From: sedayao@sousa.intel.com (Jeff Sedayao)
Subject: Re: Sex, Power and the Decline of the White American Male [LONG]
Reply-To: sedayao@chopin.intel.com
Organization: Intel - Information Technologies
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 01:50:24 GMT

In article <SHAW.92Oct4204105@au-bon-pain.lcs.mit.edu>, shaw@au-bon-pain.lcs.mit.edu (Andy Shaw) writes:

[stuff deleted]
 
> I believe in the possibility of the relative decline of the white American
> male compared to the Asian American male -- this is not dogma, or bluster,
> or envy speaking, this is looking at the facts, and the evidence around me.
> It sure as hell hasn't happened yet, but the first batch has just come
> through.  Let's wait another ten years, and then see who's complaining, and
> who's saying stuff like "everyone has the right to date anyone they want".

I don't know about that.  If you ask me now, I think that everyone has the 
right to date anyone they want.

> I forsee the possibility of the Asian-American minority in the US becoming
> something like the Chinese minority in countries like Malaysia, Thailand,
> or Vietnam -- a sort of resented and relatively powerful racial elite,
> limited by being a numerical minority, and perhaps feared and respected on
> the basis of their skin.  (Perhaps someone who knows more about those
> countries can elaborate on the race relationships there.)

That's a very interesting vision.  You can see some of that happening now.
In Fremont, where I used to live, some of the wealthiest parts of of the city
are 30-50% Asian.  In other parts of the Bay Area, there are sections with
concentrations of well-to-do Asians.  Look at Arthur Hu, has such "mundane"
concerns as "will the new nanny work out?" and "why is my wife going back 
to work when she doesn't have to?"  Then again, there are areas with lots of
middle class Asian Americans and poor Asian Americans.  While there is a 
growing Asian American elite, there are many who are not part of the elite.

> There are a few things that will possibly prevent that from happening.
> First of all, if Asians assimilate in the manner, and to the extent that
> Jews, Irish, Italians, and Eastern Europeans did in the past century, then
> we will be absorbed into the whole -- quite frankly speaking, this is not
> our choice, but the choice of the white majority.  If they relent, then the
> forces for assimilation are probably too great to have any heroic
> "preservation of the culture" arguments from being effective -- we'll just
> become like the Irish and the Italians, which suits me fine: that's
> certainly better status in this country than we have now.

This remains to be seen.  Color remains a large factor.  How many people
on this newsgroup have said that no matter how far away from Asian
culture they are that they are still treated as foreigners?  Also, whites 
will not be a majority in many areas.  A few years after 2000, there will not be
an ethnic majority in California.  I remember reading in TIME that if
current trends continue, whites will not be the majority in the U.S. by
around 2070.  What will assimilation mean then?

[rest deleted]

> -Andy

> PS: Don't take me _too_ seriously, since I also believe that
> Asian-Americans are going to make it to the NFL and the NBA.

> PPS: Go Eugene!

-- 
Jeff Sedayao
Intel Corporation
sedayao@chopin.intel.com
..!uunet!intelhf!chopin!sedayao
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american