[quote=flu]
Ok come on zk. Lighten up…No rich or poor or middle class or whatever people got hurt last night…
And sorry, where in my joke did I mention anything about Watts and race?
Why do people like to turn every ribbing of a joke about something they don’t like to hear into race?
Last time I checked being “lazy” was a race and gender neutral thing.
Where does something unrelated race get dragged into a race issue? Or are you starting to generalize about people of certain races?????
Are people starting to ban jokes as well as guns now?
Generalize much?[/quote]
Being asian myself, I think the point zk was making and what I got from reading it is that success in people’s lives have more to do with their environment and “luck” than from working hard or anything about that person to begin with. Going to a better school, being raised in CA and silicon valley, LA, etc. vs. some mid-west town where everyone married their high school sweetheart instead of going to college is a far better predictor of success than IQ tests and all that.
Based on everything I’ve learned in life so far, I’m a far bigger believer in this myself as well.
I don’t see any racial slam in zk’s message at all and didn’t get feel that was his point neither.
I feel this way because having worked in SV in the bay area and having some success with companies/start ups and IPOs, money, etc and moving to other fields and seeing what “real people” make for income/etc…and having been laid off in the past as well, until you see it yourself, people tend to generalize and have that attitude about everyone being “lazy” “bum” etc…
The point about the Watts black kid being just as smart as the CV asian kid has been proven in studies where they put economically challenged kids in a more nurturing structured environment and they do just as well as the wealthy kid.
It really has to do with their perception of what’s possible, what they experience, see, etc…This is why you have people say they want all kids to get government day care, etc…
That’s not something I’d support since we don’t have the money for it, but at birth, someone starts off way ahead in life based on the luck of what family they are born in.
I don’t doubt that if I was born from a low class family, I would certainly have done a ton worst in terms of financial and economic success. Main thing I see is I don’t really feel that driven compared to people you see from foreign countries such as India/Asia since their lives are a lot worst. I see this in TONS of native US born Americans as well. OF COURSE, THIS IS NOT EVERYONE, but the whole attitude is very different with the whining, etc in work compared to just sucking it up.
That said, eventually, the CV kid will eventually revert to the norm of the typical American and be of mediocre success.
Sorta like with EVERY, literally Asian friend/famiy I know, I see the parents helping them with their home downpayment in EVERY instance (I didn’t get that though)…It allows them to keep them in the better schools and repeat the success cycle of life. And we’re taking to the tune of 250k – 1 mil in housing purchases here…
I haven’t read this book yet, but been meaning to read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
”
There is a story that is usually told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and ambition. Gladwell argues that the true story of success is very different, and that if we want to understand how some people thrive, we should spend more time looking around them-at such things as their family, their birthplace, or even their birth date. And in revealing that hidden logic, Gladwell presents a fascinating and provocative blueprint for making the most of human potential.
”
