Immigration video...unreal.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by ChinoCoug

I came to this country from Taiwan when I was 6, and my parents spoke English to me so I could catch up in school. But I can tell you this:

*Assimilation for the 2nd generation is natural if you follow the path of least resistance.

*I commend Latinos for their better track record of preserving their language/culture compared to Asians. Being cut off from your past is not a good thing (look at African Americans).

*Mexicans may not emphasis education as much, but they do have high levels of entrepreneurship. Don't neglect all the good they bring.

I'll use you as an example. Coming from Taiwan, you come from culture rich in emphasis on education and entrepreneuralism. The subculture within Chinatown, if that's where you grew up is different than Latinotown. Plus, as an ABC or almost ABC, odds are you may have grown up in a nonChinese part of town. The odds of Latinos living outside of a latino area are greatly diminished. So the old culture not emphasizing education is reenforced by one's friends and neighbors.

In contrast, coming from Asia, your parents are likely to have stressed the need to excel, an unlikely impetus in a Latino family.

The culture is one Mexicans must escape for them to succeed in the highly competitive industrialized world. Much of their culture fights against success. And this is not necessarily true for Argentina, Chile or Brazil, where the cultures are quite different. Even Costa Rica has an amazingly different culture. Obviously my observations are not good predicters for any particular family where good habits may have been developed.