"...the asians came to America as a land of opportunity, hoping and expecting to make a better life for themselves. Africans were forcibly relocated to a place where they had no future by definition... "
-oh, so it is there 'lot in life', the damage is done and irreversible and it has ruined them culturally forever. why did i assume that faced with this scenario it might occur to them to form tight knit supportive communities to overcome their predicament like asians?
Not to mention the fact that your example of San Francisco is telling. In fact, asian success is URBAN success, while the african-american experience is essentially rural until this century
- again that's just silly. rural chinese gold and railroad workers founded urban communities because it was the only place they were allowed to live in the cities. urban blacks ended up in places like harlem for the exact same reasons. the difference is that the chinese created a world of their own that didn't depend on any outside intervention and the blacks turned to crime and threw their hands up at the inequity of it all when the white community wouldnt let them in.
the outside world saw that there was profit to be made from interacting with chinatown so it eventually drew 'whites' into their world and them into 'white' society. all that can be found in harlem is crime and despair - there is simply no economic benefit on getting to know them or having anything to do with them.
additionally, you fail in your example to explain how that relates to the success of asians in places like oklahoma, idaho, utah, iowa etc - and the failure of black communities in those same states.
From there on there are a myriad of other differences - not the least of which is their second language, which, far from a handicap, helped emphasize an insular community and a social identity, something African's never had an opportunity to develop in any fundimental way
- all this gives is a catalyst by which community formation happens - it doesn't dictate the quality of the community by any stretch. if this is true then why isn't there more success in latino communities? blacks have formed strictly bounded communities whether you see that or not - it's just that the community structure doesn't supply consequence or guidance like the asian community does. (a lot has more to do with the confusian family model and asian patriarchal heirarchy than language)
In addition, there has always been (not just in America) a hierarchy of despite. Italians, Germans, Swedes and Irish have been despised at various times, but those who hated them generally preferred them to Asians, and preferred Asians to "darkies and Mexes".
Why do you suppose that is? why do some races assimilate and others dont. why is there a stereotype that claims asians are superior in math? do you mean that the 'white community' would create a stereotype that negates it's own ability? because all generalzations are rooted in facts. the more experience any culture has with another - the more realistic their generaliztions and stereotypes become. the silly generalizations that applied to asians 150 years ago are abandoned in favor of generalizations that more closely mirror actual experiences while the generalizations of blacks are really the same just unspoken now due to the media efforts of the last 1/4 century.
why do YOU think black Americans have not been as successful as Asians? Here is your challenge - to give a really meaningful reason that doesn't incorporate an unfounded bias
- i don't have an unfounded bias toward blacks as you are trying to imply - only opinions based on experience. and i could care less whether or not they match your pop culture world view that assures everyone feels good about themsleves regardless of the facts.
ex: if you have seen 10 border collies in your life and each has tried to bite you - chances are you won't walk up and try to pet border collie #11 no matter how much people tell you he might be an exception to the rule. it is an instict and has insured our survival as a species (ex:berries make sick - dont eat berries) not a race and it is not wrong to generalize based on experience no matter how much they try to condition you to the contrary these days or whose feelings get hurt. the truth stands without emotion.
blacks aren't inferior - imo, they are like a 22 year old kid that still lives with his mother in the extra room and doesnt work because she keeps making excuses for him and the dad is too limp to kick him out. he will never feel free, independant and a full man until he understands that his destiny is in no hands other than his own.
for the black community, this means a culture shift. fathers stay with their families and provide wisdom and guidance and above all consequence for bad actions to young blacks. education is encouraged not discouraged (try being a black kid that uses multisyllabic words and see how long it takes to get beat up by another black kid)
they need to say "to hell with what the white community thinks and if they dont let us in we'll start our own businesses and cater to our own kind and exploit our own demographic and take black money from white owned chains and redirect it to ourselves"
they need to say "to hell with entitlements, if your school doesnt want me then we'll start our own and grow it into something important and respectable through merit and acheivement alone" (most black schools focus on sociology instead of math, science and business - no wonder they aren't held in esteem - they only perpetuate the victim mentality)
they need to dismiss all these notions that they are helpless and realize their full potential to shine. every race has to compete and respects every other race by their ability to compete. lions in the wild won't carry one that can't compete - only our sense of compassion compels us to but it still carries an unnatural element and doesnt allow for full respect.
i dont want to see black people as helpless victims in need of support and my happy feelings - i want to see them as proud, independent and fully in command of their fate. quite simply, i want them to do what it takes to succeed regardless of the past and come into their own as a race so we can put racial problems behind us. it won't end as a result of condition and reeducation but rather as a correct appeal to the insticts we already have about success and failure.
