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408567 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408567 I too found this passage to be very interesting. I think I had the same reaction of suprise that this assumed sign of empathy would be taken as a bad thing in a way. What I think it shows is how different the author feels from his audience. When he writes "Here, as in the ripping of air and the trembling of the earth from the bombs, is the introduction of chaos into the interstices of purported order." As he teaches his audience about the bombing of Laos, his story rips through their order and normalcy like the bombs did through his own life. What he realizes is that this is the only taste of chaos they have really known and so that while they might feel empathy, this is not something that they have to deal with as their reality (at the end of the day they don't have to live with the pain). The author on the other hand has to live with that pain every day, it is not merely some "exotic" or different teach-in-- it is his whole reality. He knows that this lack of relevancy causes "the magnitude of destruction and immiseration my people underwent [to be] cast out as other in white eyes misty..." For his white audience, the war is not their reality so they do not need to really confront its full magnitude. I also think in this last point, he brings in a critique of Western sympathy to the suffering of the rest of the world. It's so easy for us to watch a short video about the destruction of an entire people's livelihood, cry a bit, write a handsome check and move on with our lives. The author is critical of this shallow empathy and points out the moral and experiential deficiencies we may face as people who did not live his and other's realities (and choose not to confront their full tragedy by remaining blissfully ignorant). Wed, 11 Nov 2015 23:42:09 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=406821 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=406821 I think you bring up some interesting points, but I respectfully disagree. I do not think war is an "unavoidable" part of human society as you say. I also find it concerning that war should be seen as a way to "seed out the weaker people and better society". That kind of Social Darwinist thinking is dangerous and gives rise to an "us" v. "them" mentality that leads to endless war and genocide. There is no reason why wars need to be fought and I believe a world without war is possible in the future... I also do not think that the way their refugee story shaped their lives is something that is inherently good. Sure, there was regeneration that came out of destruction, but is that what they would have wanted? I think they were victims of circumstance and I think being in a refugee camp is a terrible tragedy. Yes, people are resilient so they turned out okay, but such an experience does not "teach them how to live or give them opportunities." I disagree with your chauvinistic depiction of the "merits" of war. I do not think war has any merit and I disagree with your fatalistic conclusion that war is an inevtiable part of our nature that is beneficial because it eliminates weaker individuals from the equation. Mon, 09 Nov 2015 17:58:05 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=406798 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=406798 The relative privilege America has in the world allows for our people to choose to ignore the reality of the grind of our war-machine in far off places in the world. Our deluded sense of exceptionalism makes many people think that: 1.) We have some divine right to intervene militarily wherever we see fit. 2.) That our wars are fought for the betterment of others 3.) There is no need to pay attention to the effects these wars have on people, countries, cultures, etc. This is something we see with the Middle East. Our excessive military involvement there first gave rise to groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and when "the chickens came home to roost" in such an awful way we decided that we should get further involved in the region by invading Iraq. Now we have the Islamic State. It seems to me that we have not learned our lessons from Vietnam because the people don't connect the dots between our lives in America and the wars we fight abroad. According to National Geographic, only 18% of Americans are able to point out Afghanistan on a map. That is just plan upsetting and highly indicative of the fact that we, as a country, are incredibly apathetic towards war even though we are addicted to it. I feel like it boils down to the idea that Americans tend to believe (subconsciously and culturally) that they matter more than everyone else, which gives them the arrogance to not care or not speak out and allow such atrocities to continue. We need to check our privilege and put our exceptionalist rhetoric to sleep if we are to have an legitimate chance at reigning in our military-industrial complex/machine. Mon, 09 Nov 2015 17:45:28 -0500