There is a Chinese phrase: 'all under heaven'. To begin to understand it let me illustrate a few points. In the western world say in NY, a korean comedian performs at the Apollo. A couple of texans eat at a steakhouse, a lebanese christan goes to Tribeca after coming back from church. You do what you want to and this holds true even in very stereotypically homogenous places like the deep south. People have choices and freedoms, and perhaps the reason you can have a society like this is as simple as the Constitution. Well, shit like this doesn't fly in Mainland China. In China there is only 1 way, the Chinese way. 'All under heaven' has several meanings, one of which is unity. A united front, no dissidents, no troubles, no protests, no connection to reality. I'm not gonna go into the debate of the individual vs. collective, but suffice to say there are obviously societies in the world where it leans heavily in 1 direction. It's the collective in China and what they say goes. As an extension to the tiger mom's, this is what the majority of Asian kids go through whether or not they believe in it. You are expected to be a doctor/lawyer/engineer etc etc, so forget playing with friends and do homework. In the western world mostly, you get to choose what you want to be and the path to find that out may take longer than having something laid out in front of you. Of course one could be a surgeon by 24 if they have been groomed for it their whole life, but then the question remains: did the person ever want to do it?
good post jj. If I may say, this conformity leads to lack of risk taking and creativity. That is why USA has produced Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Facebook and the list of inovations is endless... I mean I can't even imagine chinese, indian students dropping out of Harvard to start companies like billy gates... however I do believe that kids benefit from discipline and instilling of a good work ethic. I agree with one other poster that divorce creates havoc with childrens lives and leaves permanent scares. I don't know what the divorce rate is in china, india etc
"If I could say one thing to Amy Chua, it's that I would trade every bit of my success in life -- in a heartbeat I'd switch places with the guy who shovels elephant dung at the zoo -- to remove the scars left by a Tiger Mother." that's tough. Your childhood are supposed to be full of games, laughter, bruises from jumping makeshift ramps on your bike. With as many friends as possible.