Guest9999 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 14, 2021 3:02 pm
I know a good number of Cambodians who completed Master's degrees in the west. More than a handful were born to farmer parents. People can succeed in all kinds of ways, academic success is only one, but don't automatically think it is beyond Khmers, or always takes 2 generations to get there. That is racist, silly, and untrue.
The exceptions confirm the rules.
It is all about the "drive" the kids get from home. Is that continuously encouraging to go for new challenges, kids do have a very good chance (provided sufficient brains), to go in one step from farmer to Western level "Doctor".
Though for most Khmer kids, the opposite is happening. Parents/Grandparents discouraging kids to do anything that might be a challenge. And there, we do have the cardinal element, which keeps poor countries poor. It is just the country wide culture, the way people look towards life and opportunities. Applies all over the world. That's not racism, that's just how it works to become/be successful.
If you spent half of your day "worshiping Allah", then not much time is left to learn items that can be valuable economically, produce goods to earn a decent income, etc.
IF you spent a large part of your day drinking beer, chances are minimal, you reach something more than a very minimal existence. That's not rocket science (nor racism).
It's all about picking up opportunities/challenges, vs. "doing noting". It has little to do with "denied the opportunities". Opportunities do come along on a daily basis, grab these, and you can improve your position. Step by step.