As you and I have discussed--it's more of a class divide than a racial divide. We are lucky our house in LA is still standing. California has the highest income tax in the U.S. and where is the money going? They spent $24B on homelessness and it's worse than ever. The ppl in charge--whether white, straight, male Gov. Newsom or black, female, lesbian Mayor Bass--are INCOMPETENT. As MLK said people should not be judged by "the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Not only are Newsom and Bass lacking in character but competence as well. I have a feeling Reverend/Dr. King would agree. Great post Monica! ❤️
Thank you, Sabrina! You've nailed it: the real issue is incompetence all around, not necessarily DEI, and it's been happening for decades. The difference now is that incompetent people of color are now being "included." Coincidentally, I've been working on a post about this very issue!
All for limited unity, but I can't see me getting behind the idea that there's enough government to save the day every time or that we try to have that much ready public resources. Earthquakes, hurricanes and fires spread by Santa Ana wind are always going to suck and do harm to good people. Bad policy harms too but good policy in abundance also harms.
All on board for a shared America that tries to do good for all Americans, but we'll get there by tolerating our differences on how that is organized, not by sharing a vision.
Agree 100%, Doug. It would be both impractical and unproductive to expect government to save the day every time disaster strikes. In an era of increasing climate change, I think we should all expect that at some point we will likely be victims, in one way or another, and prepare and respond accordingly. For example, residents in fire prone area should clear brush from their property.
In the case of the L.A. wildfires, however, I don't think the expectation was that the city or state could have prevented this disaster; with 100 mph winds and a bone-dry landscape, a major fire was inevitable. The expectation was merely that a major fire didn't need to turn into a historic catastrophe that literally wiped out entire neighborhoods. Based on what I'm reading from investigative journalists and also what I'm hearing from locals on the ground, a lack of government preparedness made the difference here.
But more broadly speaking, a lack of government preparedness has also exposed Americans all along the spectrum to other harms, from a broken health care system to toxic chemicals in our food and water. We should expect more from a government that receives so much from us.
"Identity politics emerged in its place, emphasizing differences in race, gender, and sexuality at the expense of our shared values and overshadowing the common ground King envisioned."
Identity politics has been brewed on purpose to divide and conquer the working class components (black vs whites, local vs migrants etc..) and tear down both labor costs and political will. It was a cold war invention to help fight against communism... there is a lot of psy-op in there. Ironically the left was naïve or complacent enough to allow identity politics to prevail, until it is very own demise.
Yup. We either succeed together or we all fail together. We need unity, and it is definitely more of a class issue than anything, as always.
I spent 15 years trying to organize and work at a community level to promote a more grass roots globalization, whereby we learn to come together from the bottom of the ladder and to build a system to catch everyone as the system collapses.
But the globalization movement was of course driven by spoiled rich kids who looked down on working class or poor people, whilst simultaneously paying fake lip service to being an ally to all people who were not white. In fact, if working class white people showed up to contribute, they were snubbed for not having a pedigreed background. So it is unsurprising that it has all gone this way.
I wish Trump was diplomatic, or displayed any sense of wanting to create a better world. But he really seems to only have one value: money, and getting it any way he can.
So, not feeling super hopeful about the outcome. But maybe he is a turning point in some way, hopefully.
We all knew we could not stay on that other track. This is the wild card. Did we jump out of the frying pan and into the fire, or will this at the very least force a reckoning?
For my own part, I am more committed to meditating, and doing anything to stay centered and calm, and above all, to not get caught in the dramas.
We can’t find the way forward if we are freaking out. If the sky is falling today, well, it was falling yesterday and last week and so on.
Get centered, people. And remember, we will only gain if we are all willing to sacrifice. So what are we willing to sacrifice if it makes the world a better place?
"But the wildfires last week may have shifted the perspective of upper class Angelenos."
Too little, too late. They will never learn.
I am overwhelmed by:
- the shear incompetence of officials,
- the amount of work that will be required to "Rebuild",
- the constant lies saying that LA will be "Rebuilt" before the 2028 Olympics,
that I have to lay this burden down.
I'm 68. I will not see LA rebuilt in my lifetime.
- I'm sorry, but what happened in LA was anything but a "natural disaster".
"Natural Disaster" is how the State and County will push the narrative to avoid being held responsible.
If you have access to "sane" City Planners, start asking questions about how to begin rebuilding LA.
- Stay away from totalitarian "woke" officials.
In fact, I do not know who in this era you can talk to and get real answers. Look for retired people who were pushed out by DEI. They are out there.
There will be two groups vying for control, suing each other to a standstill, funded by the same donors deliberately creating that confusion.
- One group will be rich developers wanting to build "High priced homes", in the middle of rubble.
- One group will be "Social Justice" people who want to build utopian public project housing for the homeless and poor, in the middle of rubble. -- Does anyone remember Cabrini-Green? Yikes!
Focus on the fact that there are square miles of rubble. This was a "High priced" area before the fire. Now it is simply rubble.
- The land is worth less than nothing because of the cost of cleanup needed.
Example:
You have a ten million dollar house, and it is now rubble among square miles of rubble.
The County will insist that you continue paying the property taxes on the assessed value of that ten million dollar property. If you do not pay, the County will "Take" the land for failure to pay taxes.
Look up "Eminent Domain". When the State "Takes" your property, they have to pay "Fair Market Value". What is the "Fair Market Value" of a pile of rubble among square miles of rubble.
- See the problem? The courts will, if you try to sue for more.
People will cut their loses and let the next generation deal with the problems that they created.
BTW, People have to change the way that they are looking at the burned LA area. It is rubble, not "High valued" land that you can build on without massive effort.
- Every piece of concrete needs to be collected, crushed, and used as aggregate for new use. The same with the asphalt in all of the roads.
- Every buried utility; sewer line, water line, gas line, etc... has to be removed and recycled if possible, disposed of if necessary. They can not be left in-situ, becoming problems for the future.
- Entire new developments must be planned to replace the old. All new construction, must be up to "Code".
There will be fewer homes built. Roads, sidewalks, concrete arroyos, retention ponds, parks, etc..., demand space that was never planned for during the past century of development.
Plus, there will be no houses built on the sides of the hills for the rich to have their expensive views, no matter how many officials they try to bribe.
But I digress.
The fire is what the Marxist Left wanted in 1990:
City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles (Essential Mike Davis) New Edition
Dear Monica, Thank you for this well-thought out and meaningful article. Much truth resonates in it. My hope is for a greater coming together of all citizens to reign in our out of touch politicians and civil "servants" and help each other to succeed with common-sense practices! With friends in Pacific Palisades and a watchful eye from San Diego county we are all too aware of the glaring failures within the once golden state of California.
As you and I have discussed--it's more of a class divide than a racial divide. We are lucky our house in LA is still standing. California has the highest income tax in the U.S. and where is the money going? They spent $24B on homelessness and it's worse than ever. The ppl in charge--whether white, straight, male Gov. Newsom or black, female, lesbian Mayor Bass--are INCOMPETENT. As MLK said people should not be judged by "the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Not only are Newsom and Bass lacking in character but competence as well. I have a feeling Reverend/Dr. King would agree. Great post Monica! ❤️
Thank you, Sabrina! You've nailed it: the real issue is incompetence all around, not necessarily DEI, and it's been happening for decades. The difference now is that incompetent people of color are now being "included." Coincidentally, I've been working on a post about this very issue!
All for limited unity, but I can't see me getting behind the idea that there's enough government to save the day every time or that we try to have that much ready public resources. Earthquakes, hurricanes and fires spread by Santa Ana wind are always going to suck and do harm to good people. Bad policy harms too but good policy in abundance also harms.
All on board for a shared America that tries to do good for all Americans, but we'll get there by tolerating our differences on how that is organized, not by sharing a vision.
Agree 100%, Doug. It would be both impractical and unproductive to expect government to save the day every time disaster strikes. In an era of increasing climate change, I think we should all expect that at some point we will likely be victims, in one way or another, and prepare and respond accordingly. For example, residents in fire prone area should clear brush from their property.
In the case of the L.A. wildfires, however, I don't think the expectation was that the city or state could have prevented this disaster; with 100 mph winds and a bone-dry landscape, a major fire was inevitable. The expectation was merely that a major fire didn't need to turn into a historic catastrophe that literally wiped out entire neighborhoods. Based on what I'm reading from investigative journalists and also what I'm hearing from locals on the ground, a lack of government preparedness made the difference here.
But more broadly speaking, a lack of government preparedness has also exposed Americans all along the spectrum to other harms, from a broken health care system to toxic chemicals in our food and water. We should expect more from a government that receives so much from us.
Happy new year Monica!
"Identity politics emerged in its place, emphasizing differences in race, gender, and sexuality at the expense of our shared values and overshadowing the common ground King envisioned."
Identity politics has been brewed on purpose to divide and conquer the working class components (black vs whites, local vs migrants etc..) and tear down both labor costs and political will. It was a cold war invention to help fight against communism... there is a lot of psy-op in there. Ironically the left was naïve or complacent enough to allow identity politics to prevail, until it is very own demise.
Yup. We either succeed together or we all fail together. We need unity, and it is definitely more of a class issue than anything, as always.
I spent 15 years trying to organize and work at a community level to promote a more grass roots globalization, whereby we learn to come together from the bottom of the ladder and to build a system to catch everyone as the system collapses.
But the globalization movement was of course driven by spoiled rich kids who looked down on working class or poor people, whilst simultaneously paying fake lip service to being an ally to all people who were not white. In fact, if working class white people showed up to contribute, they were snubbed for not having a pedigreed background. So it is unsurprising that it has all gone this way.
I wish Trump was diplomatic, or displayed any sense of wanting to create a better world. But he really seems to only have one value: money, and getting it any way he can.
So, not feeling super hopeful about the outcome. But maybe he is a turning point in some way, hopefully.
We all knew we could not stay on that other track. This is the wild card. Did we jump out of the frying pan and into the fire, or will this at the very least force a reckoning?
For my own part, I am more committed to meditating, and doing anything to stay centered and calm, and above all, to not get caught in the dramas.
We can’t find the way forward if we are freaking out. If the sky is falling today, well, it was falling yesterday and last week and so on.
Get centered, people. And remember, we will only gain if we are all willing to sacrifice. So what are we willing to sacrifice if it makes the world a better place?
"But the wildfires last week may have shifted the perspective of upper class Angelenos."
Too little, too late. They will never learn.
I am overwhelmed by:
- the shear incompetence of officials,
- the amount of work that will be required to "Rebuild",
- the constant lies saying that LA will be "Rebuilt" before the 2028 Olympics,
that I have to lay this burden down.
I'm 68. I will not see LA rebuilt in my lifetime.
- I'm sorry, but what happened in LA was anything but a "natural disaster".
"Natural Disaster" is how the State and County will push the narrative to avoid being held responsible.
If you have access to "sane" City Planners, start asking questions about how to begin rebuilding LA.
- Stay away from totalitarian "woke" officials.
In fact, I do not know who in this era you can talk to and get real answers. Look for retired people who were pushed out by DEI. They are out there.
There will be two groups vying for control, suing each other to a standstill, funded by the same donors deliberately creating that confusion.
- One group will be rich developers wanting to build "High priced homes", in the middle of rubble.
- One group will be "Social Justice" people who want to build utopian public project housing for the homeless and poor, in the middle of rubble. -- Does anyone remember Cabrini-Green? Yikes!
Focus on the fact that there are square miles of rubble. This was a "High priced" area before the fire. Now it is simply rubble.
- The land is worth less than nothing because of the cost of cleanup needed.
Example:
You have a ten million dollar house, and it is now rubble among square miles of rubble.
The County will insist that you continue paying the property taxes on the assessed value of that ten million dollar property. If you do not pay, the County will "Take" the land for failure to pay taxes.
Look up "Eminent Domain". When the State "Takes" your property, they have to pay "Fair Market Value". What is the "Fair Market Value" of a pile of rubble among square miles of rubble.
- See the problem? The courts will, if you try to sue for more.
People will cut their loses and let the next generation deal with the problems that they created.
BTW, People have to change the way that they are looking at the burned LA area. It is rubble, not "High valued" land that you can build on without massive effort.
- Every piece of concrete needs to be collected, crushed, and used as aggregate for new use. The same with the asphalt in all of the roads.
- Every buried utility; sewer line, water line, gas line, etc... has to be removed and recycled if possible, disposed of if necessary. They can not be left in-situ, becoming problems for the future.
- Entire new developments must be planned to replace the old. All new construction, must be up to "Code".
There will be fewer homes built. Roads, sidewalks, concrete arroyos, retention ponds, parks, etc..., demand space that was never planned for during the past century of development.
Plus, there will be no houses built on the sides of the hills for the rich to have their expensive views, no matter how many officials they try to bribe.
But I digress.
The fire is what the Marxist Left wanted in 1990:
City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles (Essential Mike Davis) New Edition
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007G1YLMY
The lawsuits will now begin.
'I'm Not Going To Let Them Get Away With It Their Antics': Trump Takes Aim At CA Coastal Commission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KOCIGGzelk
Dear Monica, Thank you for this well-thought out and meaningful article. Much truth resonates in it. My hope is for a greater coming together of all citizens to reign in our out of touch politicians and civil "servants" and help each other to succeed with common-sense practices! With friends in Pacific Palisades and a watchful eye from San Diego county we are all too aware of the glaring failures within the once golden state of California.