> assuming a Japanese child will have patience where an American will not is the same weird thought ... I agree that it is weird. And I did not read the articl

> assuming a Japanese child will have patience where an American will not is the same weird thought ... I agree that it is weird. And I did not read the article. But I would assume that this is not the point it was trying to make when referring to race or location backgrounds. When remarks like these are made, I would think they usually refer to a neighborhood. For instance, a well-groomed neighborhood at a good location vs. a slum at the outskirts of town, perhaps without electricity or even without running water. The race is mentioned in that context often not because it would have a direct impact. But because there is, unfortunately, a correlation between people living in poor neighborhoods and people of racial minorities. I would think that the implication then is that a bad neighborhood is one of the factors which drive bad social behavior.