Subject: Leader-Telegram editorial Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 20:20:28 -0600 Message-ID: <B14120EE5C432443B21102F7925DAD020142025B@COKE.uwec.edu> From: "Grossman, Zoltan C." <GROSSMZC@uwec.edu>
Theresa Hesebeck not asking too much
Don Huebscher
Eau Claire Leader-Telegram Staff, 12/21/2004
http://www.leadertelegram.com/story.asp?id=50220
As we reflect on the shootings near Birchwood that occurred a month ago
today, the victims? relatives and friends continue to struggle through a
difficult holiday season wondering if the day will ever come when they
can move forward.
For that reason there?s a reluctance to write any more on the terrible
incident other than reporting new developments as the legal process
churns along. How can those affected most closely try to look to the
future if they continue to be pulled back to the past?
All of us should take to heart the strength and leadership of Theresa
Hesebeck. She is the sister of Denny Drew and wife of Lauren Hesebeck.
Drew was killed, and Lauren Hesebeck was wounded in the attack.
Theresa Hesebeck found the courage to address the racial backlash that
has followed the shootings. Chai Vang of St. Paul, who is of Hmong
descent, has admitted to the shootings, reports say. Isolated anti-Hmong
incidents in the aftermath of the shootings have been reported.
?We would like everyone to know ? that we do not hold the Hmong
community responsible for this act,? Theresa Hesebeck wrote on a Web
site created in memory of the victims. ?As any senseless act from any
race, they did not pull the trigger.
?I would like to ask that anyone who is trying to make this a racial
issue, either white or minority, (to) please stop this and know that it
is a dishonor to all of our loved ones to continue these acts of
prejudice,? she wrote. ?If you are not of Native American blood, we are
all immigrants. Please be sympathetic to the Hmong community who is also
saddened by all of this.?
The one common thread that ties us together in this tragedy is
compassion for others. We?ve all thought how horrible it would be to go
through something so unimaginable. We?ve all also thought if there was
anything we could do to help, we would.
Well, Theresa Hesebeck has given us the cue. Lingering distrust by Hmong
or non-Hmong as a result of this incident can only lead to anger, which
can only lead to, heaven forbid, another act of violence.
The victims were brought to the woods because of their common bond of
deer-hunting. But deer camp isn?t that much about shooting a deer as it
is about love of family and friends, the outdoors, and all the great
times that come from people just being together to share the experience.
Theresa Hesebeck is right. For people to turn their anger over the act
of one person into a campaign of verbal insults and other hideous acts
of racial prejudice against others not only makes a terrible situation
even worse, but it also desecrates everything deer-hunting is supposed
to represent.
Speaking of stereotypes, there are people in other areas of the country
who think folks in these parts are a bunch of red-necked, intolerant
ignoramuses. We know that?s not true, but that?s the way it is for
people who paint with a broad brush.
It?s up to all of us to dispel such myths. We owe that much to ourselves
and to our Hmong neighbors who are here for the same reasons we are. We
also owe it to the families and friends of the victims.
Theresa Hesebeck is a special person for finding the strength to help
lead us during such a difficult time.
? Don Huebscher, editor