This tends to happen when you fear for your life. Black and Latina mothers have a knack for putting the "fear of God" in their children. LOL!

In other news, the sky is blue and clouds are white.

If you've ever been to a grocery store on Saturday morning, you'll find many examples in all age groups. It's always hilarious when the people are bilingual because you just know that it's a threat. Add kids with Asian (East and Southeast) mothers.

An Indian-American classmate was yelling and swearing at his mom because he was having a bad week basically. I was thoroughly appalled because I've yet to see an Indian parent take that mess. She came to visit and she was white. All too often, parents try to be their kids' BFFs. Have the high profile cases (Drew Barrymore, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, etc.) taught American parents nothing?

That is what a whooping can do. I don't mean beating the mess out of your kid…but a whooping. I'm 24 and even now I don't curse in my mothers presence even when referring to other things. We don't curse or yell at our parents because we know they'll smack the daylights out of us if we get out of line. I don't think it is as clear as saying that white kids have less respect, as it would be more apt to say that white parents are generally more tolerant than parents of most other ethnic groups.

True, blks and latinos may have respect for their parents, but can that be applied to any other authority/elder that isn't related to them? The classic "You ain't my Momma…" line comes to mind.

With the Indian/Paki kids (as well as arabs) the kids do whatever they want to their moms, but if their dad is in sight…. they won't even dare make a scene.

Ike, "Paki" is considered derogatory much like "Jap." I lived with 5 Indian people during my sophomore year in college. 4 are American born and raised. 1 moved to the U.S. during middle school. Having met ALL their parents, some of them several times, I get the impression that the moms are generally "bad cop." One of the moms scolded me for not tidying MY room. I had the door open and she just walked in and started ragging on me. I definitely wanted to tell her she wasn't my mama but I wasn't about to get sassy with someone who frequently took us all out to nice dinners.

My Persian friends seem to be friendly with their moms but I can't imagine any of them ever getting disrespectful.

Spendi, I agree mostly. Kids test boundaries and see what's acceptable by what people around them do. White couple at a cafe for lunch. Their kid who is 3 or 4, punches his mom who has him on her lap straight in the chest. Several people turn around. She says "ow" or "stop." He then does it several times. She grabs his hands and he starts struggling with her. Dad pulls him off of her and puts him in his own chair. Kid starts crying and going towards mom. Mom picks him up, holds him and kisses him. He pretty much stops crying instantly. What lesson has this kid learned?

On the other hand, a (white) kid of about the same age threw a temper tantrum at Target. The throw yourself at the floor and scream at the top of your lungs kind. His parents just continued shopping. Annoying as it was, I had to laugh when he kept following them and throwing himself on the floor. Lesson: making a scene will not get you anywhere and if anything, it might get your bad butt left at the store.

It is??? I know about "Jap" (during WW2 and all…) Cuz all my Pakistani friends use it all time when referring to people from Pakistan. I thought it was just a short/slang way of saying Pakistani. If I offended anybody, I apologize. It wasn't done intentionally.

Ike I guess its like some of us using the Nword. I only know it as derogatory too. But I agree with you I've seen Indian kids, including friends, treat their mothers quite badly. Boys especially

IKE Jap is also used among jewish women to mean Jewish American princess.