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> cultural friction makes it hard for "ABC" chinese Can you clarify what you mean by "cultural friction"? I always thought that "ABCs" and "ABCDs" (Indians bor

> cultural friction makes it hard for "ABC" chinese Can you clarify what you mean by "cultural friction"? I always thought that "ABCs" and "ABCDs" (Indians born in the US) were better at integrating with workplaces here than those coming from Asia?

sushid 10y ago
Not the parent commenter but I believe the parent's saying that even ABCs (or ABCDs) have a lower chance of being in said tribe than say, a fellow white alum with a similar socioeconomic background.
Spooky23 10y ago
I'm not an expert on this (Not a psychologist, don't play one on TV), but I took a lot of East Asian studies classes and did a fairly substantial research project as an undergrad on the topic. Our team interviewed about 120 young Chinese people at our university and neighboring schools. About 75% were ABC, 25% immigrants. As I recall, the dominant theme from the ABC kids was a dichotomy of different expectations and pressures. Examples: - They found themselves in a position of go-between with folks outside their family at a young age. One person described being the translator for their dad in buying a car at age 10. - They had an intense pressure to succeed. They felt that family was struggling mostly to provide them with the tools for success. One person's mother worked 90 hours a week in traditional immigrant gigs at a laundromat (pressing shirts overnight) and restaurant. - Simultaneously, the older generation of grandparents and family abroad saw them as decadent americans. People outside the family saw them as foreigners -- they would be asked in the street if they spoke english or knew about America. Many described rebuke for their clothing, differences in education, etc. A few talked about over-compensating and trying to be "the ultimate white kid", but not really identifying with that persona. I walked away from that project with a deep and profound respect for the folks we talked to and the differences in perspective and even thought process. My grandparents were immigrants and talked to me often about their experience... but being an Irish immigrant in 1940s NYC, while a struggle is a very different when you're bridging language and big cultural gaps. My parents, aunts and uncles very clearly identified as Americans, and nobody inside of outside the family questioned that.

sushid 10y ago

Not the parent commenter but I believe the parent's saying that even ABCs (or ABCDs) have a lower chance of being in said tribe than say, a fellow white alum with a similar socioeconomic background.

Spooky23 10y ago

I'm not an expert on this (Not a psychologist, don't play one on TV), but I took a lot of East Asian studies classes and did a fairly substantial research project as an undergrad on the topic. Our team interviewed about 120 young Chinese people at our university and neighboring schools. About 75% were ABC, 25% immigrants. As I recall, the dominant theme from the ABC kids was a dichotomy of different expectations and pressures. Examples: - They found themselves in a position of go-between with folks outside their family at a young age. One person described being the translator for their dad in buying a car at age 10. - They had an intense pressure to succeed. They felt that family was struggling mostly to provide them with the tools for success. One person's mother worked 90 hours a week in traditional immigrant gigs at a laundromat (pressing shirts overnight) and restaurant. - Simultaneously, the older generation of grandparents and family abroad saw them as decadent americans. People outside the family saw them as foreigners -- they would be asked in the street if they spoke english or knew about America. Many described rebuke for their clothing, differences in education, etc. A few talked about over-compensating and trying to be "the ultimate white kid", but not really identifying with that persona. I walked away from that project with a deep and profound respect for the folks we talked to and the differences in perspective and even thought process. My grandparents were immigrants and talked to me often about their experience... but being an Irish immigrant in 1940s NYC, while a struggle is a very different when you're bridging language and big cultural gaps. My parents, aunts and uncles very clearly identified as Americans, and nobody inside of outside the family questioned that.