Back when I was applying for college, all my acquaintances used to joke around that the greatest disadvantage I had was simply being Asian. Of course, the joke is sadly, halfway true. Asians worked hard to get there. They tend to study more than anyone, go to so many different prep programs for SATs and college applications after school and during vacations, that competing with them in the same "affirmative action" bracket was simply academically and logically unfair by any means.
All Asians had to go through the dilemma. And for many, they have to think of any possible method to get ahead in the face of stiff competition. Diligence just was not going to be enough, they would think. So, all sorts of otherwise illegal, and immoral-looking methods are devised for the students and their parents with the financial capability and ethical blindness to do so. In the past, I already spoke about students paying off professionals to write their entire college applications.
But, of course, the word "success" does not end with an acceptance letter from Harvard or some other prestigious, brand-name college. Success would ultimately have to be defined by high social status that one can show off, accompanied high income that one can turn into publicly certified signs of luxurious materialism...in essence, pretty much anything that one can brag about for greater "face." To obtain all of that often cannot be achieved by simply "trying hard" and following all the rules.
As for the money, one must somehow establish a steady stream of seemingly legitimate income. For people with connections in high places, especially in large corporations and government, it is not particularly difficult. Simply ask for a good job through the connection, and the decent salary plus "grey income" in the forms of bribes and other forms of corruption will satisfy the needs. Then, all they have to do is keep a low profile and investing the money abroad so that they can flee the country when something goes wrong.
For all the "normal" people without good backgrounds, the job is a bit more difficult. Many people, even now, are insistent that becoming a citizen of a developed country is a sure way to generate personal wealth (I sure have not seen it after my own naturalization). For girls, it is just about shamelessly hooking up with a local guy and marry him for the passport. For Asian guys, with little sexual appeal to local women, the same process does not work quite as well.
Instead, the guys have been doing exactly the opposite for the same end result. They, by trying to show just how much they love their native country, have been able to earn the trust of their native country as those "rare few" that can positively represent the country as not simply a place where everyone wants to get out and come back. Yet, when these "loyal, nationalist" guys are sent abroad to propagate the "positive image," they do exactly what they are not intended to do: they criticize their native country and never go back.
And knowing the sad end result, it is just even more disheartening to see the length to which individuals go to show they are the "best of the best nationalists." They constantly regurgitate whatever political propaganda or nationalistic sentiments they are fed by the authorities and schools of their native country, without the slightest understanding or sympathy toward the words. They could honestly care less what the propaganda honestly means because these will lead them out of their native countries for a better place abroad.
Ultimately, these hypocrites who scream nationalistic propaganda the loudest before they leave their native country happens to be the ones who criticize their native country most passionately after they get out. The Asian pursuit of "success" is no longer as simple as cheating on some contests or avoiding some taxes. It has led to a fundamentally mind-bending opportunism, participated by almost every citizen, that threaten to destroy the entire social fabric of civilization...
All Asians had to go through the dilemma. And for many, they have to think of any possible method to get ahead in the face of stiff competition. Diligence just was not going to be enough, they would think. So, all sorts of otherwise illegal, and immoral-looking methods are devised for the students and their parents with the financial capability and ethical blindness to do so. In the past, I already spoke about students paying off professionals to write their entire college applications.
But, of course, the word "success" does not end with an acceptance letter from Harvard or some other prestigious, brand-name college. Success would ultimately have to be defined by high social status that one can show off, accompanied high income that one can turn into publicly certified signs of luxurious materialism...in essence, pretty much anything that one can brag about for greater "face." To obtain all of that often cannot be achieved by simply "trying hard" and following all the rules.
As for the money, one must somehow establish a steady stream of seemingly legitimate income. For people with connections in high places, especially in large corporations and government, it is not particularly difficult. Simply ask for a good job through the connection, and the decent salary plus "grey income" in the forms of bribes and other forms of corruption will satisfy the needs. Then, all they have to do is keep a low profile and investing the money abroad so that they can flee the country when something goes wrong.
For all the "normal" people without good backgrounds, the job is a bit more difficult. Many people, even now, are insistent that becoming a citizen of a developed country is a sure way to generate personal wealth (I sure have not seen it after my own naturalization). For girls, it is just about shamelessly hooking up with a local guy and marry him for the passport. For Asian guys, with little sexual appeal to local women, the same process does not work quite as well.
Instead, the guys have been doing exactly the opposite for the same end result. They, by trying to show just how much they love their native country, have been able to earn the trust of their native country as those "rare few" that can positively represent the country as not simply a place where everyone wants to get out and come back. Yet, when these "loyal, nationalist" guys are sent abroad to propagate the "positive image," they do exactly what they are not intended to do: they criticize their native country and never go back.
And knowing the sad end result, it is just even more disheartening to see the length to which individuals go to show they are the "best of the best nationalists." They constantly regurgitate whatever political propaganda or nationalistic sentiments they are fed by the authorities and schools of their native country, without the slightest understanding or sympathy toward the words. They could honestly care less what the propaganda honestly means because these will lead them out of their native countries for a better place abroad.
Ultimately, these hypocrites who scream nationalistic propaganda the loudest before they leave their native country happens to be the ones who criticize their native country most passionately after they get out. The Asian pursuit of "success" is no longer as simple as cheating on some contests or avoiding some taxes. It has led to a fundamentally mind-bending opportunism, participated by almost every citizen, that threaten to destroy the entire social fabric of civilization...
Comments
Post a Comment