What makes you say this? Don't stereotypes come from something? Do you think it's a coincidence that a stereotypical Asian American is reserved, disciplined, and good at math, and that Asian Americans in America make considerably more than any other race[1]?
Btw, "Cut the crap" is an unprofessional, unproductive way to start a conversation.
For some background, the 'model minority' myth that you're perpetuating here is being increasingly rejected by the Asian-American community because its both reductive and dehumanizing in its characterization ('Asians are all inscrutable math wizards that get straight A's but are essentially invisible in any romantic or leadership capability') and most often trotted out by race supremacists in some twisted form of concern trolling as a way to attack other minority groups who are seen as less subservient. Asian-americans are often seen in america as the "perpetual foreigner"[1] no matter how far they go to integrate, and the 'model minority' myth just makes integration and the freedom to be treated as an 'American' _individual_ so much harder - unlike Caucasians in the US who in their virtue as the majority demographic do not have each and every one of their actions/behaviors scrutinized as being representative of "white people."
> Or are we to believe that stereotypes all come from nothing?
This is a false dilemma. Stereotypes come from something, sure - but they don't necessarily come from accurate characteristics of the race. They may come from one of the many cultures that makes up the race. (As a child of immigrants from south India whose family has been Christian longer than Europe has been Christian, I have some opinions on your conflation of race and culture.) They may come from some particular subculture that happens to be interacting with the people forming the stereotype. They may come from what is essentially propaganda - national myths, folklore, religious traditions, etc. that reflected an older culture that people find useful to claim an identification with, but may not accurately represent any people. They may come from propaganda by the people forming the stereotype, as in the case of the "model minority" stereotype in the US. They may come from the reaction of the culture or the race to living under oppression by the people forming the stereotype, and not reflect the natural tendencies of the people if given their freedom. (For instance, the stereotype of Jews as greedy can be traced pretty directly to the old Christian prohibition - now seemingly forgotten - on lending money with interest, which left the profitable and necessary job of banking essentially reserved for whatever visible non-Christian cultural minority happened to be in Europe, regardless of any traits of that culture other than happening not to have such a prohibition.) They may come from accurate traits of the race or culture from a generation or two ago that are no longer accurate. There are lots of options here that you seem to be dismissing.
I'm not dismissing what you're saying, and the fact that you're assuming that I'm just dismissing you is ridiculous. You're just assuming that because I don't immediately reject the discussion of stereotypes, that I'm some racist. It's just not true.
I'm really sad about the state of HN nowadays. Anyone not PC is downvoted incessantly. This is just another example of a vocal minority drowning out the silent majority on the internet sites that is contributing to our cultural extremism in our country. Not everyone with differing opinions from you is a racist.
I did not downvote you, nor have I called you racist. I attempted to engage you in reasoned argument, and you are unwilling to engage in debate. Other people are not downvoting you because you're "not PC", they're downvoting you because you're not making cogent arguments, and anyone not making cogent arguments should be drowned out by cogent arguments.
>Do you think it's a coincidence that a stereotypical Asian American is reserved, disciplined, and good at math, and that Asian Americans in America make considerably more than any other race[1]?
You are stating a set of what you believe as stereotypes of "Asian American[s]" and then citing a wage survey. There seem to be a lot of assumptions you are making.
What would you define as "Asian" in this scenario? Do you consider all people living in America having some form of roots in the entire continent of Asia, Asian?
Next, are you attributing personal traits listed by you as: reserved, disciplined, and good at math, which equates to "make[ing] more than any other race". Do those traits really do that?
The comment that you posted, from my own personal experience, is disheartening because it attributes qualities to a broad set of peoples and cultures which may or may not be related. Even if you might consider some things like being disciplined as positive, it's disempowering because it removes each "Asian" person's ability to achieve based on their own merit.
Stereotypes typically don't come from anything. The "stereotype" of an Asian male is someone who
* can't talk to women
* doesn't understand social skills
* has poor hygiene / manners
* values STEM above softer skills
* values hard work and effort
It's pointless to make these claims because such broad generalizations immediately break down the second you meet an Asian man. There's no way to know which (if any) of these stereotypes they uphold.
Some of these sterotypes have a positive bend: Poor social skills imply that they are reserved. Valuing hard work makes you a disciplined person. etc. But these stereotypes are still bad. They lead people to make unfair assumptions about Asian men because they are Asian. There's plenty of literature out there about stereotypes and prejudice and especially about the "model minority" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_minority
From there you may see why folks are downvoting you:
> A common misconception is that the affected communities usually hold pride in their labeling as the model minority. The model minority stereotype is considered detrimental to relevant minority communities because it is used to justify the exclusion of minorities in the distribution of assistance programs, both public and private, as well as to understate or slight the achievements of individuals within that minority. Furthermore, the idea of the model minority pits minority groups against each other by implying that non-model groups are at fault for falling short of the model minority level of achievement and assimilation
EDIT: And as a bonus (since that Wikipedia article is DAMN good) "Scientific studies have revealed that positive stereotypes have many negative and damaging consequences both socially and psychologically." The citations are in the article.
Btw, "Cut the crap" is an unprofessional, unproductive way to start a conversation.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_wage_gap_in_the_United_...
Edit: To those downvoting me, can you please explain? What did I say in my post that was inaccurate?