People don't understand why we Hmong don't like the Miao name. First it is not our name. Second, it is a name of oppression.
Read Miao to Miaozu by Zhiqiang Yang, and you will understand. The word Miao may sound good to the Han but it is an insult to us. It is not the meaning of the word but the use of the word.
Wei Yuan,a Quing scholar, regarded Hmong society to be barbaric just because we have "no relationship of subjection". Is it barbaric to be democratic? Nonsense.
Because of this definition, it gave people an excuse to exploit a person being called Miao. It went even further and included anything that is "ugly". Literally it is a put down.
"Miao" is the name of oppression and exploitation. Being called "Miao" is to be oppress. It is like "Nigger" to African Americans.
When someone calls us "Miao", they want to oppress us. They want to exploit us. Beware brothers and sisters when someone calls you "Miao".
This is the most ignorant and lack of research post I've ever read.
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