Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Typical London?

Shot with Olympus E510
Why is it I feel that a photo of foreigners can be a typical London shot? I like the waiting and the movement in this, with the girl's exotic looks. Covent Garden was the place.

I am away on holiday so will be unable to respond until the 27th October. Usual magic keeps things appearing each day.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 8

Comments on "Typical London?"

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (14:19) : 

We are becoming a nation of immigrants and illegal aliens. Lots of people don't like it for a variety of reasons and not the least of which is they get free everything and the rest of society pays the bill.

 

Blogger Cinderelen said ... (16:01) : 

Nice photo :)))

I hope you have a nice time on your holiday and have fun :)

Brings us some nice photos ^^

Byes :)

 

Blogger Unknown said ... (21:37) : 

That chap behind must be about 7ft tall!

 

Blogger The Greenwich Phantom said ... (15:22) : 

Is it the guy behind who's a giant or these girls who are the midgets? ;-)

 

Blogger Ham said ... (00:40) : 

eleni - yes, surprisingly, I do have some photos. Portugal was a lot warmer and sunnier. Ever so glad to be back in damp and cold London. Although, I still love it.

zeus - two things. First I never censor comments and I'm leaving your abuse on show as it says more about you that oldmanlincoln. Second, although it isn't my view it is an honest perspective on an observed situation and I don't believe xenophobic.

gail's man, greenwich pahntom - they are short, he is tall, I'd slowed the shutter speed to 1/15. This is my favourite type of shot with a subtle sub-text. Isn't always possible and doesn't always come off.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:10) : 

It's interesting how we assume they are foreigners because they look different. Maybe they've been here for 2,3 generations.

My mate's parents are from China, lived many years in the US, she was born there. She IS as American as anyone else born there. No one gives her shit about it. I don't understand why the English have this division.

 

Blogger Ham said ... (10:53) : 

Angel, true, but (apart from the fact that I had other clues, too) I think that the cultural melting pot is a major part of what makes London the great city it is.

As far as British attitude to foreigners is concerned, (sad, but true) I think that there are a couple of major factors in play.

The first is that we are an island, fairly small and crowded, and the historic European enmities and alliances have conspired to make us feel isolated.

The second and more significant is that the UK was the last significant Empire, only very recently broken up, and we have residual responsibility in many far-flung corners. As a result, we have had influxes of immigrants from places like Uganda and the West Indies that can make it look as if whole areas have been overwhelmed. If, at the same time, the world is changing and your job is disappearing, it feels like the "foreigners" are to blame.

I could add a third factor, and point out that it suits the interests of large sectors of the press to feed the xenophobic frenzy.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (22:44) : 

I´m portuguese, recently lived in London and then in Philadelphia,USA. Although these cities may have a similar amount of foreigners (and those are the ones who build and develop the cities!), you really notice different feelings about it... in London the foreigner communities live for themselves, isolated from the city, in their closed cultures, don´t care about the city but demand a lot of rights. Oldmanlincoln has some point in what he´s saying... in fact you really feel that they arrive in London, didn´t give any contribution for the system (ex. health) and have the right to have everyhting for free! And even complain and demand rules to chance for them!! It seems Londonders can´t keep their culture and laws, afraid of discriminating the minorities... but at the end they are discriminating themselves and loosing their identity.
In america is so different... nobody cares where are you from, it´s a country made up of foreigners but they are open communities, share their cultures and mix up with eachother. An important difference is that they contribute for the system, they participate in it and they have the right to get amenities if they pay for it. So, nobody is parasiting others and everyone has the same rigths but also duties. And they have to accept american way, american system and laws if they want to live there. And nobody feels discriminated because of that, there is so much freedom!

 

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Name: Ham Location: London, United Kingdom View my complete profile