At a forum to discuss a law professor's inflammatory remarks Thursday at the University of Wisconsin Law School, law student KaShia Moua said attention to professor Leonard Kaplan's comments on Hmong people has elicited powerful responses from the Wisconsin and university communities.
Kaplan made the remarks in his Feb. 15 Legal Process class and has since claimed he used the comments as examples of cultural stereotypes. According to a Feb. 18 e-mail Moua circulated that was obtained by the Capital Times, Kaplan allegedly said Hmong men buy their wives and complain when they are disobedient, that second-generation Hmong men end up as criminals and that Hmong men's greatest talent is to kill.
Moua characterized the community reactions as positive and negative, with some people outraged at Kaplan's allegedly stereotypical remarks and some expressing dislike of the Hmong community.
Kaplan did not attend the forum, but sent a written statement encouraging educational dialogue about the stereotypes and discouraging focus on what happened in class.
The Capital Times contributed to this report.
