Hmong v. White racial tensions in Wisconsin's Northwoods

Darn Floor has a post about the media overplaying racial tensions in Northern Wisconsin right now (for the purpose of simplicity, Northern Wisconsin will refer to all of the state north of the Iowa state line). I agree with him. The media is trying to grab onto to something that isn't really there to the degree they want it to be. I do think that there is potential for a small backlash against Hmong community with this court case, though. Here is my comment to his post.

I think that when it comes to the race card on this issue, any disparaging comments are made in private. My experience on this is a little moldy, as I haven't lived in the area full time for ten years, but I do know people that have made disparaging remarks about the Homong community to close friends, family, in discrete settings. I cannot remember anyone ever doing that in public, though. It's really no diferent than any other immigrant group. The established community doesn't undertand them, and they mutter things under there breath about them.

Most communities with large Hmong populations have had 20 plus years of experience with the Hmong by now. It has been an immigrant group that has largely been a well behaved part of the community, so I think the larger community can clearly see that this is an isolated incident that has no strong relation to race. It helps that Vang was from Minnesota. It also helps that this occured in the lessor populated Sawyer County. If this had happened to well known Eau Claire business leaders, and Vang had been from Eau Claire, that may have changed the formula a bit.

The only thing that concerns me is Vang's lawyers. I fully expect them to play every race card they can, and things like that, in my experience, really get under the skin of Wisconsinites in the Northern & Central parts of the state. If we get a torrent of "it wasn't his fault because of his race," then I can see a small backlash developing. The media has overplayed the racial tension story line so far, though.

Northern Wisconsin may still be a very white area, but its thoughts on racial relations have come a very long way in 25 years.