Why differences between Black, Hispanic, and Asian demographic success?

Probably has a lot to do with stereotypes.

The Asian stereotype that I hear about in the US all the time is positive in nature; people say they’re smart.

Stereotypes about other minorities are, unfortunately, often negative.

Stereotypes can be self-fulfilling prophecies. If people immediately think “smart” as soon as they see someone, that person is more likely to land a job and be successful. Not only that, but psychologically, it is really hard on somebody if they believe that people are thinking badly of them all the time. The phenomenon is called “stereotype threat.” Merely being aware of a negative stereotype about a group you belong to makes you more susceptible to “choking” under pressure.

“Learned victimization” is largely responsible for this, in my opinion. They have been told so many times that their “failure” isn’t due to anything they have done, but to being somehow “oppressed” by the white man, or the “system,” anything except that they should stop blaming others and start working hard to get ahead, just like so many others have done before them. This is a political ploy used to keep them in the fold and keep them resentful and voting against the “rich party.”

Only thing is, many seem to be waking up to the fact that they have been deliberately kept in poverty for political expediency.

Many Asians in this country are from the right side of the Asian bell curve. In many cases, only the wealthiest, most educated, highest IQ Asians immigrated from Asia. In the case of Hispanics, for the most part, the most destitute, agrarian, least educated – the left side of the bell curve – comes to the US. The below median Asian is still back in Asia working on an automobile assembly line or picking rice somewhere. The Hispanic Engineering and Science PhDs probably didn’t need to sneak over here to work at the carwash. So, it may be an unfair comparison. We’re comparing the smartest Asians to the lowest functioning Hispanics. In another hypothetical demographics petri dish we might want to compare the high functioning Hispanics with the two standard deviations to the left Asians.

I really couldn’t answer that.. But, we kept black people as slaves and treated them at one time like they were “less” than. That could have contributed to it. Not feeling equal handed down through generations, but it’s changing now and people of color have greater opportunities so, as the schools improve in the poorer neighborhoods and they realize that they can, IMHO, they will!

One of the primary reasons that Asians seem to do so much better than many others is parents. As comedian Carlos Mencia is fond of saying: “White parents tell their children just to do the best they can. Asians tell their children, ‘You bring home one B, I kill you!’” : )

Slavery was indeed a terrible thing, but it was abolished in the US in 1864. That’s 148 years ago this April 8th. African-Americans have struggled against both the lingering aftereffects of slavery and against the type of learned dependency which has been forced on them. Yet many African-Americans are now in the professions, scientific and research positions, high-level management positions in industry, etc. These people I salute!

To have overcome so much represents an historic effort, and both we and they can justifiably be very proud.

@CaptainHarley Bring home B? A is what you bring home. My Jewish mother was the same, B + preferably A or in charge of cleaning the bathroom for….......

@CaptainHarley With respect, I marched in the 1960s with Martin Luther King when there were still bathrooms separating colored and white and it took awhile after that for things to change. But, they’re changing and many people of color are in high end jobs like you said, and things are looking up. And like I said, as schools and education improve in the poorer areas, more people will join in to succeed.

Another thing, just think about it. You’re in your 40s now and you remember not being able to eat with your parents in restaurants like white people. You had to go in separate bathrooms like you were too horrible to go near white people. Why daddy, why? Some parents weren’t strong enough or didn’t believe it will be different for you if you just get that A in school. Change takes time, and it is changing for the better, slowly but surely.

I wonder to what extent the differences are cultural. Many of those who do well are recent immigrants. I read that in Hawaii, recent immigrants of Japanese descent tend to do well in school, but after a few generations they become like everyone else.

Fact from fiction, truth from diction. I would say it is a combination of several things. Sure, there was societal or cultural bias, and/or manipulation, but that is not the all-in-all.

Back when the industrial revolution hit, Blacks and other minorities did gain ground, maybe more than did Asians. It took brawn not brains to drive rivets or turn a wrench. The playing field got evened although Jim Crow was still prevalent, and the Klan were marching. I think after about three straight wars against Asians, they didn’t fare as good as today, at least from what I remember as a kid. Some of the names they were called (which I won’t repeat here) would be every bit as equal to an N-bomb.

Growing up, I have seen how many different cultures handle schooling, jobs, prosperity etc. Many immigrants came here with the idea that if they could just get here, they had every chance to make it. When I was a kid and summer vacation came about, many of my non-Black friends could not hang and such because they had to work in the family business. At the point, I thought what a gyp for them, because in many cases, they were not paid like the official employees; if at all. Later it came to me, they were gaining job skills, OJT. The only thing the rest of us were learning was how to improve our score in Pac Man, or hone our jump shot. Later, it occurred to me, they might one day get the business to run, and the rest of us will be working for them.

With many of my Black friends, they were disgruntled or bitter over how society has treated Black people. The road might have been full of sandbags but is was far from blocked. They felt they were owed more than what they were, if anything. They wanted to have it all but off less effort. The way to the fancy cars and such, was quicker to gain by illegal activity. Illegal activity seemed an easier path because ”The Man” was blocking them to doing it the legal way. If they did it that way, they would be kept under foot, and not allowed to advance anyhow.

That was not the way all of the time. Back in the day Blacks had solidarity, hence the phrase and custom of seeing every other Black as a brother, or sister. The bus protest after Rosa Parks was arrested would not have been successful had they not had the solidarity, and will like that of the ”Occupy Oakland” movement. Drugs like coke was too rich for the “hood”, it was mostly cheap booze like Ripple, and Thunderbird. When crack came to the “hood”, cocaine found a cheap deadly way in, and it was down hill from there.

I see many Hispanics climb from the ashes, but it usually takes a while. Many I have seen are very good at selflessly pooling resources to gain for a few who would then pull the rest in their wake. They will work hard to brother Sancho can get his house. Then Sancho will use his status as a home owner to help Maria get a nice apartment, in turn she will help cousin Ruben, by letting him crash there for a time doing what he can to help out, but saving to get his own apartment, or a better vehicle in which he will get a better job, etc. It is like a family team effort. Some will like to joke about how many Hispanics you can squeeze into a 2bdr house, but they are all cobbling together their resources so they are not there perpetually.

Asians are seen as more docile, mild-mannered, and agreeable, and, smarter so it makes them like the non-minority minorities, this is having fought three was with them. The perceptions of Asian have change a lot since I was a young child to now. Jim Crow may not be as loud, but make no mistake; he had not left the building.

@Hypocrisy_Central I guess we all see things differently and judge by our own experiences not necessarily by the majority.

@Hypocrisy_Central

Way to type-cast just about the entire human family!

Perception. Money. Cultural identity. Positive generational interactions. The variables are probably more than I’m listing. Lack of strength in any of these cause social structures to become dysfunctional. The second two must be strong to have any positive shift in the first two.

The racism in here is making me sick. If you want to understand why slavery continues to perpetuate its evil generation after generation, I recommend a reading of Angela Davis’ Women, Race, and Class. And then the removal of your collective heads from your lily white asses.

@SmashTheState I lived in Virginia in the 50s and 60s and the racism there was unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like that up North. Separate bathrooms with big signs on them white, colored, unable to eat in restaurants, having to sit in the back of the bus. It was awful! And, the children brought up in that atmosphere, well it takes its toll on ones confidence and believing you can. Things are improving and I can’t wait till the schools improve in poorer neighborhoods. But, some still seem to carry the attitude that they’re lazy, they don’t put in the effort, etc. , and that surprises me in this day and age and to see it on Fluther surprises me even more..

Normally, that would be cause for resentment, @SmashTheState . But I know you and understand why you say that.

@CaptainHarley Way to type-cast just about the entire human family! Which family am I type-casting? I can’t type-cast the families I seen, because that is what they did, or were. How they carried themselves in the Ozarks, Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen, or in Mississippi, I don’t know.

@comity Things are improving and I can’t wait till the schools improve in poorer neighborhoods. But, some still seem to carry the attitude that they’re lazy, they don’t put in the effort, etc. , and that surprises me in this day and age and to see it on Fluther surprises me even more. Schools in declining or poor neighborhoods won’t get better until people stop being bamboozled into being squeamish over school vouchers.

Some Black kids, and people are lazy. No different than whites or Hispanics. Same as not all wealthy white people are greedy bastards that trampled down the poor minorities to get their riches.

One has to look at the prison population and ask was it all because the system was rigged to send innocent young Black men to jail, or would the number of the Black prison population be less if even ⅓ of them would have applied their time and skills better?

I’m outta here guys! Time for me to stop following.

Surely you realize that if humans were wiped out, and civilization started again, it wouldn’t be exactly the same. Besides science and math, every social institution would be slightly different than what it is now. This isn’t about race.

I meant to add a disclaimer to my answer that I don’t necessarily accept all the premises of the question…

IMHO,.. no – I will read further before a complete answer – But I will say that there is no ONE answer – And/But those of us who get/got anywhere had Family who got behind us.

All the answer are not true, or describe a cause but not the main cause which is could corresponding of the really. Of course many cause product this situation.
I’m asian. My answer is very simple: It is a question of cultur.
As you can see, everybody admit that Japanese are big worker. If you compare Japan to other west develop country, we can observe that the criminality rate is significantly much less poor in Japan. Japan is an example of difference between asian cultur and other cultur.
Chinese, India, Vietnamese don’t have exactly the same cultur, but all, have a very close cultur, base on the rice agricultur. It is for this reason, that many asian first of all are a good worker. And when you work you succeed especially in USA.