Min Jin Lee on Poverty, Respect and Materialism

Well, my parents were humiliated so regularly in doing their work. It was very clear to me as a young person that the world didn't respect them.

And it's hard as a kid to watch your parents be dismissed and to be disrespected.

And I have to say this, and I think that almost every poor person will agree with me. When you grow up in a poor community, what really matters is respect.

Like, it's a kind of currency that you almost overvalue because you don't have other things.

So that's the reason why when you think about gang violence, it can be started just because someone didn't respect you.

And even now, as somebody who's mature and has had a lot of good things happen to them, like, there's a part of me that just goes bonkers when I feel disrespected.

I just kind of think, "Oh, you've crossed a line."

It's even-- It's worse than even, like, being cheated of money or something, which other pe- other people would probably think is very important.

When was the last time Min Jin Lee was disrespected?

A lot of people don't think I speak English.

That's very common. And whenever I go into public spaces, I re- I always make an effort to, in the way I dress, because if I look less well off or polished, I am treated in a very different way.

I've actually tested this a lot, and I kind of think, "Wow, it must be exhausting." So people have said things like, "Well, why do Asian Americans care about status items in terms of luxury goods?" And I tell them, "Well, it's because if you wear those things, those status markers,

because of global commercialism, it explains to another person that this person might have money, and therefore, if you disrespect them, there'll be consequences."

And I find that to be really sad because materialism is obviously a painful, terrible thing for most people. However, I do understand when a young person who has no money buys expensive sneakers. I get it.

A- and I think that to get angry at a person who does that is almost...

You're decontextualizing materialism.