Asian American Attitudes toward Wealth | Asian American Poll

AA ATTITUDE TOWARD WEALTH
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:07:04 PM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Assuming you are an Asian American, how important is wealth in your assessment of a person's attractiveness?
It's one of the most important. | 19%
It's just one of many factors. | 36%
It's less important than other qualities. | 29%
I don't care about a person's wealth. | 16%

Assuming you are an Asian American, which best matches your feelings toward your own wealth?
I'd give up weekends to double my income. | 20%
I'd work longer hours for 50% more income. | 39%
I'm happy with my current income. | 24%
I'd give up some income for more free time. | 17%

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WHAT YOU SAY

[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]

I hate to admit it, but it is the only one asset that we Asian males have. Had it not been for money, we wouldn't have survived this dog eat dog world.

Even those young Asian guys who don't got money thrive from the image and stereotypes.

At least it helped in my dating game with women of other races (esp. Latin women).
$$$ Monday, May 27, 2002 at 21:59:37 (PDT)

"Ok so what do you have to prove once you get the so-called things in life you want?"

Do what whites practicing conspicuous consumption already do: join a country club so you can buy expensive sport equipment and clothes to show off.

"It seems that most of the materialism exhibited by asians are generally relate to these following items:

1)House 2)Car 3)Clothes"

Uhhh...this is what whites show off too as far as I can tell. Besides, what else can one show off anyway--a deluxe toilet?

"Once you have obtained the best of these items then what?"

Buy more, of course! Why do you think there are so many white women who are into collecting Hermes scarves or Chanel bags? Or white men collecting sports cars?

BTW, whenever I hit the expensive boutiques to see what's in for the season, I'm usually the ONLY Asian there. There might be another one there or maybe a family. This has happened in Boston, Chicago, London, and Paris. Everyone else was...guess what--white! The way some of you talk, you'd think there were busloads of Asians invading these shops.

Oh wait, I forgot. Like Caesar (Seize-her?) or that other dead white male Alexander whatever, they came, saw, and conquered. This is why the whites are always having to put their name on the waiting list for the most coveted items.

It's a joke, guys: HAHAHAHAHA!

"With no personality other than shopping, how vain do you think your life is trying to just keep up with the Wongs and Changs?"

Hey, buddy, why don't you also try asking that to the Jones, the Smiths, the O'Neills, the Ryans, the Steins, the Sterns, the Rosenthals, the ...etc.

Guess you forgot WHITES can also be as materialistic, shallow, superficial, etc. etc. as Asians, right? Get a thinking cap, buddy. (And no, it doesn't have to have a logo!)
Asian Dominatrix Monday, May 27, 2002 at 19:59:40 (PDT)

Ok so what do you have to prove once you get the so-called things in life you want?

It seems that most of the materialism exhibited by asians are generally relate to these following items:

1)House 2)Car 3)Clothes

Once you have obtained the best of these items then what?

With no personality other than shopping, how vain do you think your life is trying to just keep up with the Wongs and Changs?
something to think about Sunday, May 26, 2002 at 22:36:33 (PDT)

M,

Pick yourself up one and immigrate to another country and settle down as a minority group. Start a family. It will all become apparent then.
AC Dropout Thursday, May 23, 2002 at 10:49:56 (PDT)

Oh, one more thing. You mentioned:

Some of the AM's I know make obscene amounts of money in the IT industry, and live in houses that are almost mansions. I mean there's nothing wrong with having a good job and making lots of money, it just seems like a lot of them feel the need to flaunt it.
M

Let me ask you, do you know any WHITE guys making "obscene amounts of money" living in a mud hut or even a basic 3- bedroom house? And do most of them go about driving a beat-up old Yugo that fizzes and bangs at every corner?

Guess not.
Asian Dominatrix Thursday, May 23, 2002 at 09:00:22 (PDT)

M,

If the AA's are concerned with "the status job" and the "status house," they obviously must have money in the first place. Don't forget that in many cases, the AA's you're discussing may well have brought money from their own countries where they were already well-heeled. In other words, they shouldn't be judged that differently from the "the upper crust, socialites in big cities" which you mention.

Take a closer look at the childhood backgrounds of AA's who are status conscious. Chances are, quite a few of them were raised in upper-middle or upper-class neighborhoods. This is inevitable (as I mentioned in an earlier post in the best and worst of women forum) when Asians generally like to pick neighborhoods with the best public schools, which happen to be located in surprise, surprise, white upper-middle-class neighborhoods. Don't forget too that since Asians generally face greater discrimination than whites when it comes to hiring and promotion, Asians believe it helps (not guarantees) to attend the "right" schools and colleges.

In fact, when I was growing up in the midwest, I used to ask why whites appeared to be so much more status conscious than Asians. The whites in my neighborhood took care never to drive any car "beneath" a Buick, to have traditional furniture, to wear "all natural fibres," etc. In other words, there was a certain lifestyle to be presented to the world: well-heeled and well-educated. And when I went to my piano lessons in one of the toniest North Shore suburbs, nearly all of the whites were decked out in the latest model cars and designer duds. There's a reason, after all, why the phrase "Keeping up with the Jones" was invented by Westerners.

I agree that ultimately it's not really important to care about what people think of you: it's what you think of yourself that matters. But it's not very fair to pin this status-consciousness on Asians when there are a good number of whites who also care about sending their kids to the right college, having the right house, the right family, etc. Just a glance through uppermiddle class newspapers and magazines like the The New York Times, Town and Country, The New Yorker, New Republic, Atlantic, Atlantic, will prove my point.
Asian Dominatrix Thursday, May 23, 2002 at 08:53:04 (PDT)

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