Proud to be an American

Status
Not open for further replies.
Chriscrawfordphoto

Chriscrawfordphoto

Real Men Shoot Film.
Local time
1:41 PM
Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Messages
11,628
proud-american.jpg


This abandoned house was inhabited until about a year ago. It was in pretty bad condition even then, but the people who lived there were still proud to be Americans.

Leica M6, 50mm C-Sonnar, Tri-X in PMK
 
And how's that working out for them? I'm ptbaA too, but the cost of membership is getting oppressive!

This is a great picture Chris, it states the obvious, and then suggests the reality behind the face. The broken wall and facia board - perfecto!
 
Odd, really, to be 'proud to be' anything over which you have no control. I mean, I'm pleased to be a Cornishman, and feel a bit sorry for those who aren't, but I realize that it's purely an accident of birth and that the whole thing is a bit of a joke.

A great picture, Chris, which (to me) sums up one of the dilemmas of the hard of thinking.

Cheers,

R.
 
Ooh, I'll bet that smarts. Fortunately the Americans With Disabilities Act covers the "hard of thinking" (quaint non-p.c. rosbif/cornbif phrase for the intellectually differently abled). Is this country great or what? Our strength is in our diversity, and ability to repel filthy foreigners. :p

P.S. Possibly our Cornish friend is unclear on the concept. The sentiment can be unpacked to mean, proud of being associated with what Americans (or, if Cornish, insert that) have accomplished or stand for; being a member of the group may imply some active role which could warrant such pride. Whatever.
 
Last edited:
PMCC said:
Ooh, I'll bet that smarts. Fortunately the Americans With Disabilities Act covers the "hard of thinking" (quaint non-p.c. rosbif/cornbif phrase for the intellectually differently abled). Is this country great or what? Our strength is in our diversity, and ability to repel filthy foreigners. :p

P.S. Possibly our Cornish friend is unclear on the concept. The sentiment can be unpacked to mean, proud of being associated with what Americans (or, if Cornish, insert that) have accomplished or stand for; being a member of the group may imply some active role which could warrant such pride. Whatever.
Click to expand...

Highlight 1: Yes, foreigners are a problem everywhere. Cornwall is full of Londoners, and where I live now, in rural France, the pace is positively crawling with foreigners including Parisians. To quote Tony 'Ancock, "You like foreigners? Go abroad. the place is lousy with 'em."

Highlight 2: Actively living in poverty... How many people really do contribute to making their country 'great'? And how does their country thank them if they do? An interesting question...

Cheers,

R.
 
Last edited:
Proud to be black, proud to be American, proud to be ...... The Americans are a proud lot. Nothing wrong with that per se. But its a rather strange concept to blatantly say so for many Europeans, and Norwegians in particular. We (I count myself as one when I feel like it) may think we are something, but we hate to say so, unless drunk or abroad (even more so if both).

I just like the tones of Chris' Tri-X in PMK work, its rich without being too contrasty.
 
People have a tendency to be proud of being a part of what they consider something good. Most people would not argue about the pride part as long as there is not exclusion to being able to be proud of the same or different good things. The real problem comes in accepting what is good.

Nice photo Chrscrawfordphoto. The tonality is good yet not bland, being able to bring out a starkness. The photo along with the titile evokes a lot of emotion as seen by the comments. What more is there to ask? Thanks for sharing.
 
Proud to be American, Proud of their Home. The place, local and grander are shown here, very much a display of the time we are in.
 
oftheherd said:
People have a tendency to be proud of being a part of what they consider something good. Most people would not argue about the pride part as long as there is not exclusion to being able to be proud of the same or different good things. The real problem comes in accepting what is good.

Nice photo Chrscrawfordphoto. The tonality is good yet not bland, being able to bring out a starkness. The photo along with the titile evokes a lot of emotion as seen by the comments. What more is there to ask? Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

Yes, but if 'being a part' is sheer accident, what is there to be proud of? It's like saying "I'm ashamed to be an American," an equally meaningless association of person and place. By all means be proud of what you've done, or even of an organization you joined voluntarily and support (I'm moderately proud of being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts), but I find it odd to be proud of being something that you are, without any effort on your part, and that you don't even necessarily agree with all the time.

The same, of course, goes for being ashamed.

Cheers,

R.
 
Last edited:
I could not have touched this thread one way or another, except for the fact that in the window is an American flag underneath which it says 'Proud to be an American'. That removes a lot or all of any uncertainty about Chris's intention in posting the photo and naming this thread. Which makes me think that a lot of posters did not see the flag or the text.
 
I see the intended irony, but it isn't a strong enough image/subject to overcome the bickering.
 
Richard G said:
I could not have touched this thread one way or another, except for the fact that in the window is an American flag underneath which it says 'Proud to be an American'. That removes a lot or all of any uncertainty about Chris's intention in posting the photo and naming this thread. Which makes me think that a lot of posters did not see the flag or the text.
Click to expand...

Correct. Few people are observant like that. It also goes to show that a titled photo influences the viewer a lot.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Odd, really, to be 'proud to be' anything over which you have no control.
Click to expand...

I find that odd too. If I said I wasn't proud to be an American or ashamed to be an American, then some Americans would be upset that I'm not a team player. However, those same people couldn't care less if I said I was proud to be Texan unless they were Texans.

I've heard people from X state say they are better than citizens other states. You can't get it through their thick skulls that they aren't special, because they were born there. It isn't like they were invited to join the "club", passed the entrance exam or anything like that. Dumb luck they were born there.
 
To be honest, I saw the poster in the window, but then again I've seen enough of Chris' stuff to know he'd use it for a title, with or without a sense of irony, not my place to judge. I never meant to imply Chris himself has a need to share his sense of pride with the rest of us. I like Chris' pictures, apart from them showing his technical prowess, because they are a clean unmasked window to his community, and the adversities his fellow people are up against. I find it interesting and sad.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom