Updated October 21, 2006: I owe an apology to the Post-Crescent. This post was previously titled "Giving Up on the Post-Crescent" after it appeared that they were not going to print my letter-to-the-editor in support of Toua Lor. The initial letter was sent in late September, and several revisions followed over the next few days, but on October 14, when I had waited over a week from the final revision, I concluded that they weren't interested in the story and weren't printing the letter. I based this on past experience in seeing letters get printed within a couple days of receipt - coupled with my belief that any of the previous editions should have been OK (though the first one was too long and would have required editing out a section). So I gave up and concluded that the Post-Crescent was really interested in understanding some of the other perspectives on this story. However, today, October 21, the letter was printed. Obviously, I was overly impatient and apologize for my disappointment in the editorial area.

If you aren't familiar with the story, Toua (Chuetoua Lor) is the US citizen and Hmong man who, according to a white man who accosted him while hunting, allegedly pointed his .22-caliber rifle at the legs of the man to keep him away. The man, who thought that Toua had gotten to the hunting grounds by going through his property (update: input from neighbors provides good support for that belief), called the police and reported the gun pointing. As a result, Toua was put in jail, given an unusually high bond, and now faces felony charges that could result in 13 years imprisonment. The media repeatedly linked the alleged incident to a massacre of six hunters in 2004 by an angry Hmong man. (Update: I improperly recalled a quote from a town official that was quoted by the media when this story was printed. It was not as bad as I thought.) From my perspective, there has been no effort by the media to consider another side to the story.

Update: Now let me point out that if someone had pointed a gun at me under these circumstances, I, too, would have called the police. Calling the police to report such a thing was surely a reasonable and responsible action. My concern is not with the man who reported Toua, but how the media reported the story.

Printing the letter is a positive step forward, and I hope future coverage will be more accurate, more balanced, and more likely to consider that there might be more to this story than has been shared so far. Further, I hope they will consider that the Hmong community might have a thing or two to say about this case.

There is a Hmong community perspective to this story that I also feel needs to be considered. One Hmong woman told me that if Toua goes to jail, everyone in the Hmong community goes to jail. Many see it as a racial issue, as a violation of their rights, as a threat to their place in the community. (Update: This is based on the belief that Toua was hunting legally, something that may not be correct when everything becomes known.) (Update: When I previously raised their concern of Hmong people that one man's call to the police can get them in trouble, let me emphasize that it in no way implies that Mr. van Dinter did anything improperly, or that his actions were racially motivated. My impression of him is that he is a reasonable person, and I suspect that he acted in good faith in the encounter. In fact, based on what I know from the input of Liberty folks, I cannot criticize his concerns nor his calling the police. I hope the whole incident was just a huge misunderstanding. Also, when I ask why the media has not explored the reasons for the second encounter, that does not meant that I think the reasons were racist or anything else improper. In fact, My van Dinter's explanation for that in the preliminary hearing sounded reasonable to me, especially after learning more from some of the residents of the area. I apologize sincerely if my criticism of media coverage has made it sound like I think Mr. van Dinter did wrong. I am unable to judge what happened. My beef has been with media actions, not Mr. van Dinter.)

There are racial flames stirring in this community. Some Hmongs are feeling threatened. The whole community needs to know that there may have been a huge misunderstanding in the woods - or if not, that the justice system will settle it. Let's consider the broad issues here and quit stirring up the white community with references to massacres of white people. In my (biased) opinion, we have a situation here with a gentle, kind US citizen who happens to be Hmong. Nobody was hurt. No massacre occurred. Perhaps this will prove to simply be a huge misunderstanding with two people acting in good faith but misunderstanding one another.

Update from Oct. 31: Of course, I may be wrong in my views, and it's possible that a fair jury will find Toua guilty of a felony. I really don't know what happened when the two met, and in no way wish to impugn the integrity of the man who allegedly was threatened by Toua. But the perspective of the Hmong community and the possibility of other explanations for what happened seem to have been overlooked in the coverage by the media.

Here is the final version of my letter that was printed on October 21. Again, I apologize to the Post-Crescent and thank them for printing this.

I am disappointed by the media's handling of the case of Toua Lor, the Hmong man arrested for allegedly threatening a white man on private property while hunting squirrels with a .22 caliber rifle. To repeatedly link this with the Chai Vang murders is irresponsible. No one was injured. In fact, contrary to media reports, Toua was not on the man's private property when the alleged gun pointing took place. According to the accuser's own statement in the Oct. 5 preliminary hearing, the alleged crime took place when the man accosted Toua on corporate land where it was legal for Toua to hunt. There are questions that need to be asked about the reasons for accosting Toua and the rights of Hmong hunters striving to follow the law.

I know Toua well. He has been an exemplary US citizen and resident of Appleton with a well-earned reputation of being a gentle and compassionate man with no hint of violent tendencies. He has shown remarkable restraint in difficult circumstances and does not lose his temper. I believe he would never point a gun at someone other than in self-defense. The media has not even hinted at the possibility of self-defense, if a gun was in fact directed toward the feet or legs of man who accosted the hunter, but we may find it to be a factor in the alleged event.

In my opinion, there has been little effort to consider the other side of this story and the community has been harmed by the tactics of the press. This racially charged case demands more accurate and more responsible coverage. For failing to accurately explain what happened (or what didn't happen), and for repeatedly linking this case to a past massacre, the media owes Toua Lor and the community an apology.