Comments on James Hong: What will the US be like for Asian Americans over ...

Haven't talked to Adam in like 7 years, so not...

2010-02-25T01:52:16.538-08:00

Haven't talked to Adam in like 7 years, so not up to speed on what he is thinking aobut this kind of stuff.

This is the best blog posts I have seen in a lo...

2010-02-25T01:36:18.815-08:00
This is the best blog posts I have seen in a long time.

I really hope James listens to Adam Curry who has been talking about this for years and really knows what he's talking about.

I am shocked to think anyone can see humor in that video however because it is a realistic possibility.

True, SF and environs are special. After the GSB ...

2009-10-14T15:03:58.689-07:00
True, SF and environs are special.

After the GSB and some years in Silicon Valley, I returned my mixed-race family to a surprisingly self-segregated Orange County. Sad decay.

Yet I'm optimistic. Consider the critical differences between the US and Weimar Germany.

1. America is explicitly an ideology, not an ethnicity.

2. Equal rights are defended in law for over 140 years, expanded in law for nearly 50 years, with nearly monotonic improvement in enforcement over that time (outrageous exceptions like Manzanar stipulated).

3. American racism is largely generational, with most offenders over age 55.

Germany was quite different. It was overwhelmingly Germanic. Extremists could easily manipulate desperate citizens by exploiting an existing feeling that Germany was traditionally defined by Germanic blood. This was easy to exploit because it was historically true. Contrast this with America, which will soon celebrate the semicentennial of the Civil Rights Act.

Two risks: first, our protections mainly apply to citizens, and second, the country is much more homogeneous in religion than in ethnicity.

A more likely American Dark Age might involve anti-immigrant or anti-Muslim sentiment driven by extremist churches. I think those are legitimate risks. I'm much less worried for ethnic minorities. America is getting over that, it seems.

I share you view on this. With two young little on...

2009-09-21T10:22:48.513-07:00
I share you view on this. With two young little ones, I too have been thinking about where we should live. The government has been manipulating the market. Our economy is far from recovery. It's almost inevitable that there will be a major backlash against Asians, fueled by the economic warfare between China and the US.

But, the problem is where to live. :-) The quality of life in China, Hong Kong or Taiwan are not as good as the US (e.g. air pollution, public infrastructure, etc.) Singapore might be a good compromise. I have also had friends who get condos in Panama, which seems to be a good place to escape for retirement (not sure about raising a kid. :-))

Look forward to learn what you find out from your world tour 2009. :-)

Without intending ANY justification for Hitler, it...

2009-09-07T03:31:44.095-07:00
Without intending ANY justification for Hitler, it should be noted that there was more of a basis for anti-Semitism in Weimar Germany than there is for anti-Chinese sentiment in today's America, due to the Jewish banking connection. In fact, I would be more worried about a resurgence of virulent anti-Semitism today than virulent anti-Chinese sentiment in America today. Although one can never say for sure, since (then and now) most such enemies are manufactured at the convenience of the government. If the government needs a whipping boy, it will invent one if necessary. However the age of the Internet makes it harder to demonize groups without cause because the grip of the mass media has been largely broken as a means of leading public opinion. It still has power but nothing like back in the half century from the 1930s through the 1980s.

Mike, I think it's probably better to be a wh...

2009-09-06T13:06:55.685-07:00
Mike,

I think it's probably better to be a white kid growing up in China than an Asian kid here, particularly if the Asian kid doesn't live on the coasts.

But not because Chinese are less racist. They are just as bad if not worse.. It's just that they don't see white people as low on the totem pole. Being a Southeast Asian or an African in China is probably pretty bad.

Hiya, stopping by via Shilman's recommendation...

2009-09-06T12:01:53.118-07:00
Hiya, stopping by via Shilman's recommendation --

Thanks for the interesting post. I am a Korean native married to Michael. I recently raised the issue of re-evaluating the US as our home base for a different reason, that the US costs us a lot in taxation while not offering the social security and the cultural density we want.

The trigger that made me even think about it was my recent trip to Seoul whose relative vitality made SF and Boston look like a graveyard.

While my concern primarily translates to "what are we missing out," going deeper, the question becomes "will we be valued and respected considering what we bring to the table; will we enjoy being here?"

At the moment, we don't know of a good alternative to the US (specifically the Bay Area). But we'd be interested in hearing what you find out from your world trip.

I am also curious if you considered experiencing Central/South American cities for your trip.

Thanks for the post, and have a fun time!

Keywon

To fix this, we should make a law that you can'...

2009-09-05T20:26:43.728-07:00
To fix this, we should make a law that you can't marry or have children with someone of your own race. That way you'd only have on more generation to worry about.

By the way, do you think it's easier to be a white kid growing up in China, or an asian kid growing up here? I honestly have no idea. I bet it's pretty similar, with a slight advantage to America's melting pot. But that is just a guess.

James you make a lot of sense here. And I do agr...

2009-09-05T11:26:09.978-07:00
James you make a lot of sense here. And I do agree with you.

One new wrinkle is that the internet will lead to an entirely different propogation of how such a phenomena could play out.

Rapidly emerging fragmented groups could emerge that look more like tribe behavior than large scale group. Phenomena. More like Al Qaeda than Hitler.

On your economic view, I am getting more convinced that we are entering a depression driven by deflationary decay. Look back at the headlines from the 30's and you can see very similar media and public reactions to the initial recovery in the early 30s.

Best,
George

Wow! James, that is a hilarious commercial. More ...

2009-09-05T02:11:40.322-07:00
Wow! James, that is a hilarious commercial. More seriously, I think that difficult economic times will breed greater entrepreneurship.

As for racism, companies that discriminate are at a hiring disadvantage. The more difficult the times, the more severe the penalty for not being efficient in every way possible.

Have fun on your trip around the world!

Dennis