Originally Posted by
nerd
Chinatown in NYC is certainly not a slum. Same to be said about San Francisco's.
Originally Posted by
Peterpack
Ive been to Chinatown NYC and whilst it is not a slum, compared to other areas of Manhatten, it definitely isn't as clean and picturesque
So it's a comparison between the Chinatown in the city to other areas of the city, not the Chinatown compared with China
E.g. i am in Sydney at the moment and as soon as you hit the blocks of Chinatown, the whole vibe chances. You go from 4 and 5 star hotels and nice shops to dingey backpackers and mega budget hotels and trashy looking shops. Now i don't mind the change of character, i was just querying the trend, thats all.
Originally Posted by
YVR Cockroach
You have to think in historical context. Many of the Chinatowns in North America were where the Chinese immigrants (or the native-born for that matter of fact) were pretty much allowed by those in control (pretty much the "whites") to settle during the anti-Asian hysteria of the 1800s and even until the early-mid 1900s. .
I think it is important to understand that "Chinatowns" were originally ghettos or slums. That is how they started. SF's chinatown is the prime example. That whole area started off as a slum. Most chinese immigrants were poor, uneducated, laborers. Discrimination and racism forced the Chinese into these slums or chinatowns. Thus, you weren't getting Harvard Med and Yale law grad "asian model minority" students here; you were getting desparatate, uneducated, poor chinese living in these places.
Keep in mind the chinese exclusion act in the America prevented chinese from immigrating into the USA until the early 1960's. Thus, chinese people were not excluded from coming into this country, but they were forced into small ghettos and slums called Chinatowns.