Domingues had puzzled publicly over why 31% of AsAm workers perceived discrimination at work and yet filed very few complaints with EEOC. Woo wrote to explain that

there are cultural and social reasons for the scarcity of complaints to the EEOC from AsAms. A complaint to EEOC is
equivalent to initiating litigation in the minds of AsAms. Many AsAms fear litigation for the following reasons.

A) Cultural Inhibitions Against Litigation

First generation Asian immigrants have strong cultural inhibition to litigation. Many of us feel that being involving in a law suit at least partially reflects on us, since in our view a truly good &successful person can solve all problems without going to court. We distrust lawyers much more than average Americans. We believe lawyers can be bought by money and power as commonly happened in our respective old countries in the past -- a belief that is likely inaccurate in US. So going to
court is like gambling, not being in complete control of one's own destiny and therefore a shame.

B) Cultural Inhibition Against Admitting Being Discriminated

Many of us hate to admit that we have been discriminated against. Confucian training influences us to believe that a good and strong person would win respect instead of suffer discrimination. Again we believe being discriminated against partially reflects on us. So when asked by a pollster and knowing that their names will not be tied to the admission of having being discriminated, many will admit. But the same persons probably have not mentioned the discrimination to EVEN their own family members. I'll further conjecture that not all Asian will owe up to being discriminated even to a pollster. In other words, the real percentage may be even higher than 31%.

C) Assessment of the Political Reality in America

Asian Ams are well aware that many of our compatriots consider us "foreigners." We are further aware that should the same
discrimination statistics have applied to African Americans, the NAACP, Urban League, the Black Congressional Caucus, Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition will have together long demanded a Congressional investigation and gotten it. EEOC & the Civil Rights Commission will be investigating the matter vigorously. Ethnic publications like Ebony will be focusing on such statistics issue after issues. The mainstream media will be carrying it week after weeks. Nothing close to the above described had happened in the Asian Am community. The AsAm politicians are on the whole less powerful. So average AsAm workers don't feel their complaints will be dealt with justly.

Many AsAms have observed how reluctant their employers are to fire a Black or female colleague. We are NOT suggesting to fire the others with ease, but to point out the political plight of a small minority without the GROUP political clout.

How Asian American Must Adjust

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do." AsAms must ADJUST the above cultural views when discriminated against. If we don't, we'll forever be discriminated against.

Lacking GROUP political clout is something that individual AsAms can't do much about. That was why 80-20 was born! However, 80-20 can't by itself create GROUP political clout, unless you pitch in. Your offspring will thank you.