Saturday, April 21, 2007

General Vang Pao Elementary

This story is almost comical.  The Madison School District had to come up with a new name for an elementary school.  41 names were submitted including Henry Aaron and Ronald Reagan.  In the end, Madison did what Madison does and decided to go with a more politically correct person to honor a particular minority community: General Vang Pao.

The Hmong community says it’s the first time their most prominent leader, General Vang Pao, has been honored with a public school in his name.

“It is a historic moment for the Hmong people,” said Madison school board member Shwaw Vang, a Hmong who persuaded the board to unanimously approve the name last week. An Asian ethnic group, the Hmong in the U.S. came mainly from Laos as refugees after the Vietnam war.

But now they are getting some blow back.  There seems to be pretty substantial evidence that Vang Pao engaged in war crimes.  Apparently, he summarily executed his fair share of POWs and civilians.  He was heavily involved in trafficking opium to fund the war.  And he even forcibly conscripted kids into battle.  Perhaps even worse, for the ever-sensitive Madison types, Vang Pao did all of this as part of a CIA-backed war. 

Ironically, the kids who will attend Vang Pao Elementary will be the same age as the kids that he allegedly conscripted and sent to their deaths.

Personally, I think that some of the evidence against Vang Pao on war crimes is a bit sketchy and seems to be colored by an anti-CIA, pro-Communist agenda.  His involvement in Opium trafficking seems to be pretty well established.  But guerrilla warfare is naturally a bloody business and I wouldn’t set anything outside the realm of possibility. 

This is why school districts should stick to naming schools after local icons and presidents.  It makes life a whole lot less complicated.

(7) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0748 hrs
Culture + Foreign Affairs + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. I read this entry twice.  Then I read the story link.  I didn’t really believe it was a legitimate story.  I thought this was from the Onion. 

    If they want a liberal icon, why not Tony Earl Academy or something like that.  Would make a ton more sense.  Since when did we start naming schools after foreign military leaders?  This must just be the foundation for the next Madison school to be named the Che Guevarra Institute.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 21, 2007 at 0927 hrs


  2. Why would’t you name the school for a foreign military leader of a great human like Aaron or the US president that took us out of the crap 70’s?

    BTW, if the “che” high school or anything goes through, i will be one of the first to want a Pol Pot or Castro academy.
    After all, whats the difference?

    Posted by still Unreal... on April 21, 2007 at 1134 hrs


  3. They could also sell the naming rights to the school and get a few dollars.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 21, 2007 at 1239 hrs


  4. This is what happens - especially in Madison - when you choose symbolism over substance.  Look, just go with George Washington or Abraham Lincoln and be done with it.  Sheesh!

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 21, 2007 at 1544 hrs


  5. Madison continues to be an embarrassment and a disgrace to our state.  What, we ran out of American heroes?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 22, 2007 at 0803 hrs


  6. This is why school districts should stick to naming schools after local icons and presidents.  It makes life a whole lot less complicated.

    Nah - this is a much better way to say “Screw you, you local taxpayers!”.  Naming schools based on location (east, west, major streets), prominent local citizens, or historically significant Americans might be perceived as being respectful of the local taxpayer and might imply that they have the right to expect more than financial input in the educational process.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 22, 2007 at 0837 hrs


  7. None of you can call yourself ‘good citizens’. The Hmong community in Madison pay a great deal of taxes themselves. They contribute to the community. Without them, America would’ve been even more screwed during the Vietnam era. So you rednecks do yourself a favor and research the issue more.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 26, 2007 at 1436 hrs


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