As I write this and approach my L.A.nniversary (June 27), the city I live in, the city I've proudly called home for more than half my life, has been under attack. And this is after surviving a global pandemic, earthquakes, union strikes, civil unrest, and record-breaking wildfires – just in the last five years.
If you have the patience or even the basic human desire to be informed by reputable media outlets and news sources, then you've seen that peaceful protesters, who have the Constitutional right to voice their concerns and dissent on unlawful immigration raids (a fact, not an opinion), were met with brute force by militarized troops in downtown L.A. earlier this month. With the way they've been treated, you'd think they were insurrectionists. But then again, the real insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6 – the ones who wanted to hang a vice president and harm members of Congress – were pardoned by the current president they blindly worship.
If you have been watching the news or follow me on social media – and do not live in Los Angeles – chances are you've seen how upset Angelenos are over the misinformation and lies that have spread. Just to reiterate: we were not on fire, and we were not living in a war zone. There were no rioters. A few reckless anarchists, perhaps, and they've been thoroughly dealt with.
The news footage that was broadcast to the world merely showed a small portion of this massive city. Most of those initial protests took place within one square mile of a city that is 501 square miles in size. (Go ahead and give yourself a quick geography lesson and Google Map it – I'll wait.)
With an administration that blatantly turned on citizens by deploying 4,000 members of the National Guard and mobilizing 700 Marines, my fellow Angelenos and I witnessed an assault on speech, on history, on civil liberties, on human life. Governor Gavin Newsom said that "this is a theatrical display of toughness from an increasingly unhinged president that is DESIGNED to escalate tensions and violence in Los Angeles that he hopes will spread to other parts of the state and country."
In other words, there has never been a more opportune time for me and my friends, neighbors, and colleagues to demonstrate our love and support for Los Angeles. And we did just that, with millions of other Americans, on June 14, No Kings Day. But that demonstration wasn't just for L.A. It was to show our low tolerance for the dictator bullshit that has unleashed destructive forces across the entire nation.
And if you think none of this affects you, please take the time to take a lesson in civics, and then think again. The policies, executive orders, and (again) unconstitutional actions taken by this administration will affect you in some way or another.
They have already touched the lives of so many I know.
There's my friend who's worried about the future of his career in public television, a sector that has, for decades, done so much to educate and enrich the culture, because it's constantly under threat of being severely diminished.
Speaking of
severely diminished, there's my godmother, who requires certain medical treatments, and she must now live in fear of losing certain Medicare benefits. (And while we're on the subject, here's an FYI: because of the eradication and reduction of government programs like
USAID and
Medicaid, an estimated 300,000 lives could be lost this year alone).
One acquaintance just lost his job working in senior housing because of federal funding cuts that continue to gut programs that benefit our most vulnerable.
Family friends whose homes have been hit by hurricanes in Florida worry about the upcoming season and their inability to cover the costs of potential damage because of FEMA cuts and general lack of support from those in government who continue to sweep climate change under the rug and deny science itself.
And a dear friend who lives in Europe is nervous to travel to the States with his green card for fear of how he could be treated at the border.
It's fitting that my L.A.nniversary falls within Pride Month, because I've never been prouder to be a resident of Los Angeles. We've been through just about everything. We've heard all the jokes, and frankly, most of them are tired and terribly unoriginal. (We have our own writers and comedians for that, thanks.) We've taken on all the criticism, and honestly, those comments are usually made by those who don't live here or have never experienced this city's extensive capabilities. (If you have hate to project, take a look at your own life first.)
L.A. has often competed with Vegas to claim the title of Entertainment Capital of World, but I'd like to propose a new one: Resilience Capital of the World. We're a different kind of stock here, especially if you've been here for as long as I have. There's a certain essence here that has shaped us into the kind of folk who hold on to that glimmer of hope that's needed in order to face every creative, professional, political, and environmental challenge that the world continues to throw at us.
@TheFirstEcho
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