So many things are going on here in Los Angeles. it's an amazing city and I'm privileged not just to live here but to get a view that many don't. This worms eye view of L A that a bus driver has doesn't see the soft underbelly, it's more like the ass of L A. Like most asses it's always disgusting, frequently humorous and you better get out of the way before the shit starts to fall.
One of the more unpleasant aspects of Los Angeles is the way news is reported. There is a need for emphasising the sensational that ignores the good in people. The trite affairs and peccadilloes of the rich and famous far outweigh the tragedies of the working class individual. here's two examples;
The first comes from nearly 19 years ago when I first came to L.A. and had just started on the buses. I arrived at the terminal at Washington and Fairfax about two minutes after a drive by. The police had just arrived and hadn't had time to shut down the street. Apparently an 18 year old young man was at the bus stop when members of a rival gang drove by and shot him dead. That night I avidly watched the news. I had told my wife about it and I waited to see it being talked about. Not a peep. Nothing was said about it at all, it didn't make the television. The next day I read the newspaper, again nothing. It took me a little while to realise that this shooting was not newsworthy because it happened in a part of L.A. where such occurrences as a regular happening but, more importantly, a part of L.A. that isn't considered important.
The other incident happened a couple of years ago in my neighborhood. I live in a decent, quiet little suburb north east of Los Angeles. Rarely any serious problems. On this occasion we were all shocked. Two young Mexican girls, 13 years old, were walking home from a convenience store when a van pulled up alongside and some black youths got out and shot them, wounding one and killing the other. In our neighborhood that made the news. On the north end of town, about a week later, a young 19 year old black youth was walking home when a car pulled up and some Mexican youths got out and shot him dead. A revenge killing that also made the news.
Now here is what did NOT make the news.
There was some fund raising in our neighborhood and with one thing and another the father of the Mexican girl had $3,500 more than he needed to bury his daughter so he arranged a meeting with the father of the black youth and gave him the money to help him bury his son.
Priorities in news reporting are seriously messed up in this place.
