Tiger Child's View Paper Tigers What happens to all the Asian-American overachievers

[k_amp_s]

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k&s–you’re right, it doesn’t have to take even one generation, if the person is astute and willing to adapt. My point was that assimilation happens naturally within a few generations without all the angst and conscious effort. There’s a pretty big difference already between the Asians born here and their foreign-born parents.

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<p>Has not as much to do with astuteness and the willingness to adapt as one’s environment.</p>

<p>If one grew up in an ethnic enclave where one’s friends/peers were mostly others from the same ethnic background, the person is not going to adapt as quickly (one can say the same thing for a black or Hispanic person who grew up in an ethnic/racial enclave).</p>

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There’s an Indian man in my husband’s company who has managed to fit in pefectly, despite being born and raised in India. And guess what? He keeps on getting promoted and is now in upper managemnet. He’s smart, knowledgeable, very outgoing, and knows how to communicate with everyone. It can be done. I’m sure humility helps. For one thing, as already posted above, being smart isn’t the end all and be all of life for Americans, and when immigrants act as though it is, they are violating our cultural values.

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<p>That has more to do with individual personality than anything else. </p>

<p>You know, there are actually Asians with outgoing personalities - not only just here, but in Asia as well (not every Asian is a “robot”).</p>

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The assertion that white European immigrants were treated better here is a myth. Do your homework and you’ll learn that the Irish, the Italians and the Poles, to name a few, were the butt of jokes, the targets of prejudice, and the victims of discrimination in employment.

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<p>No assertion was made that certain white European immigrants didn’t face prejudice, etc.</p>

<p>But the fact remains, it is easier for them and their descendants to assimilate and be seen as “American.”</p>

<p>A person whose parents immigrated from Europe would likely be seen being more American than a 6th generation Asian-American.</p>

<p>And while European immigrants did face prejudice, disrimination, etc. - it wasn’t to the level of non-white immigrants.</p>

<p>There’s a reason why until 1968, most immigration from Asia was cut off.</p>

<p>The Chinese laborers who built a good portion of the transcontinental RR were paid a good bit less than their white counterparts (many of them being immigrants from Europe), despite being given the most dangerous jobs (hence, the origin of the phrase “China***'s chance”).</p>

<p>There’s also the anti-miscegenation laws which applied to Asians - since the Page Law of 1875 pretty much excluded the immigration of women from China, the Chinese laborers started to socialize outside their group which caused a storm. Funny how these laws didn’t much matter when it came to Asians once GIs started to return from Asia with their Asian warbrides.</p>

<p>In addition, there were laws which prevented Asians from engaging in many diff. types of work (there’s a reason why so many Asians in California ended up working in an Asian laundry).</p>

<p>And let’s not forget the disparity in treatment btwn the Japanese-Americans and German or Italian-Americans during WWII (also, other Asian-Americans like Chinese, Korean or Fil-Americans had to go out of their way to show that they weren’t of Japanese ethnicity).</p>

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And as far as racism goes, the Chinese live in a glass house and shouldn’t throw stones. No people group in the world has been more insular. Both Chinese friends my age, as well as my children’s friends who are Chinese, have admitted that their parents believe that even the worst Chinese person is better than a non-Chinese. Yup, guess that explains why the mother of my son’s Chinese girlfriend was SOOOOO upset that she was dating a non-Chinese, and worse yet–an Hispanic!

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<p>Why bring in the Chinese into the discussion?</p>

<p>Every group is ethnocentric to a degree, and the Han Chinese are no diff.</p>

<p>But for the Han Chinese, it isn’t race-based - they look down upon non-Han Chinese Asians such as the Koreans, Thai, Japanese, Fils, etc. and even look down upon Chinese minorities like the Hui, Miao, Yi, Yao, etc. peoples.</p>

<p>And chances are a white person will be treated better than a non-Han Asian person.</p>