Annie Le, the person

Emily Booth

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I commented on another thread about Annie and how traditional she may have been if she was 1 generation removed from her parents, aunt and uncle. I was thinking here we could talk more about her as a person and being Vietnamese-American.

The history of Vietnamese Americans in the US from wikipedia:
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_American[/ame]

Annie grew up in El Dorado, CA with her aunt, uncle and brother: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/15/MN2M19N4QG.DTL

Annie Le may have been the 1st college grad in her family. She may have spoken Vietnamese at home.
 
Did Annie have a Vietnamese accent in her English? That might be a clue as to how traditional her family is. I'm commenting based on personal experience here. I often find Asian-Americans who speak unaccented English were raised in relatively assimilated households or are later than 1st generation.

Personally, I speak with unaccented English. I'm 1st generation, but my mother's Caucasian, so I was raised in a highly assimilated household.

My cousin, a 1st generation, too, was raised by two Asian parents in a very traditional household. She speaks with a slight accent.

However, both my cousin and I dress and conduct ourselves according to a 100% assimilated culture. I'm guessing -- judging from the photographs and what we've learned about her from the media -- Annie was probably highly assimilated, too.
 
We don't really a lot about Annie Le, most of what's been said is either obvious or boilerplate stuff people say after something horrible happens to someone.

* She's described as sweet but fiesty
* Very security conscious
* In a loving relationship
* Was converting to Judiaism for her intended, which I thought was sort of interesting
* Apparently her father predeceased her or for some reason was out of the picture (her mother is the only one listed on the wedding invitation and is the only one mentioned in media reports, no mention of father).
* Liked clothes and dressing up
* Did something once for a laugh that I would consider kind of mean (the panties with the inserts for her friend with a "flat butt" -- who knows if she did things like that regularly, maybe not)
* Very dearly wanted to be in the Ivy League (when rejected from Princeton, her first choice, sent a picture of her butt to the admissions director), was living her dream at the time of her death
* Was in some senses kind of traditional (very into her wedding, embroidering her veil)

I feel like that's pretty much all I know about her.
 
Hi Ailina, I'm half Japanese. My mother was Japanese, Dad was Caucasian. About the accent -- when I was a child, I pronounced some words the way Mom pronounced them!
 
That she was able to embroider her own wedding veil and sew shoulder pads into the butt area of the panties she gave to her friend as a prank seems an "old school" level of sewing that isn't common among most American girls her age. But I used to know a Vietnamese-American girl in middle Tennessee that worked in a sweatshop in California until she joined the army, but it sounds like Le's family was well off and in the nail salon business instead of garments.

Her fashion sense looks American, although the ladies in Vietnam actually dress a lot like the chicks here in the US. One of my ex-girlfriends would wear an ao dai to work in Saigon District 1 because it was the dress code at her workplace in the downtown tourist trap area. But when she would get off work, she'd change into a blouse or t-shirt and jeans, no different than white girls in Tennessee.
 
Great post, Skigirl! Thanks! I thought that was hilarious what Annie did with sending a picture of her butt to the director of admissions at Princeton!
 
Hi Ailina, I'm half Japanese. My mother was Japanese, Dad was Caucasian. About the accent -- when I was a child, I pronounced some words the way Mom pronounced them!

Same here, only my dad was the one with the accent. :) I remember going to school with words none of the other kids had ever heard of. Took me years to figure out why they didn't know what I was talking about.
 
I'm probably going to get slammed for saying this, but that high school picture of her with the partially dissected cat really makes me cringe. I understand that people in scientific and medical professions have to dissect deceased animals and people to learn things that ultimately benefit animals and people alike, but that's different from posing for a picture with a dead cat in your hands. That's just...troubling to me.
 
I'm probably going to get slammed for saying this, but that high school picture of her with the partially dissected cat really makes me cringe. I understand that people in scientific and medical professions have to dissect deceased animals and people to learn things that ultimately benefit animals and people alike, but that's different from posing for a picture with a dead cat in your hands. That's just...troubling to me.

Well I think it's a safe bet you are not science oriented. She wanted to be an MD. The medical students, I believe, at some point actually dissect dead humans. If you think posing with a dead cat is troubling, what do you think of a show like "Dr. G, medical examiner?" Dr. G is a pathologist, which I believe is what Annie ultimately wanted to become.
 
Well I think it's a safe bet you are not science oriented. She wanted to be an MD. The medical students, I believe, at some point actually dissect dead humans, which would probably make quite a few people here to pass out. To each, each own.

LOL! Actually, I am. My background is chemistry, chemical engineering, and computer science. I started out as a double major in chemistry and biology, but when I got bitten by the computer science bug, there was no room for biology anymore.

Like I said, I understand that dissection is part of education in biology, although I think reasonable people can disagree on the extent to which dissection is as necessary as it used to be, now that we have much better computer models and software. And I've done my share of dissections. I may be doing a lot more of them in the next few years because I'm seriously considering leaving my computer science career and going to medical school.

I'm still troubled by the picture.
 
LOL! Actually, I am. My background is chemistry, chemical engineering, and computer science. I started out as a double major in chemistry and biology, but when I got bitten by the computer science bug, there was no room for biology anymore.

Like I said, I understand that dissection is part of education in biology, although I think reasonable people can disagree on the extent to which dissection is as necessary as it used to be, now that we have much better computer models and software. And I've done my share of dissections. I may be doing a lot more of them in the next few years because I'm seriously considering leaving my computer science career and going to medical school.

I'm still troubled by the picture.
If you have done your share of dissections, what exactly troubles you? Pardon me if I don't get it.
 
Dissecting an animal or person for the purposes of determining cause of death or learning about anatomy is arguably necessary. But posing for pictures with the dead body? That's too far for me.
 
Was this picture actually published? Did I miss it?

Did Annie have the cat propped up ala Weekend at Bernies with a big smile on her face? Or was the shot a candid of her in the lab working?

Because the first one could be in poor taste, but the second wouldn't have me blink an eye.
 
I have to agree about the picture of the cat. I should preface this by saying that I have a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences and have also done my own fair share of dissections. Every time I've done a dissection, it hasn't really been a "gee, let's get a candid shot of Skigirl examining the cerebellum" kind of thing. I've been concentrating, others around me have been concentrating, and I wouldn't pose smiling, I'd have been annoyed if anyone was trying to take a picture of me. I would especially not want a picture if I were dissecting a species that people relate to and keep as pets (i.e. a cat) rather than a human body part, a worm, etc. (And Jjenny - it would be prohibited, thought entirely inappropriate, unbelievably horrible and would call for disciplinary action for med students to have pictures like that with a human cadaver - those are treated with the utmost dignity and respect.) That said, I don't want to read too much into it, but I still agree with Sola N.
 
That she was able to embroider her own wedding veil and sew shoulder pads into the butt area of the panties she gave to her friend as a prank seems an "old school" level of sewing that isn't common among most American girls her age. But I used to know a Vietnamese-American girl in middle Tennessee that worked in a sweatshop in California until she joined the army, but it sounds like Le's family was well off and in the nail salon business instead of garments.

Her fashion sense looks American, although the ladies in Vietnam actually dress a lot like the chicks here in the US. One of my ex-girlfriends would wear an ao dai to work in Saigon District 1 because it was the dress code at her workplace in the downtown tourist trap area. But when she would get off work, she'd change into a blouse or t-shirt and jeans, no different than white girls in Tennessee.

Nah- I do a lot of that kind of sewing and I did a lot of the stuff for my wedding including making my own invitations, headpiece/veil, and bouquet.
I just enjoy making things. My hobbies are intricate beaded jewelry and egg decorating, faberge style. I'm not Asian and have never been near a sweat shop. There are a LOT of American girls with these sorts of hobbies.
 
I'm probably going to get slammed for saying this, but that high school picture of her with the partially dissected cat really makes me cringe. I understand that people in scientific and medical professions have to dissect deceased animals and people to learn things that ultimately benefit animals and people alike, but that's different from posing for a picture with a dead cat in your hands. That's just...troubling to me.

Yeah- I didn't like it either. Is that the one with the guy holding the skull next to her? I think that photo was taken by yearbook staff, though, because they were voted class "Einsteins". The pose with the cat might have been suggested to her- high school kids often don't have the best judgment.
 
If you have done your share of dissections, what exactly troubles you? Pardon me if I don't get it.

It troubles me and I do animal surgeries every day.

I can't really define why, I just know I'm uncomfortable looking at that photo.

I guess because it's a serious thing, not something to goof around with.
 

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