Quotessence
Home / Authors / Amy Chua
Amy Chua

Amy Chua Quotes

Professor

Filter quotes by topic

AllParentChildrenIfsThinkingKidsMotherChineseWayKnowsSelf

Famous Amy Chua Quotes

“America's elites today, especially progressive ones, often don't realize how judgmental they are. They disdain tacky things, and, not coincidentally, those tacky things--fake tans, big hair, pro wrestling, chrome bull testicles hanging from the back of a big truck--are usually associated with lower-income Americans.”

ClassJudgmental People
Book:Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations
Create image

“The peril we face today is not only that America might fail to live up to its promise, but that Americans might stop believing in that promise or the need to fight for it. The increasing belief on the left that this promise was always a lie, or on the right that it has always been true and has already been achieved, are two sides of the same coin.”

American Dream
Book:Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations
Create image

“Page 207 In the inner cities of all the major metropolitan areas across the United States, ethnic Koreans represent an increasingly glaring market-dominant minority vis-à-vis the relatively economically depressed African-American majorities around them. In New York City, Koreans, less than .1 percent of the city’s population, own 85 percent of produce stands, 70 percent of grocery stores, 80 percent of nail salons, and 60 percent of dry cleaners. In portions of downtown Los Angeles, Koreans own 40 percent of the real estate but constitute only 10 percent of the residents. Korean-American businesses in Los Angeles County number roughly 25,000, with gross sales of $4.5 billion. Nationwide, Korean entrepreneurs have in the last decade come to control 80 percent of the $2.5 billion African-American beauty business, which—“like preaching and burying people”—historically was always a “black” business and a source of pride, income, and jobs for African-Americans. “They’ve come in and taken away a market that’s not rightfully theirs,” is the common, angry view among inner-city blacks. Page 208 At a December 31, 1994, rally, Norman “Grand Dad” Reide, vice president of Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, accused Koreans of “reaping a financial harvest at the expense of black people” and recommended that “we boycott the bloodsucking Koreans.” More recently, in November 2000, African-Americans firebombed a Korean-owned grocery store in northeast Washington, D.C. The spray-painted message on the charred walls: “Burn them down, Shut them down, Black Power!”

BlacksAffirmative ActionEthnic ConflictRiotsKoreansSmall Business Administration
Book:World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability
Create image

“Page 210 Indeed, precisely because American society is so wealthy overall, America has come to occupy the role of a starkly market-dominant minority vis-à-vis the rest of world. We are now the object of intense resentment, even hatred, spurred by globalization.”

Ethnic ConflictAnti Americanism
Book:World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability
Create image

“Page 3: My family is part of the Philippines’ tiny but entrepreneurial, economically powerful Chinese minority. Just 1 percent of the population, Chinese Filipinos control as much as 60 percent of the private economy, including the country’s four major airlines and almost all of the country’s banks, hotels, shopping malls, and major conglomerates. ... Since my aunt’s murder, one childhood memory keeps haunting me. I was eight, staying at my family’s splendid hacienda-style house in Manila. It was before dawn, still dark. Wide awake, I decided to get a drink from the kitchen. I must have gone down an extra flight of stairs, because I literally stumbled onto six male bodies. I had found the male servants’ quarters. My family’s houseboys, gardeners, and chauffeurs—I sometimes imagine that Nilo Abique [the chauffeur that murdered her aunt] was among those men—were sleeping on mats on a dirt floor. The place stank of sweat and urine. I was horrified. Later that day I mentioned the incident to my Aunt Leona, who laughed affectionately and explained that the servants—there were perhaps twenty living on the premises, all ethnic Filipinos—were fortunate to be working for our family. If not for their positions, they would be living among rats and open sewers without even a roof over their heads. A Filipino maid then walked in; I remember that she had a bowl of food for my aunt’s Pekingese. My aunt took the bowl but kept talking as if the maid were not there. The Filipinos, she continued—in Chinese, but plainly not caring whether the maid understood or not—were lazy and unintelligent and didn’t really want to do much else. If they didn’t like working for us, they were free to leave any time. After all, my aunt said, they were employees, not slaves.”

Ethnic ConflictMarket Dominant MinorityEthnic RankingWorld On Fire
Book:World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability
Create image

“Page 259: The bottom line is this. Democracy can be inimical to the interests of market-dominant minorities. There were good reasons why the Indians in Kenya and whites in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and America’s Southern states resisted democratization for generations. Market-dominant minorities do not really want democracy, at least not in the sense of having their fate determined by genuine majority rule. Some readers will surely protest. Many market-dominant minorities—the Chinese in Malaysia, for example, or Jews in Russia, and Americans everywhere—often seem to be among the most vocal advocates of democracy. But “democracy” is a notoriously contested term, meaning different things to different people. When entrepreneurial but politically vulnerable minorities like the Chinese in Southeast Asia, Indians in East Africa, or Jews in Russia call for democracy, they principally have in mind constitutionally guaranteed human rights and property protections for minorities. In other words, in calling for democracy, these “outsider” groups are precisely seeking protection against “tyranny of the majority.”

Ethnic ConflictMarket Dominant MinorityEthnic Politics
Book:World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability
Create image

“The most successful hyperpowers are the ones where there was actual intermixing. Tang dynasty China was Chinas golden age, and contrary to what I was told when I was growing up, Tang China was founded by a man who by todays standards was no more than half Chinese. It was a mixed-blood dynasty that pulled in "barbarians" from the steppe.”

MenAgeTodayHalfGrowing UpSuccessfulGrowingBloodStandardsChinaContraryGoldenChineseBarbariansGolden AgeDynasty
Author:Amy Chua
Create image

“My dogs can't do anything--and what a relief. I don't make any demands of them, and I don't try to shape them or their future. For the most part, I trust them to make the right choices for themselves. I always look forward to seeing them, and I love just watching them sleep. What a great relationship.”

TryingLooksChoicesSleepSeeingDogShapesDemandReliefMy DogRight ChoicesGreat RelationshipMake The Right Choice
Book:Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Create image

“The fact is that Chinese parents can do things that would seem unimaginable-even legally actionable-to Westerners. Chinese mothers can say to their daughters, "Hey fatty-lose some weight." By contrast, Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue, talking in terms of "health" and never ever mentioning the f-word, and their kids still end up in therapy for eating disorders and negative self image.”

StillsEndsSelfFactsSeemsKidsMotherParentTermCan DoLosesTalkingIssuesEatingDaughterNegativeWeightWesternHeyChineseTherapyDisorderContrastEating DisorderUnimaginableWesternersTiptoesFatty
Book:Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Create image

“Western parents worry a lot about their children's self-esteem. But as a parent, one of the worst things you can do for your child's self-esteem is to let them give up. On the flip side, there's nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn't.”

GivingChildrenSelfParentSidesCan DoWorryWorstSelf EsteemBuildingGiving UpWesternEsteemYour ChildrenWorst ThingsFlipCan Do SomethingBuilding Confidence
Book:Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Create image

“Western parents try to respect their children’s individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions, supporting their choices, and providing positive reinforcement and a nurturing environment. By contrast, the Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they’re capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.”

WayTryingBelieveChildrenChoicesPassionParentEnvironmentHabitProtectSkillsCapableWesternIndividualityBest WayPursueChineseContrastProvidingPreparingNurturingReinforcementTrue PassionWork HabitsPositive Reinforcement
Author:Amy Chua
Create image

“A lot of parents today are terrified that something they say to their children might make them 'feel bad.' But, hey, if they've done something wrong, they should feel bad. Kids with a sense of responsibility, not entitlement, who know when to experience gratitude and humility, will be better at navigating the social shoals of college.”

IfsKnowsFeelsShouldChildrenDoneMightKidsTodaySocialParentResponsibilityHumilityCollegeGratitudeHeyTerrifiedEntitlementSense Of Responsibility
Author:Amy Chua
Create image

“I was raised, myself, by extremely strict but also extremely loving Chinese immigrant parents. To this day, I believe that their having high expectations for me, coupled with love, was the greatest gift that anyone's ever given me. And so that's why, even though my husband is not Chinese, I try to raise my own two daughters the same way.”

WayTryingBelieveTwoMotherGivenI BelieveParentMy OwnHusbandExpectationsDaughterRaisesRaisedChineseImmigrantsMy HusbandThis DayStrictGreatest GiftsHigh ExpectationsTwo DaughtersImmigrant Parents
Author:Amy Chua
Create image