this is just …

from Casey Kasem’s “I Want My Son to be Proud” (emphasis mine):

Joseph Jacobs grew up in Brooklyn, where the goal was to blend in as Americans. He worried less about taunts like “camel jockey” and more about whether his mother spoke Arabic in front of his friends. Today, he says he feels lucky to have his heritage: “The ethics, pride and sense of honor I learned in my ethnic community were important contributors to my business career.”

Businessmen and intellectuals were Jacobs’ role models. He recalls that many uneducated immigrants like his dad made great successes of themselves: “What business are you in?” was a question I invariably heard asked when a Lebanese came to visit us.

Jacobs became a professor of chemical engineering, but his mother insisted he’d never be a success until he went into business for himself. So, in 1947, he started a one-man consulting firm. Today, Jacobs Engineering Group, based in Pasadena, is one of America’s largest professional service firms - a billion-dollar international corporation.

Any racism he experienced as a youth, Jacobs says, gave him “additional incentive” to accomplish something and get the respect of your peers.” He adds, “Being accepted and respected in the American culture was a powerful motivator for me.”