Asian American Chapter Summary

People become clarified about what race is when the lines that allegedly are supposed to differentiate one from another are made unclear. Boundaries between race and ethnicity are becoming blurred with one big group when in reality they are so different from one another. The report made by the Pew Research Center on the racial term “Asian American” imposes the impression that Asian Americans in the United States have the highest income, higher educational attainment/career success, are more satisfied with their lives that other Americans. In response to this, Scot Nakagawa points out the dilemma regarding this allegation. The classification “Asian American” ties together a vast range of different Asian ethnic groups that come to the United States for different reasons (2). This suggestion implies something essential about an Asian when in reality there is no such common ground for identification. Thus, occulting certain ethnic groups who as a matter of fact are not successful, not highly educated, and are not enjoying their lives in America in the way that they are conveyed by the report. For instance, the Hmong is an ethnic group that resides in the US as a victim of the Vietnam War. They are a long way from their agricultural homelands and ways of life. Even though some are trying to accommodate the new life in the United States they also preserve their culture, which …show more content…
In Fadiman’s book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, this issue is an impacting one. If most Americans were to give an opinion regarding what is happening between the Hmong and the doctors would be that the Hmong are just being stubborn and noncompliant. This is when the context in which the term noncompliance is being used is very important. In fact, one could say both parties where being non-compliant if you think about it. It depends on whose point of view one decides to take