Paper tigers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paper tigers - Essay Example In the article, Yang points out that most Asian Americans are seen as obedient, non-questioning individuals. In fact, he terms them as â€Å"conformist quasi-robots who simply do not matter† (Yang, 2011). This explains why they are really given management positions in most companies in America. The author gives the example of James Hong, who says that he was not considered to be good enough to hold management positions. Stereotypes have denied most Asian American the chance to serve in top levels of organizations but instead given jobs on lower ranks. The predicament faced by Asian Americans as described in this article can extent to other groups affected by various forms of stereotypes. In the end, the perceptions held by others about a given group greatly influence how the affected people are treated in the society. Secondly, it is clear that stereotypes make individuals have negative perceptions about themselves and their culture, and relegate themselves to lower classes. Through this perception, these people are left to occupy the lowest ranks in the society, making themselves appear inferior. For example, in this article, Yang gives the example of Tim Wu who grew up in Canada, and witnessed how whites and Asians perceive each other. According to Wu, there was the assumption that Asians were talented at bitter labor. In other words, Asians were seen to be good at the most brutal part and therefore most suited for it. The whites, on the other hand, portrayed themselves to be above all that. In the end, as Wu notes, the Asians moved towards these kinds of low class jobs because they believe they are best suited for them. This illustrates how stereotypes make people to lower themselves and have negative perceptions about themselves. They tend to put themselves in the lowest classes because that is what the rest of the society believes they