NYT: The Lam Family of Ludlow St.

[jsrockit]

I found this interesting...

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/five-years-later-a-new-reality/

 

[Andy Kibber]

Yes, very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

For some reason, I go for long stretches without checking the NYT Lens blog, which is a shame because it's usually excellent.

 

[stnolan]

I remember seeing the original exhibit of his work at the Sasha Wolf gallery in NY a few years ago. Great little gallery to visit when I come to NY

 

[helen.HH]

Sad ... but at Least The Family is Together

The Work in Colour seems to Add a Brightness and Hopefulness to The Story

 

[Ming The Merciless]

I was mostly affected by the Father who seemed more pensive. What does he feel working hard each day and likely not getting ahead of the game.

 

[robklurfield]

Great journalism. A sad commentary on where we are today.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

thanks for sharing... very moving.

 

[porktaco]

i really liked that

 

[jsrockit]

Yep, the family is still together even if while struggling. Also as kids get older, there is bound to be more termoil in a small household. I think they will be fine.

 

[Jamie123]

I agree that sad is probably not the right word but at the same time you got to be a bit naive to look at a large immigrant family who's living in a small apartment and be fascinated by their 'can-do optimism'. Seems like a very stereotypical American thing.

 

[Paul Luscher]

Great stuff. The kind of thing I'd like to do.

Think the reality for immigrants coming to the U.S. has not changed much from 100 years ago or so. It may seem like the land of milk and honey, but soon they learn that America can be a hard dollar. Just take a look at Jacob Riis' photos from back then...

 

[jsrockit]

I always get the impression that a lot of Americans look at stories like these and all they can think of is some inspirational tale that could be turned into a movie starring Will Smith.

But aren't those the types of movies that probably inform your impression? 😀

 

[jsrockit]

You can roll a dog turd in powdered sugar but it doesn't make it a doughnut.

Damn, just when I thought this was an economical way to manage my doughnut habit.

 

[Jamie123]

But aren't those the types of movies that probably inform your impression? 😀

True. That's why I said it's the stereotypical American thing to say (i.e. referring to the 'can-do optimism'). Of course that's only the photographer's attitude at the beginning.

That being said, every time I'm in the US I'm surprised how much some people actually correspond to the stereotype. 😀

 

[Calzone]

John,

Since you are my friend and know me, it is hard to imagine that my father was an illiterate Chinese immigrant who jumped ship in New York Harbour in the late 1920's/early thirties.

My dad never really made it, had a horribly brutal life full of hardships and loss, and was considered rich by the family he left behind in China.

My dad was an illegal alien for perhaps decade and a half, but he was one of the few Chinese (only1428 Chinese were natralized between 1943 and 1952) that were able to become natralized citizen because of his service in the U.S. Army in WWII, when the Chinese Exclusion Act was in effect. Only in the early seventies were relations with China normalized by President Nixon.

My dad was the most determined and stubborn man I ever knew.

Cal

 

[froyd]

While the circumstances of the Lams certainly must have changed over the years, I wonder how much the change in tone is dictated by the photographer himself, and where he is in his life.

 

[Calzone]

You can roll a dog turd in powdered sugar but it doesn't make it a doughnut. The reality is there is very little opportunity in the US unless you have some connection. I think the biggest problem in the US today is that the vast majority of people don't comprehend that the country will never again be the way it was. All of the b.s. that people spout about how this is the land of opportunity is just that, b.s. Even if you graduate from college these days you have little opportunity. What you do have is mind numbing, crushing debt and little chance to ever get out of it. All in the pursuit of that carrot on a stick called opportunity.

Your reality is not mine.

I have an art degree that took me over a decade of hard work to complete; I also have a masters in Communications that I'm still paying off school loans; and I even have another useless graduate degree that has not made me any income: a MFA in creative writing where I owe tens of thousands of dollars there also, but even though none of my college degrees in the arts never made me any money, my life is richer because of my education.

The crushing debt you mention is actually very managable and the interest rate I now pay after 30 timely payments, getting an interest deduction by using automatic electronic payments, and after refinacing to a FIXED rate at Record Low Interest Rates (2.1875%), below the rate of real inflation and stretched out into monthly payments that are rather modest that extended over a 23 year period when I refinanced. BTW all student loan interest is also a tax deduction.

Being able to educate myself with this borrowed money is a real opportunity IMHO, especially since my father was not only poor, he was an illiterate immigrant/illegal alien who had nothing. I am able to pay the rather modest monthly payments because I have a really good job that's secure that I worked very hard to obtain in an unrelated field (physics labs/medical research).

As far as connections: although I now know some rich and influential people, none ever gave me a job or ever helped me get any job, but I do agree that the U.S. is in a cronic state of decline that looks rather bleak.

Unfortunately not everyone can be as lucky as me, but I can tell you this about immigrants and perhaps first generation immigrants: as bleak as conditions are they will die trying because often they have little to loose and because they have real determination.

Cal

 

[newsgrunt]

As the child of 2nd, 3rd, or maybe 4th gen immigrants (we've kinda lost track) I only know one thing for certain...parents will do ANYTHING to make sure their children have more opportunities and a better life than they had.

My parents were as working class as any but they did what they did and I'm able to buy film and decent cameras because they made sure I had the right work ethic and provided the right environment for me to choose a career that I wanted and to succeed in it.

They never really had a handle on what I did until their friends told them they saw my work. I think they were pretty happy how I turned out 😉

 

[jsrockit]

While the circumstances of the Lams certainly must have changed over the years, I wonder how much the change in tone is dictated by the photographer himself, and where he is in his life.

Or how the family felt about the photographer being there again after 5 years...

 

[jky]

as bleak as conditions are they will die trying because often they have little to loose and because they have real determination.

Cal

Agreed.

I'm in Canada and so I'm not too familiar with how things are in the States (aside from whatever CNN reports).

But I often hear that the alternative - "being back home" - makes the sacrifice/harship here (Canada) worth it... mostly, when people tell me this, they more often than not refer to the life their children will have.

Hard to believe sometimes when a person is a physician, engineer, surgeon "back home".... until I went back home myself.