This is not true at all. There are tons of sports that require wealth. Sure it helps if kids have an athletic physique once they go through puberty; however, wealth makes quite a difference in a lot of sports. Downhill skiing, squash, tennis, golf, hockey, equestrian sports, fencing, ice skating are some examples of sports that require tons of money. My friend taught at a private school in Florida where it accommodated students' sports schedules which included swimming, tennis, equestrian sports, fencing and car racing. All of those kids were super wealthy. |
Yes they may require money but it doesn’t necessarily mean the kids will be good. Are you seriously debating this |
I’m pp who said these rich Asians are buying houses in cash. We live in McLean. We also live in a $4m house. The nicer houses seem to be being bought by wealthy Chinese. They don’t even live here full time. You will see more of them in NYC, CA and Vancouver. The rich Chinese often buy the $10m+ apts in nyc in cash. |
You think Chinese immigrants are illegally crossing the border and then enrolling their kids into travel sports? Very creative imagination. |
Then fleeing border patrol and enrolling their kids in travel soccer or fencing. Comical! |
Okay. It’s true for these elitist activities you listed which wealthy people call sports because they can’t buy their kid’s way onto the varsity basketball team. (FWIW tennis and hockey are the only real sports you listed, and hockey is plenty accessible the farther north you go.) |
I think it's possible that among certain classes, highly competitive parenting styles "imported "from other countries, mostly east Asian and south East Asian, are affecting the culture, and that that has filtered down to the middle class. I am chagrined about this, like many others on this thread (and it's the point of the OP's post) This emphasis on winning, being better than others at all costs, the pursuit of the highest grades and the best schools – it's toxic and ugly. It's the worst of human nature. There is a reason why depression and suicide rates are sky high in Asian countries. Some adults will say that you're glad that your parents made you play violin 8 hours a day or whatever, but this isn't the life that many of us want for our children. I'm not blaming the competitive state of parenting today on Asian culture, but I think it is a factor. |
The thing is that this is not just Asian culture. It's specifically the culture of elite Asian immigrants to the US. If you think there is pressure in Asian countries to be perfect and succeed then the pressure that wealth and highly educated Asian immigrants are imposing is a finely distilled version of it. And because we are talking about wealthy people with expensive degrees it carries with it a high level of entitlement. The "tiger mom" culture is just this -- we are fundamentally better than other people and will do and pay anything to prove it. A pursuit of excellence and success isn't inherently bad. But when you mix it in with this superiority that's when it becomes really toxic. We are superior to others because of our success. Also our children must succeed to show how superior we are. There is no way for this not to result in misery for at least some members of the culture. And their misery will then be viewed as a sign of their weakness and inferiority. It's terrifying. I have no idea why anyone would emulate these cultural beliefs. In the hopes it will result in your kid getting into CalTech and going to work for FANG I guess. It is a really messed up set of values and I urge everyone Asian or not to reject it. This is not the way. |
+1 I am Asian American and agree with this 100%. My parents are first gen but very laidback by Asian standards. Growing up, I was struck by how strict my Asian friends' parents were - tutors, extracurriculars, Ivy Leagues, plus corporal punishment. I ended up going to a decent state school (think UT Austin) and even though I was not competitive for the same colleges/careers some of my peers went on to, I feel lucky about the childhood I was able to have and the close relationship I still have with my parents. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate Suicide rates in Japan and China are lower than in the USA. |
This is a new one |
+1 |
I know someone has posted a study that show elite travel basketball AAU teams are actually high MC and UMC families predominantly. Nobody in the DMV is playing on any of the good HS basketball teams without playing this AAU circuit (which has the HS coaches, coaching different programs). Also, the best players have been playing since very young…and both their parents are super tall so they know they will hit a decent height when puberty kicks in. Hockey players all have to play in prep school teams for a 5th year of HS if they want to play college and definitely skews UMC in the US. May be different in Canada. Football is the one sport without any travel circuit so probably more accessible. |
+2 I also live in Langley, a subset of McLean. There are many Asians in the area with expensive homes, and kids in private schools like Sidwell, NCS, St. Albans, etc... They pay $175/hour for golf or tennis lessons without blinking an eye. |
Are you kidding? You need money to get good in tennis or golf. Even Francis Tiafoe needs serious training that JTCC provided him for FREE due to his family situation. Scott Scheffler wouldn't be the best golfer in the world had his family was poor. If you have kid A and B with the same athletic ability, but kid A has wealth and kid B is poor, kid A will come out ahead in athletic because kid A gets the best training money can buy. |