How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Neither doctor could tell how much of their inability to get through was caused by [...] defects of intelligence [...] and how much [...] by cultural barriers. (5.19)
Whoa. Sounds pretty assumption-y. Sad but true, this happens to pretty much every American who interacts with the Lee family. These folk don't know anything about Hmong culture—as far as they're concerned, the Lees could be from Pluto. They're not all bad people, though. While some are actively hostile toward the Hmong, most are simply ignorant.
Quote #2
As he pointed out to me, the Hmong acted no stranger than his next-door neighbors in Merced, a family of white fundamentalist Christians who had smashed their television set. (6.15)
Um, okay. But is that fair? Or just a different take on "strange"? When you look too closely (or from too far a remove) at any religion, or any culture for that matter, everything starts to look a little bit silly and nonsensical. To be honest, the only reason the Hmong face more scrutiny is that they're outsiders in America. When you look at it like that, the world starts to look an awful lot like a cliquey high school. Ruh roh.
Quote #3
"You and I, we can't conceive of the degree of ignorance. They're almost a Stone Age people. Hell, they never went to a doctor before." (6.32)
And you thought it couldn't get worse than a smashed TV. But nope. Meet the haters. Though their beliefs have little basis in reality, many Mercedians despise the Hmong simply because they came from a third-world country. Keep in mind that this is a doctor talking—y'know, a guy whose job it is to save Hmong lives. We're guessing he ranks low in the customer satisfaction area.