Quote:
Originally Posted by AZNLover
5 MAJOR SEGMENTS
Every classification scheme is founded on prejudices. What's more, it succeeds or fails depending on the vitality of those prejudices. Let me state mine.
When I think of Asian Americans, I don't include America's sizeable South Asian populations, specifically Indians and Pakistanis. To my knowledge there has never been much identification between South Asians and East Asians -- namely Chinese, Coreans and Japanese. There are many reasons for this. South Asians are generally members of the Aryan race, albeit with darker coloring than most Europeans. Their cultures aren't built around values rooted in Chinese confucianism. Their languages derive from the Indo-European rather than the Sino or Altaic family. They are generally of the Hindu and Islam faiths. Most importantly, there is little shared historical experience between the two groups, either in Asia or in the western hemisphere. For the same reasons, I also don't include West Asians like Persians, Armenians, Afganistanis and Kazakhs.
I do include Southeast Asians -- Vietnamese, Filipinos, Thais, Indonesians and Malaysians because immigrants from those nations are frequently members of the Chinese diaspora and often identify themselves as Chinese. They may speak fluent Vietnamese and Tagalog and go by non-Chinese surnames, but they often also speak Chinese and observe Chinese traditions and customs.
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I'm sorry, but I find it condescending that you do not consider South Asians to be Asian. although we look nothing like "Orientals" and yes, our cultures are very different and we may not share a lot of history together, but we do share many values. Indians, like East Asians, are highly educated. Don't forget that we have a higher percentage of college educated people than Chinese and Koreans. we also have the highest percentage of white collar professionals. Yes, we the "dirty, smelly" Indians outperform the East Asians in America terms of academics and wealth. So even though you East Asians think that your Confucian values is supreme, we Indians do very well for ourselves despite not sharing your superior Confucius beliefs.
If you don't believe me, read the US census for yourself.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-05.pdf
Personally, I don't understand why Filipinos are considered Asian but Indians are not. many Filipinos look more Mexican or Pacific Islander than Chinese (though I admit there are a fair number of filipinos who could pass for Chinese). One of my best friends is Filipino, but everybody assumes he's Mexican b/c of his appearance and surname.
With that said, I actually enjoyed reading your perspectives on East and Southeast Asians in America. I always thought this though: the Chinese and Koreans were seen as the elite, model minority kinds who attend all the elite universities. Japanese Americans have been on a decline (not as many Japanese Americans are at elite universities or are white collar professionals compared to Chinese/Koreans). Vietnamese Americans were blue collared Asians. They tend to work at more blue collar jobs and attend the lower tier, less prestigious universities. Filipinos are the middle class Asians. They tend to be a mix of blue collar and white collar workers. They usually gravitate towards the lower tier, less prestigious universities.
One thing about the major Asian groups is this: I notice that Chinese and Koreans tend to aim at the elite universities a lot more than other Asian groups. Most Japanese people I know don't really care about name brand schools as much. Ditto for the Vietnamese and Filipinos. But most Chinese and Koreans I know seem to be obsessed with name brand schools. I think the obsession is rather unhealthy. They act like if they don't get into Harvard or Columbia, they are doomed to a life of homelessness and low-wage jobs.
i always also felt that Chinese and Koreans were the most status conscious. That's why they aim for the top universities as well as the top professions (particularly medicine, law, engineering, investment banking, management consulting, hedge fund management).
I would like some insight into Chinese and Korean's obsession with name brand schools and top level white collar professions. Well ... I do know that investment banking and management consulting are both very prestigious. They also pay a very high salary and one can get a lot of bonuses. Both occupations are also relatively "safe" (at least there's a lot less risk involved, compared to other business fields, e.g. entreprenuership). i guess i answered my own question: for Chinese and Koreans, both i-banking and management consulting is a great alternative for those who don'y want to go to graduate school. Like I said, there's relatively little risk involved in being an i-banker and management consulting (Chinese and koreans are generally very risk adverse) b/c you will earn a high salary either way (even if business is bad). Both occupations are also highly prestigious and carry a lot of clout and Chinese/Koreans tend to love prestige status.
