Why do college kids hang out with their own ethnicity?

Student Lounge College Life
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Put it this way, try this scenario: A white American couple move to Beijing because of a job transfer. They live there for forty years. They never make Chinese friends. They never learn Mandarin. They don't even recognize common Chinese foods. They choose to only associate with other white Americans who have come to Beijing to work. Their children are born and raised in Beijing, but in a city populated by millions of Chinese, they also only choose to associate with other white Americans children. For forty years, in Beijing.

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<p>Back up there. Since when do Asians come here and not ATTEMPT to learn English, recognize common American foods and associate exclusively with asians? You seriously believe that Asians are oblivous to these things?</p>

<p>I recognize the fact that asians tend to hang around with their own ethnicity, but how does that translate into not being able to speak english and being oblivious to American culture? </p>

<p>You're criticizing asian immigrants for not attempting to assimilate into American culture. Have you ever been in a class with an Asian immigrant? They often make more of an effort than American born Asians. They'll attempt to express their ideas in English and practically all of the class will snicker behind their back, mocking their accent. I've worked with a group of white students who didn't understand an assignment, yet when an asian immigrant student came to help them, they laughed at him and immediatly rejected him because of his accent. And this isn't exclusive to immigrants, American born asians who speak perfect english receive the same bullshxt and the same prejudice/sterotypes. You're blaming them for keeping to themselves? Well did it occur to you that whites (or americans in general) aren't the most accepting of people?</p>

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<p>amen, b151 and fendergirl. PEALS, I realize that your scenario of the 40 year-resident not knowing what yogurt is is quite rare, but my point is, even if that is the case, what's the problem? I am GLAD that we have the freedom to eat whatever kind of food we eat, speak in whatever language we wish, choose whom we associate ourselves with. Thank God I don't have to completely whitewash myself so I fit into your ideal 'American' mold of yogurt-eaters!</p>

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<p>The liberal media for several decadess has made an effort to find racism under every rock and cranny, racism by whites (usually) against blacks, whites most often from suburbia, typically conservative and usually male. </p>

<p>Take the case of the Boston Globe, which runs approximately 15 to 20 front page headline "stories" per year. Invariably its some kind of academic study with always the same conclusion: in effect concluding: "white males discriminate against blacks"</p>

<p>Some stories involved alleged racial steering in real estate sales by brokers, which turned out to be totally false, other stories involved alleged racism in the MCAS test (h.s. exam in Mass) since minorites had lower pass rates, or discrimination by hospitals in the metro Boston area against blacks - no doubt by institutions with white males in charge. The list of charges is nearly endless. Someone could write a thesis paper on all the stories the Globe has created - often out of thin air</p>

<p>The New York Times is similar, and the same with Newsweek, Time, and most of the major TV networks and their related magazine shows</p>

<p>So now I hear people in here claiming that "subconciouis racism" by whites is somehow for example causing blacks or other groups to self-segregate in college dining halls or other on campus gathering places.</p>

<p>The point is: is that the endless charges of racism at some point become so absurd they begin to completely lack crediblity</p>

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<p>The charges against asians not learning English are absurd, and in fact the stats will show on the SATs they are outscoring nearly every other group in the conbinned math and verbal scores.</p>

<p>When the elite colleges talk about limiting ED, they are in effect attacking asians, the group most responsible in the last decade for skyrocking SAT scores (even adjusted for recentering) who among other things, tend to have the ability to understand the college applications process, whether directly or knowing where to look</p>

<p>The liberal media tends to avoid discussing this issue, because it goes against their world view since now a physicaly indentifiable minority group being able to do well in colleges in america. Remember for decades the liberal media preached that (for example) groups like the irish and italians did better than blacks in america - not just because of the lack of a slavery legacy - but instead due to the fact that the irish and italian could not be picked out of a crowds, and unlike blacks did not have specific visible physical identifications per se.</p>

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<p>citation x-
I completely agree that the racism thing is taken too far, where every little problem seems to point to racism. But that's not to say it doesn't exist. </p>

<p>People primarily already prefer to hang out with their own ethnicity. The minor racism thing comes after; it gives them a little more reason to stay in their own groups. But racism definately isn't a primary cause for the grouping.</p>

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<p>I think a lot of the people fail to realize that the poster was especially giving self segration in a metropolis school or university, like the ones in Los Angeles as an example.
I think like the original poster who posted this, it makes no sense for people in schools in los angeles or so cal to segregate themselves. and it is true that it happens because i've grown up in la all my life and even up through high school and college, people of the same race stick together. </p>

<p>i've always been the kind to befriend and actually be a friend, not just acquantaince(which i think some of you confuse with as for friendship) to people of all races, and I'm hispanic. And it's crazy insane sometimes because sometimes a group of my friends who are from a particular race like Caucasians, will kind of stay quiet or make a stern face when I talk to someone who is say Black or hispanic, and vise versa. Right now there are a ton of koreans in my classes and I embrace my situation, ebcause now I'm learning to say a few words in korean, and I love it.</p>

<p>BUT YES IN LA THERE IS WAY TOO MUCH SEGREGATION In schools.</p>

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<p>I've noticed that Hispanic people stick to Hispanic people because of the common culture that they have. They feel comfortable because they eat the same foods and celebrate the same holidays that are celebrated in the countries from which their parents immigrated from. And this union isn't specifically racial because white Hispanics and brown Hispanics associate with each other although white Hispanics are often labled as gueros which means light-skinned one. But it could be that white Hispanics don't associate with non-Hispanic whites because a large proportion of white Hispanics have southern European phenotypes as opposed to the northern European phenotypes of some non-Hispanic whites although there is a sizeable amount of white Hispanics that do have northern European phenotypes. But even these northern European white Hispanics are looked upon as somewhat foreign among the Hispanic community but rather than being discrimanted for it, they are actually respected because they look "exotic". In fact many spanish soap operas feature many northern European Hispanic women because they represent an idealized form of beauty among the Hispanic community. This comes to show that even though there are racial differences, the union among Hispanics, which is so tightly nit due to cultural similarities, exists and of course that people can associate with themselves with cultural similarities and not necessarily by racial similarities.</p>

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<p>Only primary causation would be at issue as the ultimate question presented in this thead "why do college kids hangout with their own ethnicity"?</p>

<p>Possible primary causation:</p>

<p>Humans naturally tend to seek out their own kind, as they find comfort and perceived safety in other humans similar in nature, because people over million of years of evolution most likely evolved within certain defined groups. Therefore its probably DNA based within each group and largely intractable. The group in effect acts as a close substitute for the nuclear family for each member of the sub-class</p>

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<p>I doubt this issue is governed by DNA, since racial preference seems not to show up in humans until they become older, and there is no evidence to suggest it inexorably develops later in life, unlike puberty. The many toddlers I have observed getting on, and of a wide variety of racial features too, don’t show any sort of racial preference for friendship. Only after a certain age, ironically after cultural conditioning has taken place, do I see any sort of tendency in humans to divide along race. I think the notion of ‘their own kind’ is a phantom-- a ghost that we all really think exists, but that we have only heard of from third, fourth and fifth parties. It is probably a way we try to avoid being honest about the facts, all of them, that influence us. Some of us find it easier to simplistically explain our divisions away by saying “Birds of a feather, flock together”, despite that we see black, white, gray, and even mixed speckled pigeons getting on seamlessly every single day of our lives.</p>

<p>We all know what is going on here. We have to know because the thing is so clear. The reason why we divide by race is almost completely dominated by culture. We see it all the time. Yes, culture has often been closely associated with race, but it detaches all the time and we have seen it repeatedly. The Irish, for example, at one time were not white here in America. They were virulently pushed aside by whites, and even preferred to keep to themselves despite the fact they spoke English. White business owners actually placed signs outside their shops warning “Niggers, Dogs, and Irish” to stay out. Today, that simply does not exist. When the Italians came here they too were relegated to enclaves, being generally segmented from the larger culture until they gradually assimilated. The same sort of thing took place with the Jews. When they first came, they were vigorously discriminated against, despite that they have white skin. Today, fifty percent of Jewish marriages are to non-Jewish whites. Northern Irish and Southern Irish to this day divide from one another over religion and politics, despite that they are all whites. Serbs and Croats, Russians and Chechens, Jews and Arabs, Nigerians and Ugandans, though they are of the same race, are bitterly divided and have been so, in many cases, for centuries on end. The truth is all around us. Indeed, it is even in us.</p>

<p>I, a black guy, have white friends and family members with whom I am so close I literally forget they are white. And many of us have had similar experience. Surely you have met some person who physically turned you off at first glance, but who mysteriously became quite lovely, even hot, once you got to know them. Obviously the person did not change. Yet you developed a preference for them. It is culture, and we are all being dominated by it.</p>

<p>There is this black guy who grew up in the inner city and who, with a handful of blacks, began to teach black</a> kids how to become world-class swordsmen. These cats are kickin’</a> some serious butt at fencing, especially considering how few resources they have. Well, I once read an article on this group. It turns out that now whites are getting in on this action, mostly middle-class white kids, but even some rich ones too. They are flowing toward these blacks like its nothing at all. Yet, had these exact same blacks been known for drugs, you wouldn’t even see the whites. Today this place has white students, white instructors, black students, black instructors, all working together in the inner-city, being led by this black guy whose mom, hilariously, is Japanese (HAHA!).</p>

<p>We are almost wholly dominated by culture. That is why the blacks sit with themselves, and the whites sit with themselves. I see it all the time. I sometimes fish in an area where all kinds of people fish – Russians and Ukrainians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Nigerians, regular whites and blacks. The regular whites rarely deal with the Ukrainians, despite that they are white. Those white guys quite a bit more often than not, make their way to me because they see I am tall (6’6”), and basically look like a guy who enjoys sports and who also knows what he is doing with a fish. Often its our kids who really get the thing rolling. “Any luck?” they ask us, and sure enough, we are off, talking all day about all sorts of stuff we share because of culture-- stuff many of those Nigerians and Ukrainians just don’t have a clue about, and apparently have no interest in having a clue about. I am now good friends with several of those white guys just because of our time out fishing. I don’t know a single one of the Nigerians because those folks are less like me than the white guys. LOL (too funny).</p>

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<p>The "culture" claim is basically code for its WHITE PEOPLE'S FAULT</p>

<p>The same tired refrain we've been hearing for decades, its alot easier than accepting the reality that sometimes self-segregation is just that: SELF-segregation</p>

<p>Sorry, its not white people causing blacks to sit together in many college dining halls</p>

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Back up there. Since when do Asians come here and not ATTEMPT to learn English, recognize common American foods and associate exclusively with asians? You seriously believe that Asians are oblivous to these things?

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<p>I think you're oblivious to the fact that I never made a statement that all Asians in America are like that, actually.</p>

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You're criticizing asian immigrants for not attempting to assimilate into American culture. Have you ever been in a class with an Asian immigrant? They often make more of an effort than American born Asians. They'll attempt to express their ideas in English and practically all of the class will snicker behind their back, mocking their accent. I've worked with a group of white students who didn't understand an assignment, yet when an asian immigrant student came to help them, they laughed at him and immediatly rejected him because of his accent.

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<p>Of course I've been in a class with an Asian immigrant. I'm in Los Angeles. I'm surrounded by Asians. So I'm not talking out of my ass when I make statements. Make sense?</p>

<p>Have you been to every class in the entire United States that has an Asian immigrant in it? Do you know for sure that all Americans in every single class will always laugh at the immigrant? You worked with ONE group of white kids that rejected an Asian immigrant, you think that everyone else white in America is just like those kids? I'm seriously rolling my eyes. And you imply I'm the one without perspective.</p>

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You're blaming them for keeping to themselves? Well did it occur to you that whites (or americans in general) aren't the most accepting of people?

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<p>Who would be more accepting? Just asking. Are you saying that if a white American moved to China he would be totally accepted? That NO ONE would laugh at his accent when he tried to speak Mandarin? That every group at school would accept him? </p>

<p>Did it ever occur to you that sometimes its not just "the whites" who aren't accepting, either?</p>

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[quote]
Thank God I don't have to completely whitewash myself so I fit into your ideal 'American' mold of yogurt-eaters!

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<p>America does not equal white. Accepting facets of American culture is not being whitewashed. Yogurt does not equal all of American culture. </p>

<p>The "yogurt-eaters" comments is gallingly stupid. No one has to eat anything they don't want. But being so segregated and self-isolated as to not even know what common foods in America are, after having lived there for forty years, is strange. </p>

<p>Can you imagine an American moving to Tokyo and living there for forty years, and not knowing what Pocky or soba are after forty years living in Japan? You would react, "What is wrong with you! You've been living here for decades among the Japanese, but you don't know what these two simple, cheap, common foods are?" </p>

<p>Yet somehow its wrong to express some surprise and curiousity at a Chinese woman who has been living here for forty years and doesn't even know what a yogurt is?</p>

<p>I don't care if she eats it, she just didn't know what it is. It was just one example.</p>

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<p>I have lived here my entire life and I have never eaten a PB&J sandwich. Is that to say that I am a curiosity because I have not had, IMO, one of the most prevalent american foods out there?</p>

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<p>Oh please.</p>

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I have lived here my entire life and I have never eaten a PB&J sandwich. Is that to say that I am a curiosity because I have not had, IMO, one of the most prevalent american foods out there?

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<p>What did I say:</p>

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I don't care if she eats it, she just didn't know what it is. It was just one example.

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<p>Like I care if you've eaten one. The point is you know what it is, that it exists, that many Americans eat it.</p>

<p>If I was German and an American that moved to Germany and lived there for forty years told me they didn't even know what sauerkraut is, I'd be curious. If I were Mexican and an American moved to Mexico and lived there forty years told me they didn't even know what an enchilada is, I'd be curious. If I were Japanese and an American moved to Japan and lived there forty years but didn't know what soba is, I'd be curious. Is it so hard to figure out for you?</p>

<p>People are getting caught up on the fact that the example used an Asian person, and in a rush to be politically correct, are really going out of their way to justify an example that they KNOW is unusual but think is un-pc to actually CALL unusual. Curiousity about a person's choices/knowledge about culture does not mean that that person is a "curiousity."</p>

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The "culture" claim is basically code for its WHITE PEOPLE'S FAULT

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It is code for it being the “fault” of a whole lot of things, including whites, blacks, many others, in addition to geography and religion. I used the example of whites flowing toward blacks, taking care to mention that were the blacks conforming to negative stereotypes of blacks, the whites would be nowhere near them. Yet the whites are quite eager to be near them, even</a> entering the inner-city to do it. Clearly then, I have made the case that the issue is also negatively influenced by people other than whites. It is a complex inter-working of culture that causes it to happen. White southerners to this very day have cultural pressures that cause them to prefer other southerners before northerners. Yet they are of the same race as the northerners. The same thing takes place in reverse. Indeed, the recent animated film “Cars” is precisely about overcoming this phenomenon. This issue is so obvious to me I am astonished that it so perplexes us.</p>

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The same tired refrain we've been hearing for decades, its alot easier than accepting the reality that sometimes self-segregation is just that: SELF-segregation

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I think your view would probably become a lot stronger if you would simply calm yourself and present a case for it. You might mention one of the studies suggesting a possible genetic component to racism. Or you might even mention an anecdotal situation that offers us some control for culture and where self-segregation still occurs commonly. But to simply say ‘self-segregation is self-segregation’ offers us literally no explanation at all here. It simply tells us what happens, namely, that people sometimes segregate themselves. It does not tell us why.</p>

<p>I say that it is culture because the thing is just obvious. If I crack you upside the head twenty times, or steal from you, well, I suggest you will develop views about me that will cause you to divide from me. In fact, even if I never have done these things, but am only rumored to do them, the same effect will occur. Were I to move into your neighborhood, even if you were black, and yet am rumored to be a child molester, you are gonna be reticent to fraternize with me until I somehow overcome your hesitation with additional culture. I have seen this repeatedly – in whites and in blacks. The proof that it is not rooted in genetics is also obvious because it easily changes when culture changes.</p>

<p>To use an extreme example (only to try to support this point) I once read in the Washington Post a story of a white supremacist put in prison because of some capital crime. The guy hated blacks to no end, and, accordingly, kept his distance from them. He mentioned all the wrongs he had heard about blacks, how they assault whites, etc. and felt quite justified in his hate. Well, along comes this black guy into the prison. He is just a visitor, but decides to treat the racist with kindness. Very often, he goes into that prison, taking all sorts of abuse from the white guy, but also taking him treats, sitting with him, telling him jokes. With this simple change of culture in the black guy, the white guy begins to change his view over time. It gets to the point where when the black guy has to miss visiting, the white guy gets out of sorts. When the Post got wind of the story, it interviewed the racist. The racist reported that he was still trying to hold onto his racism. He was doing it by partitioning the black guy off into some other racial class. LOL. Whites do this all the time. “He is one of the good blacks”. And blacks do it too. It is just a falsehood we tell ourselves so that we might keep holding onto our illusions.</p>

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[quote]
Sorry, its not white people causing blacks to sit together in many college dining halls

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I think it is white people's fault, and that we all know it. I also think it is black people’s fault. Which group is most culpable is not the issue here. It is very complex, feeding off of itself and being regenerated with each new generation of humans. It is being influenced by geography, technology, and history, including the legacies of slavery, colonialism and war. These are massive tragedies and influences that stretch around the earth and across literal thousands of years of time. That they are having a profound effect on how people distance themselves from each other today is as obvious as the sun. I think it is also terribly complex, requiring expertise in a vast array of disciplines to even begin to understand it. Just writing the thing off to genetics is the lazy way out of it, in my view. It also appears false when people, even in their own families, commonly and chronically divide from one other every single day.</p>

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I have lived here my entire life and I have never eaten a PB&J sandwich. Is that to say that I am a curiosity because I have not had, IMO, one of the most prevalent american foods out there?

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No. It is to say you are missing out on one of the simplest, most convenient down home delicacies the world has ever produced. Man. You need to try one of my *Pa Drosselmeier's double-decker butter toasted PB & J*s with a fat glass of milk. If it doesn’t kill you first, it will have you coming back for more.</p>

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<p>Just because you hang out with people of like heritage doesn't make someone a racist. I encourage my kids to be kind to everyone and respect everyone, but I can't and will not force them to have "hang-out friends" that are different from themselves just because other people think that's "the right thing to do".
My oldest goes to a HS that is only 47% white. Yes, all her friends are white, but don't classifiy her a racist just because of that. Because I know that if she found a friend of other origins that she liked, I'm positive that person would become her friend.</p>

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I think you're oblivious to the fact that I never made a statement that all Asians in America are like that, actually.

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You were describing asians who close themselves from others, and I was trying to make the point that they're not all like that. Actually, I don't know any asians who close themselves to other ethnicities in the way you described, excluding the elderly who only stay at home. And I'm from a very diverse part of LA as well. I believe the type of people you are describing are an extreme minority but I won't argue that they exist.</p>

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Have you been to every class in the entire United States that has an Asian immigrant in it? Do you know for sure that all Americans in every single class will always laugh at the immigrant? You worked with ONE group of white kids that rejected an Asian immigrant, you think that everyone else white in America is just like those kids? I'm seriously rolling my eyes. And you imply I'm the one without perspective.

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I'm not saying that everyone behaves the way those kids do, but i believe a majority of people will disrespect, whether conscously or not, an immigrant. This belief didn't come from one example, it came from my life experience as a minority. Other minorities will tell you the same thing. We face a certain amount of disrespect as a minority, the amount and extent will depend on the person themselves and their enviornment, but it does exist. Immigrants have an even harder time than american born minorities because of their accent and unfamiliarity with american culture.</p>

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Who would be more accepting? Just asking. Are you saying that if a white American moved to China he would be totally accepted?

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Sorry, my statement that white people aren't accepting doesn't do them justice. To correct like you pointed out: In general people of all ethnicities will be hesitant to accept a foreignor. [I know there are exceptions but the exceptions are few in comparison]<br>
But the question you brought up was why do people stick to their own ethnicities. I believe the major reason is we are most comfortable among our own ethnicity. A minor reason would be this example that people hesitate to accept others outside their ethnicity/culture.</p>

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<p>This is because they are in America. You see, Americans tend to hang out with people of their own ethnicities in general. Oh sure, you're probably thinking to yourself right now "But I have tons of _____ friends!" So what? Adolf freakin' Hitler had Asian friends. When I white guy goes to a Garth Brooks concert it's just a Garth Brooks concert, not a white thing. Same with NASCAR, Monster Truck Rallies, all day schmooze fest and wine and cheese parties. Get two Asians together eating lunch at a McDonalds and all of a sudden they are self segregating themselves.</p>

<p>Solution: Move to Toronto.</p>

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<p>I went to a 96% white high school. In my class of 255, we had two African Americans as our only minorities. There were some Asian Americans in the classes below us accounting for parts of the other 4%.</p>

<p>However, I've noticed that people from my class are very accepting of other races. At least one of those 253 white students is dating an African American. Very few people in that class would actually be called "racists".</p>

<p>But the fact remains that there are some people who just don't want to hang out with minorities. Fear of culture, perhaps?</p>