Hmong Are Moving Again, This Time to Poultry Farms

Yong Sue Lee knew it was time to make the big move in the fall of 2002. Unsold cotton fabric filled up the warehouse at the textile mill in Fresno, Calif., where he was a machine repairman. The inventory spilled into a parts-storage room and he feared layoffs would be next.

Anybody who can tolerate raising chickens has my respect! Notice how often the article mentions the smell - well, you can't mention it too often, because it really is nauseating. I had friends who ran a chicken ranch in Upstate New York and it was grueling, disgusting work, in my mind. I never liked to pass through the barns, let alone stay in them and work.

I've spent time visiting the Mhong community in my city and have been inside their houses. They are hard working, modest people, a majority of which live in the poorest sections of town.

Most every Mhong I have met works at least one crappy job and sometimes two. When I say crappy, I mean 3rd shift service and nasty janitorial work that a vast majority of us would never consider. The exception to the ones not working are the old granparents who take care of the kids while the parents are working.

These people were the hillbillies of S.E. Asia and have moved from the 19th to the 21st century. The adaptation to our culture alone is overwhelming which makes them stand out to the zenophobes and bigots in our society and makes them the ethnic immigrant group of choice for the media to focus on and follow, because they are settled into so few areas of the country.

To their credit, I have yet to hear of one political activist Hmong demanding native langugage signs, teachers, etc. Nor have I heard of them demanding diddly bo squat...they are too humble for that.

Do a Google on "Asian Home invasion". Specifically I do have knowledge of Hmong traditions that translate poorly to the US. We've had several child abuse cases involving arranged marriage to an "elder", I'm talking 12 year old girls here.

Yes the older Hmong are hard working. However many have adjusted very poorly to life in the 20th century. I have dealt with a number who despite 20 years here speak no English ( as recently as yesterday ). Many of the kids unfortunately choose to emulate our least successful ethinic groups. They comprise the largest percentage of gang members in Appleton, Oshkosh and a major gang presence in Green Bay. Ask any cop in the area.

You can place your liberal guilt trips in an uncomfortable area. As I said the Hmong of Wisconsin make the Trib's immigrant sob story propaganda often enough for me to realize that bringing them over was a mistake. Joe Guzzardi writes for v-dare and since he tries to teach Hmong English he should know of their backwardness. I like his story in which he inadvertently touched a Hmong woman in his class and she nearly had to be killed by her husband for such blasphemy (luckily the tribe reached a compromise and she was spared).

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