It is unfortunate that the law could only do so much to help the tenement problem. However, this had to be expected. The people need to do their part as well. Hence, why Riis wrote this book.
I am amazed that the law paid attention enough to make a significant contribution to changing the tenements. The fact that they even realized a problem in the first place. So often, those high up choose to ignore the troubles of others, much less those below them.
People need a place to live comfortably. This is such a simple fact that it is often overlooked. Although the tenements provide housing to those who cannot go anywhere else, it is just a house, not a home. A home is a place to go and relax, feel comfortable and safe, and just be you. My room is my go to place to feel comfortable. I could not imagine a life where I would not have that security. But that is how the people in the tenements lived. It only makes sense that they should be helped, as they are people too. “The causes that operate to obstruct efforts to better the lot of the tenement population are, in our day, largely found among the tenants themselves. This is true particularly of the poorest. They are shiftless, destructive, and stupid; in a word, they are what the tenements have made them.” These people do not have the money to help themselves, which is where the upper classes come in. Over time, the divide between the upper and lower class continues to grow. If the upper class helped the lower class, as should be their duty to society, culture could potentially level itself out. But who is to blame for this whole situation in the first place? The immigrants, the poor, the rich, the law? Is it possible to have prevented this in the first place?
No comments:
Post a Comment