Status of Asian Americans | Asian American Poll

STATUS OF ASIAN AMERICANS
(Updated to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

What is the status of Asians in America?
Lower third of society | 2%
Middle third of society | 33%
Upper third of society | 55%
Top tenth of society | 10%

Which factor most undermines the status of Asians in America?
Media portrayal of Asians | 34%
Problems of recent immigrants | 19%
Racial prejudice & resentment | 38%
U.S. conflict with Asian nations | 9%

     It's easier to make money than to make ties to powerful influences. Many people (in this case, I'm refering to Asians in the US) often make the mistake of thinking wealth equals social status. So they build up their fortunes, make lots of money, and end up being at the top of their minority group with little or no sway in the general decision-making powers-that-be group. When a Johnny-come-lately tries to break into a social caste of upper-elites, doing ones own thing just doesn't work very quickly or very well. As much as I resent the Baroness's hoity toity attitude, I'm afraid she does have a point. To truly have status and raise class level, joining into the clubs and other garden variety associations is just the start. First-generation upperclass wannabes may never get the full acceptance of the group, but the second generation will be able to integrate. These kids have to have been educated alongside other kids-whose-families-have-status, played polo and golf alongside each other, been to each others' debutante balls, and in general, hang out together to develop these deep meaningful lifelong bonds. Enough Asians do this and the top elite group will consist of mostly Whites and Asians, thereby raising Asian class and stature in the US and around the world.
     Ofcourse, alongside the way, one must give up many other things to achieve this. No close associations with other minority groups are allowed (Black & Hispanic groups), and don't forget that exclusivity really means exclusivity, even among lower caste FOB members of your own race as well as white "trailer trash".
     Sad, isn't it?
MLK

Hey, chill for a minute! Jesus, your temper is even worse than a Korean's!! I would've offered to slap the Korean off of that little bitch if she were Korean. When I labeled that racist Asian girl as Chinese, I did it randomly. It could've been Laotian, Chinese, Japanese, hell, even Mongolian!! If I did offend, I apologize. It was all unintentional.
However, I think you're missing the main point here. I feel sick to my stomach when I see other minorities disparage each other, especially to appease white people. Kissing upto another person at the expense of someone who's in the same boat as you is just fucked up. Now why don't you tell that poor Mexican girl to "go cry a river"? You heartless bitch -- I can't believe YOU either. The only stinker around here is YOU.
Concerned K-Am Male

oh "concerned korean male,20" ...cry me a river! ok, poor girl doesn't deserve to be made fun of, but no one deserves to have the "chinese slapped off them" --stinker!! --what makes you think that the asian girl was chinese?

T. Sheng, are you from S.F.? An actor?
Cyn

     To Puzzled:
     He said "type of scopes G.I. Surgeons may use". Doesn't that remind you of some kind of equipment? Like telescope, an instrument with which one can see things at a great distance. You dont say: you can watch the stars using the TELESCOPY do you? So stop correcting ppl when u dont know what the heck u r talking about.
     " scope " is the root for " to see ". When you add " y " to the end, it refers to the " act " of seeing things using that equiment.
Hello Kitty

Excuuuuuuse me! Mr. Korean Male, 20, I agree that kid shouldn't have had to hear such stupid garbage tossed her way, but how do you know the Asian rude girl was Chinese?? She said "Asian". aren't you included in this category?

Linda, it really breaks my heart to hear that someone as young as you has had to hear that (You are only THIRTEEN!! I can't believe it.). And you heard such vile from from a fellow Asian like myself! I would have slapped the Chinese off of her, if I were you. I'm so sorry, but you have to understand that they were stupid, immature girls. You sound wise and perceptive beyond your years, so please try to understand. There are Asians that do respect non-whites. Keep your head up, and don't EVER let anyone tell you that you are no good. Ya hear me? If you are Mexican, be damn proud of it!!
A Concerned Korean Male, 20

Doc Holiday,
The correct terms and spellings:

Colonscope -> Colonoscopy.
Gastroscope -> most commonly referred as EGD 
   (EsophagoGastroDuodenoscopy).
Duadnascope -> Duodenoscopy (part of EGD).
Coliodocalscope -> I'm assuming you're referring 
   to an ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde 
   Cholangiopancreatography).
Broncoscope -> Bronchoscope.
Sygmoidoscope -> Sigmoidoscope.

I'm not too aware of any "GI" fellowships... Are you talking about minimally invasive surgery fellowships, laparoscopic fellowship, colo-rectal, ... ? We all train adequalety to perform standard "GI" procedures.
Puzzled

We need to push people into sports and politics and in the media. I don't care about status, but I think that media is very influencing on US culture.

Most of the Asians that are willing to accept dark people are the dark Asians. As for the Eastern Asians, most of them are very hesitant to date Black people. Hapa Dude
darker races? are you accusing asian americans of racism?
T. Sheng

If Asians would get to know darker races better, it would improve the way Asians are looked at in America. They would be more open, less judgemental, and they would have the opportunity to make more friends. The majority of Asians with non-Asians friends hang around the white kids. They believe what the white kids were taught and begin to use that racism. For example, two girls came up and sat next to me. They looked older than me. The white girl said 'Do you smell tacos?' to which the Asian girl said 'humm me want Gordita!'. This makes things bad for the most of the other Asians who are really nice people. I just wish that Asians were more accepting of darker people.
Linda 13

Actually when I use the term G.I. surgery it is pre-assumed I had training in general surgery with a fellowship in G.I. or didn't you know that. This means not only do I do clinical consults but I can also do the corrective surgery required as well or didn't you know that. Forgive me for not sharing the entire spectrum of my procedural and clincal field, but I thought the image of inserting a large scope in the colons of wealthy WASPS painted a fitting image. Here is a low down on the type of scopes G.I. Surgeons may use. Colonscope/gastroscope, duadnascope, coliodocalscope, Broncoscope (even though mainly used by pulmanary dept.) sygmoidoscope and all pedriatric versions of each. I put in about 70 hours a week so i still have a little time to rifle out a few posts. Whether you believe me or not is ultimately irrevelvant as I could not prove my occupation without revealing my identity to the mass public. Being half Chinese/half Korean i still try to keep in touch with my Asian culture.
Doc Holiday

To the person who addressed AF and remarked about "charging an arm and a leg". Are you jealous that another asian woman AGAIN is going to pass you by and go for another? I don't need YOU to tell me what's fake and what's real. I'm sure you wrote both comments. As for creativity, you certainly lack it.
AF

It's a shame that Americans in general have problem assimilating with cultures and ethnicities. We hear much too often that US is a melting pot of all sorts. Yet, when it comes to heated talks of racial and ethnicities, there are still so much rejection of other races ("I don't like black people.""I prefer dating white people..." bla blah). If you guys have ever heard about a country called Malaysia, it's made of 3 major races (and multi-cultures): Malays, Chinese, Indians, and maybe 2-3 dozens of minorities. The people experienced a racial clash once in the 1950s... but everything has gone well since, and they are working together in daily lives. There are only a few minor arguments involving racial lines, not to the extent of rejecting a race altogether and hatred against one another. It's funny how I find myself having an easier time accepting the melting pot here compared to some American citizens. So, what's the solution: an honest opened-mind (some people fake it) and willingness to accept one another.
JJ Augusta, 23

36 and 32...single and living in Florida
Doc Holiday

To AF: Is it the "charge them an arm and a leg" part that attracted your attention? HaHa. What makes you think that a highly successful and busy doctor will have the time to write this sort of thing and even if he did he will be interested in you over tons of pretty women that he already has access to and who will be throwing themselves at his feet? As I said below, Doc Holiday is almost certainly fake, but I do give him credit for creativity. Keep up the good work, Doc.

I don't think Doc Holiday is a real doctor. G.I. surgeons, more commonly called general surgeons, operate on the intestines but are rarely trained to use colonoscopes (this is the domain of gastroenterologists, who are not surgeons). Either Doc Holiday's a non-surgeon doctor who's calling himself a surgeon, which is a little dishonest, or he's just not a doctor. I kinda think the latter is more likely, judging from the way he writes.

Doc Holiday, Are you and your brother single? How old are both of you?
AF

Who gives a damn if you belong to a country club or send your kids to boarding schools . What matters in the end is that they are happy and successful. My mother owned a restaurant and both my brother and I went to public high schools. We both went to private universities with scholarship money we earned with good grades. Now we are both doctors Cardiologist and G.I. Surgeon. My brother puts pacemakers in rich white country club men while I insert colonoscopes in thier colons and charge them an arm and a leg. Hell my brother just placed a pacemaker in the Mayor a year ago. To this day he shakes his hand 3 times whenever he see's him. Both of us were asked to join 3 different country clubs. But since we don't want to limit our client base we just choose to attend the major functions at each one. In the end, excellence in your field will distinguish you better then anything else.
Doc Holiday

     I personally don't see joining a country club or sending kids to elite boarding schools constitutes acting more "proper" in society. And I also do not see anyting demeaning by running restaurant business for rest of their lives. Maybe these people actually enjoy running such business or do not know any other trades.
     I think such comments are nothing more than "elitist" point of view. There are plenty of public schooled children who actually do great things in life regardless of gender and ethnicity.
     Oh by the way, there are plenty of country clubs and boarding schools in Japan. Unless only "American" clubs and schools count?
Iron Chef

to the post by the idiot earlier...How can anyone be seen as "too american"? Do you mean "too white"...or are you just stuck on stupid?
I think that the status of asian americans is pretty good, considering that they had to develop a few of the bad habits of european whites (ie..racism towards other minorities), in order to get where they are

I also believe it will depend on our role in society. If we can make a positive contribution to every avenue and market then we can make a difference. We are all on different legs of the journey.Some of us have been here longer than others so we must pave the way. We have to make sure our Asian american youth can understand the values of being Asian and being American without being self-destructive. All of us are of two worlds in which we must pay close attention. We must insure that recent immigrants don't take the american dream as being a materialistic one. These are some of the issues I observe asians go through. Hopefully, we can all stop to take a look around at our life and others and see the big picture as well.
AM -26

I think all of the people who have visited this site, read the comments, voted in the polls, and gave serious thought about these issues is a wonderful advancement. All too often, it seems like I'm the only Asian American that gives a shit about how we are viewed as an ethnic group. I also try to broaden the perspectives of people in my sphere of influence - I try to convey the fact that we are all individuals, and not the usual collection of sterotypes. It's nice to see there are others out there who are fighting the same fight.
Peace.

Asians should start acting more "proper" in society. Join country clubs or start your own. Debut your daughters, send your kids to elite boarding schools. Don't live in resturant business for the rest of your life!
The Baroness

There has been a lot of movies lately where Asians are playing the "gangsta" roles. Have you noticed this? Hollywood is starting to see the ruthlessness of true life Asian gangs on the streets and are portraying it in the movies now. Asians are becoming too American.

Hey, Chi-Am female, how would you feel if the roles were reversed and no white guys were interested in you AFs and all the AMs were with white women. You'd feel pretty unattractive and unappreciated too I bet....would you be able to live with it??? If there's any divisiveness amongst the Asian community, it dosen't have to do with us AMs, it's your AF disregard for us.
Chi-Am male, 22-29

You want us to live with your being "taken away by white males"? I don't even see it as your being taken away, actually. If a girl has a big mouth like you and is as presumptuous as you are, I wouldn't even want her anyway. Some loss for me -- boo hoo hoo. I have dated numerous white girls over the years, and Asian women can't do a damn thing to stop me either. Whatever... Listen you c**t, I don't know about some other Asian guys, but I couldn't care less who you date, or f***. Don't make ALL Asian guys seem like posessive freaks. You are definately not doing me a favor. Idiot.
Korean-Am Male, 24

Asian Americans need to united and affect changes. We need to be more actively involve with the political process. Also as an ethic group we have enormous economic clout. We can leverage this power to affect changes.

"Asian men are up in arms over something they can't control ("losing" us to white men). They should just live with it."
[Chi-Am female, 22-27]

"actually it's the lack of unity amongst the asian races which hurts us the most. also, apathy towards asian-american issues as a community. 2 often, i find asian-americans who just want to get themselve and their families ahead. perhaps that particularly means financially. asian-americans need to work together n' take care of 1 another if they want to raise their status in america. That means making personal sacrifices 4 the good of the community."
[Chi-Am male, 22-27]

"need to take new arrivals versus americanized asians into account, if status was determined by americanized asians then we would be upper third in my opinion."

"depends on part of the country"

"Divisiveness amongst Asian American ethnicities."

"contributions to society."

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