What? What a bizarre post - an anecdote doesn't prove or disprove anything, just like hoosier's non sequitur post neither creates nor destroys any 'mythology' . . .

Unless you're calling yourself lazy, this almost comes off as a backhanded compliment - really, this was a mind-bending post. How does this relate to Dr. Martin Luther King's stated dream for American society?

To quote Hoosier:

My town and yours is probably run over by Chinese restaurants, Patel-owned motels, Korean groceries, and ethnic establishments - most run by first generation immigrants. These people have worked hard, supported one another with advice, loans, and patronage, and live the American dream.

Some others think the dream is a winning lottery ticket, thug culture and music, sperm-donating absent daddies, and a welfare check.

In other words, the successful groups are relying on themselves.

The unsuccessful think someone else, and more of someone else's money, and some more legislation, and slogans, are the only path to success.

(Emphasis added.)

Quote:

Now if people read his post and assumed it was geared to a certain race...well that says something.

Yes, it does. It says that intelligent, college-educated people reading a thread entitled "Will Dr. King's Dream ever come true?" and started the day before Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is observed as a national holiday, and who see a post that compares "successful" Chinese, Korean and Indian immigrant "groups" to an "unsuccessful" group described (stereotypically) as having a "dream" of "thug culture and music, sperm-donating absent daddies, and a welfare check," can pretty well figure out which "group" the writer of the post thinks is "unsuccessful."

Yeah, exactly - and stereotypes are rooted in thinking in anecdotes or typographical representations of a group . . .

i've never heard of a patel. what's that?

Patel is an Indian title meaning "village head" and is one of the most commonly-used Indian surnames.

Per Wikipedia: Patels are associated with Businesses, and in the US they are also associated with the lodging industry, many stores, and owning numerous hotel and motel businesses. (The Asian American Hotel Owner's Association (AAHOA), some ninety percent of whose nearly 9,000 members are Patels, estimates that they collectively own 18,000 hospitality properties worth some $38 billion in all.) There are also massive numbers who also are employed as doctors, engineers, and pharmacists.

As a surname, Patel is perhaps the most popular and easily identified Indian last name, other than Singh. Unlike many European last names, two random Patels (or two random Singhs) are highly unlikely to actually have any familial relationship.

I quoted the Wikipedia article portion about the hotel and motel business since hoosier's post referred to "Patel-owned motels."

so they're indians? patel is a slang term for them?

Yes, they're Indians.

I've never heard "Patel" used as slang so much as sort of a generalized reference -- as one of the most common Indian surnames, especially in North America, the reference to "Patel" implies a reference to Indian immigrants in general.

FWIW, I have heard the slang term "Potel." It comes from "Patel" and "hotel/motel" and means a hotel/motel owned by someone from South Asia, especially India.

My favorite Patels are Raju and Sharad.

They produced this bad-ass movie (Bachelor Party) and gave Tom Hanks his start:

http://ia.imdb.com/media/imdb/01/I/40/95/60m.jpg

-Rudey

The above ref to Wiki pretty much tells the story.

"Potel" could be a contender for Next Word Added to Websters Dictionary.

If you are arguing that every minority group, especially the immigrant Chinese, Patels, Koreans, etc., can make it in the USA, EXCEPT African-Americans, you have a pretty low opinion of a large minority.

If you are arguing that A-A people can only make it with govt. help, you have a pretty low opinion of a large minority.

I think everyone can make it in the USA.

Kinda do....

Immigrant generation: Parents work hard, often owning small buisnesses such as a restaurant or store (though some are professionals, but that's another story)...forces their kids who were raised/born here to study hard, instills their values to them.

American born/raised generation: They do listen to their parents (somewhat), do well in school, get into a good program and become doctors, lawyers, engineers. They live a comfy middle class life, give back to the old community, etc, etc...

Dr. Kings ideals will never live as there is Racism in everyone no matter what anyone says.:(

While He had a Dream unfortunatly it will never come to a true sense as We Might Like to think it would be in a Utopia.:confused:

Let's debate, not make frivilous posts.

the irony.

Only if it stops being just Dr. King's dream.