Most recent public comments by Donald Nong https://nowcomment.com/users/17147 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408628 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=408628 Its remarkable how one phrase "Kho-siab" can iterate so many melancholy feelings. It truly replicates the discomfort of war for these veterans. The story of the Hmong and Laos people is often never told in history books. The French came colonize parts of their country like much of Southeast Asia. Colonization and imperialism - it is incredible how such practices in the early twentieth and late nineteenth centuries created such a violent atmosphere ultimately. By not representing a father in Gran Torino reinforced a stereotype that Southeast Asians in poorer communites have fathers who are nonexistent. I felt this was a misrepresentation of Hmong culture. Thu, 12 Nov 2015 05:01:13 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=407119 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=407119 This passage strikes me personally because my parents and family came to United States as refugees as a result the U.S's bombing of Cambodia which sparked the war. Speaking of the consequences of war in general, there are consistently unintentional hardships for those that emigrate to other countries post-war. Those brave enough to leave their homeland, venture into the world, into the unknown and restart life faced in a culture and way of life foreign deserve respect. Nguyen comments in the previous paragraph that his family has achieved success in the United States is living proof of the American dream, but also a war story. We sometimes forget what constitutes a war story. I and My family's existence here in the United States are war stories like Nguyen's. The perception of the American way by other countries is considered peaceful and liberating - truly the best way a population could thrive is by mimicking the American way. This is propaganda; the peace we as Americans observe is the result of war and the hardships for Americans and the countries it engages in conflict with could never be advertised. To reach a sound conclusion of whether or not the wars we participate in are considered just or unjust is incalculable; there is no yes or no answer. Many of my parents' friends, and families were left behind and died because of the wars cause in the Southeast Asian region. I cannot imagine the pain repressed within the hearts of my family members because of the war losing precious loved ones. I would presume as an immigrant of war that Nguyen has considered this too; I would presume any immigrant as a result of war has pain deep within them similar to mine and Nguyen's family. I continue living this war story. What can I the child of a first generation of Cambodian American descent accomplish within his life? I wonder if I can be as successful as Nguyen because its been hard to find my place in society. I live on as evidence of the United States conflict in Southeast Asian that occurred forty years ago. Tue, 10 Nov 2015 02:30:03 -0500