Why is ChinaTown always so dirty?

[Barbs]

Can someone explain why ChinaTown in every city is always so filthy & dirty? I just don't understand why Chinese people living in these urban centers cannot be clean! It really bothers me that insofar as Chinese people are represented in the U.S., ChinaTown is so dirty! And why are 99% of the Chinese supermarkets that I've been to in the U.S. filthy, dirty and smelly as well? Is this a cultural issue that Chinese people need to address? Is it a social issue due to over-crowding of small urban areas by the immigrant population? It's very upsetting to me, as someone of Chinese descent, this impression that Chinese people are giving to others.

[kasia]

[quote:e225436d11="Barbs"]Can someone explain why ChinaTown in every city is always so filthy & dirty? I just don't understand why Chinese people living in these urban centers cannot be clean! It really bothers me that insofar as Chinese people are represented in the U.S., ChinaTown is so dirty! And why are 99% of the Chinese supermarkets that I've been to in the U.S. filthy, dirty and smelly as well? Is this a cultural issue that Chinese people need to address? Is it a social issue due to over-crowding of small urban areas by the immigrant population? It's very upsetting to me, as someone of Chinese descent, this impression that Chinese people are giving to others.[/quote:e225436d11]

chinese people generally lack political clout and therefore cannot get the tax money to go to their cities. rich areas, on the other hand, have residents who financially support the politicians. this makes it easier for them to get what they want--better schools, etc.

you don't assume that chinese people are dirty because they are forced to live in dirty neighborhoods just like most don't assume black kids are stupid because they are forced to go to dumpy schools.

anyhow, check out the new ranch 99 markets. they're not filthy at all. what state do you live in?

[Arex]

I would have to agree with K. Most every Chinese person I know, friends and relatives alike (with the exception of my ABC uncle), showers every day and is as clean as the next person.

As for the smell, while I can't speak for the Chinatowns in the rest of the nation, my theory is that Chinatown, Los Angeles stinks because there's an abundance of seafood markets. A lot of those fish markets simply dump the melted fishy-ice onto the street for lack of anything better. That gives the street a nice fish-saucy stench. Chinese markets simply smell like that 'cause they've got an abundance of seafood out in the open (as opposed to the tiny selection behind the glass case you'll see at most American markets). Yum.

Gilroy smells like garlic, Harris Ranch smells like cow shit, Davis smells like hay, and Chinatowns all across the nation smell like fish. So be it. (Actually, that's a bit of a generalization on my part since I've only been to four of 'em and only Chinatown LA smelled funny)

Alex

[IKPakI]

True with what Arex says, the chinatowns have open fish stands, thus giving off that awful smells...theres a small chinatown right here in NC and its not so bad.

[mrazntre]

[quote:c5bddc0145]just like most don't assume black kids are stupid because they are forced to go to dumpy schools. [/quote:c5bddc0145]


no comment.

it's funny you say that. in this case, it was not the system that created the dehbilitated state in black neighborhoods, but it was the white collective that was able to push prop 13 to refine the collection and allocation of property taxes to support education. In this case, the system was only following the whims of the majority (maybe they were behind this push to limit property taxes? thus creating an insufficent fund for education in low economic areas, which were coincidentally *nudge nudge* mostly commercial areas, whose tax money is not eligible for educational purposes. interesting huh ? good going guys. if we take a look further, the educational slide coincides with the reduction of the available percentage allowed to the local gov't to legally tax residential properties. quite localized in certain areas tho. coincidence....? i think not.

I think Chinatown isn't so much as dirty as it is over utilized. I think it is the impact of the amount of traffic in those areas that creates a stressed state of maintenance. Imagine 40 people in your house and then imagine 4 people. Assume you have the same budget to clean your house. Which household would be cleaner? It is just inherent in nature. It's the same with Hollywood. That place is filthy, yet they clean it all the time. It's just the sheer amount of tourism, foot traffic, and car traffic.

The more rocks you throw in your neighborhood, the more likely it is to break someone's window.


That's all.

[DaBestSpooner]

you have all the fish markets, restaurants bunched together of course there are going to be sanity issues. I've been to some super clean chinatowns though. Singapore, Japan's chinatowns are rediculously clean.

[achtungbaby]

In this case, the system was only following the whims of the majority (maybe they were behind this push to limit property taxes? thus creating an insufficent fund for education in low economic areas, which were coincidentally *nudge nudge* mostly commercial areas, whose tax money is not eligible for educational purposes.[/quote:557001c1f9]

That's an interesting theory, but in real dollars, education climbed from about $55 million in 1980 to $100 million by 1992, while state tax revenues actually rose from 11 to 12 percent. Prop. 98 protects K-12 education by basically guaranteeing about 40 percent of California's General Fund goes to it (during good economic growth); conversely, like you mentioned, education can take the brunt of excessive tax cuts when things are slow.

It's because of these types of Propositions (not to mention Prop. 187 or Prop. 209) that I'm against voter-proposed initiatives. They sound great, but when it comes down to it, the majority of us are stupid. Stupid people --> stupid policy --> more stupid people. But that's not to say all propositions are ill-intended; I think they had the general idea of trying to protect K-12 -- but there are so many loopholes in that legislation that prevent the state from monitoring local spending. So throwing money at the problem is defiinitely not the solution.

[ImrkevinpakI]

[quote:0e94e054ab="DaBestSpooner"]you have all the fish markets, restaurants bunched together of course there are going to be sanity issues. I've been to some super clean chinatowns though. Singapore, Japan's chinatowns are rediculously clean.[/quote:0e94e054ab]

Sinapore = SaigonTown
Japan = TokyoTown or Little Tokyo

[kasia]

much of it is also the stench from the smelly tofu restaurants. and that can carry for blocks.

ask achtung :wink: i made him try some.

has anyone else ever tried it?

[achtungbaby]

Smelly tofu...smells. Really...believe me, it does. So much so that even after swallowing it, all I think taste was the smell, which was, of course, stinky.

[kasia]

[quote:aee754ca36="ImrkevinpakI"][quote:aee754ca36="DaBestSpooner"]you have all the fish markets, restaurants bunched together of course there are going to be sanity issues. I've been to some super clean chinatowns though. Singapore, Japan's chinatowns are rediculously clean.[/quote:aee754ca36]

Sinapore = SaigonTown
Japan = TokyoTown or Little Tokyo[/quote:aee754ca36]

i think he was talking about the chinatowns in japan and singapore, not the japantowns in the united states.

also, there are no singapore towns in the united states. little saigons are named after the saigon in vietnam.

:wink:

[DaBestSpooner]

I didnt know singapore was in or part of Vietnam

[quote:9cd81b449e="ImrkevinpakI"]
Sinapore = SaigonTown
[/quote:9cd81b449e]

[kasia]

[quote:e6efa92c8b="DaBestSpooner"]I didnt know singapore was in or part of Vietnam

[quote:e6efa92c8b="ImrkevinpakI"]
Sinapore = SaigonTown
[/quote:e6efa92c8b][/quote:e6efa92c8b]

well, now you do. see what we can learn on yellowworld? :wink:

[DaBestSpooner]

This is definately the place to learn geography at the avg american's level. :D

[quote:2ce0ec124f="kasia"][quote:2ce0ec124f="DaBestSpooner"]I didnt know singapore was in or part of Vietnam

[quote:2ce0ec124f="ImrkevinpakI"]
Sinapore = SaigonTown
[/quote:2ce0ec124f][/quote:2ce0ec124f]

well, now you do. see what we can learn on yellowworld? :wink:[/quote:2ce0ec124f]

[CrX3183]

why do people like smelly tofu? how can u even eat that stuff? if you do your breath will smell like it for hours... :?

[SunWuKong]

yeah chinatowns are frigging dirty. it's because they've been around for so long and they're crowded with OG immigrants who came before china started opening up in the early 80s. life for them back in china was dirty and they just don't mind it so much that chinatowns are so dirty. you don't usually find latter immigrants or immigrants from HK hanging out in chinatown longer than necessary. they're just frigging dirty. i wish they'd take the time to clean them up.

[kasia]

why don't you do some community service or donate some money in order to aid the clean-up? after all, you wouldn't be here if it weren't for "them".

[SunWuKong]

[quote:3219253d86="kasia"]why don't you do some community service or donate some money in order to aid the clean-up? after all, you wouldn't be here if it weren't for "them".[/quote:3219253d86]


actually i currently don't live in a city with an official chinatown. just asian areas.

[kasia]

[quote:5ccd0f3b43="SunWuKung"]life for them back in china was dirty and they just don't mind it so much that chinatowns are so dirty.[/quote:5ccd0f3b43]

or perhaps they don't have the power to do anything about it. keep in mind, the houses and apartments of these chinese people are clean--because it is within their control to keep them clean. the streets, on the other hand, are the city's responsibility.

[SunWuKong]

[quote:82a34f9bb5="kasia"][quote:82a34f9bb5="SunWuKung"]life for them back in china was dirty and they just don't mind it so much that chinatowns are so dirty.[/quote:82a34f9bb5]

or perhaps they don't have the power to do anything about it. keep in mind, the houses and apartments of these chinese people are clean--because it is within their control to keep them clean. the streets, on the other hand, are the city's responsibility.[/quote:82a34f9bb5]


perhaps. but maybe you are giving them more credit than they deserve. i am chinese myself. i think that even if they have the power to do it, they're just not community-minded enough to do it. this is probably different in the west coast though.

[kasia]

well, i've actually worked in chinatown during the past year and a half. the vast majority of chinatown residents are senior citizens. there are also many low-income families, too, however. the ones i've come into contact with (quite a few) were very community-oriented. i mean, they had to be, because most of them couldn't speak English. information about legal services, medical services, social services, etc. was passed on almost primarily by word of mouth. everyone was looking out for one another. but very little of the city's resources go to chinatown.

like i said, it is the city's responsiblity to keep chinatown clean. and the city isn't doing its job. why is it a $500 fine to litter in beverly hills but not in
Chinatown? why is it enforced in beverly hills but not chinatown.

and then you also have the issue of putting so many people into a small area...

[SunWuKong]

[quote:c76411bcab="kasia"]well, i've actually worked in chinatown during the past year and a half. the vast majority of chinatown residents are senior citizens. there are also many low-income families, too, however. the ones i've come into contact with (quite a few) were very community-oriented. i mean, they had to be, because most of them couldn't speak English. information about legal services, medical services, social services, etc. was passed on almost primarily by word of mouth. everyone was looking out for one another. but very little of the city's resources go to chinatown.

like i said, it is the city's responsiblity to keep chinatown clean. and the city isn't doing its job. why is it a $500 fine to litter in beverly hills but not in
Chinatown? why is it enforced in beverly hills but not chinatown.

and then you also have the issue of putting so many people into a small area...[/quote:c76411bcab]


yeah you're right about this. there's the ghetto factor of chinatowns. but seriously, i've seen people in chinatown abuse the streets. it may cost money to do a complete clean-up, but it's not difficult to stop yourself from littering, etc. there's a bunch of preventive things that individuals can do (or refrain from doing) if they are truly concerned with the cleanliness of chinatowns.

[kasia]

i've also seen tourists come into chinatown and litter freely.

the same tourists wouldn't do so in other areas.

it's all about the environment. college kids are tidy at their actual homes but messy in their dormrooms. if it's dirty already, what's the incentive to keep it clean?

[mrazntre]

i think it goes along the lines of "second class citizens"=second class town.


thus,


litter away.

[artsfartsyjanet]

In St. Louis, we have a Chinatown, but it's more like a china block. =)

[Ch8Li179]

I have grown up going to Chinatown and the "stink" you are referring to is seafood and fish during the day, and at night if you walk and park by the trash you smell garbage the rotten spoiled food that does not get sold. Chinatowns in generally is a small community it's just a couple of blocks. Do you have any idea how many people actually live in those communities lots! A distant relative lives in a building in Chinatown. His "home" consists of a twin sized bed a small desk and just enough room to walk to and from the door. I mean his "home" is a mere room, not even it's the size of a bathroom. And most appartments have plenty of people living in them too. With the amount of people all compacted together like sardines ina can wouldn't you think it would be pretty difficult to keep the community all fresh and clean. And it isn't like these people are rich and have plenty of money to live in a nice, fresh, and garbage free neighborhood. Besides Chinatowns are usually in big cities (i.e. San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York) and don't tell me you think these cities are fressh and clean because their not.