Oh, The Parades You'll Miss!
I am having a blissfully detached weekend, as Californication crumbles all around me...
Not letting the DOMA-Obama Blues get me down. I have feelings and opinions certainly, but Obama's views on this were pretty clear two years ago. Yes, of course, the administration is charged with defending current statutes, and yes, it is politically wise for Obama to put this at the door of Congress, but equally yes the man's position on the subject is offensive. But, yes, it is Sunday and so I'm not letting this latest volley in the battle get me down.
Last night, as I was continually rescanning and checking TV channels, I happened upon the eleven o'clock news. There were three stories about parades. Ironically, the least controversial of the three parades is today's gay pride parade in West Hollywood. It was reported on as though they were discussing Thanksgiving. Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving. Tomorrow there will be a gay pride parade. Next story.
The next story informed me that there was a peace march, referred to on the news as a parade, through my neighborhood yesterday. As you may know, I live in a neighborhood home to a long-standing gang battle. I won't mention the particular gangs fighting over this turf, for the particulars are not important. What is important is that people are being gunned down here, over the years. Not only gang members. Citizens, as it were. Two teens recently in March. And yesterday the citizens marched.
Cross-cutting against the "normal" types of violence that attaches to gang behavior, the turf battles, retaliatory back-and-forth shoot-outs, the children in their bathtubs that take stray bullets, there is a malicious racial component to the "story" over the past ten years. A plan was hatched in prison, where the leaders of one gang, Latino, sent out orders to kill blacks moving into this neighborhood. Several years ago law enforcement did something about it. I forget the details, but they were complex given that the gang in question operated out of the prison system. While someone went to prison, it's a little like getting transferred to the main office for these guys, so I'm not sure what they did to put an end to these murders. But they did, and now the murders are back to the more typical pattern. Kids playing basketball taking stray bullets now and then.
That was parade story two on last evening's news.
The big controversy is recession related, though. If the Lakers win the championship, the city will have to pay for a parade. The city has no money. The city of LA is laying people off by the thousands. California is crumbling around us and civilization as we know it is changing. Even the definition of celebrity is crumbling before our eyes, with reality TV stars rubbing out coverage of every movie star but the occasional Brangela or Aniston. Even our movie star governator cannot save the day. (Even the word for our chief executive has changed. Governor has become Governator in every day speech, at least for the moment.) The foundations of Californication are crumbling.
How can we pay for a parade? Why should we pay for a parade? Why should we have a parade?
There is also the cost of the increased police presence since Lakers fans, being baboons, will destroy vehicles and commit grand mob attacks on the city at large without security to stop them. How can we pay for all this madness and glory?
I'm thinking, "Why don't the fucking Lakers themselves foot the fucking bill this year?" I mean, really, the budget numbers they were tossing around for the parade are $250,000. Kobe likely pays more than that a year on plush toilet paper, why not foot the bill for the city, for the people?
This wasn't discussed on the eleven o'clock news last evening. No, various city council members were interviewed here or there around the city. The eyes of the world will be upon Los Angeles for just a few hours, we should show it off nicely and have a parade.
I'm not leaving the house today. Let the parades go on all around me, I'm not in the mood.
Not letting the DOMA-Obama Blues get me down. I have feelings and opinions certainly, but Obama's views on this were pretty clear two years ago. Yes, of course, the administration is charged with defending current statutes, and yes, it is politically wise for Obama to put this at the door of Congress, but equally yes the man's position on the subject is offensive. But, yes, it is Sunday and so I'm not letting this latest volley in the battle get me down.
Last night, as I was continually rescanning and checking TV channels, I happened upon the eleven o'clock news. There were three stories about parades. Ironically, the least controversial of the three parades is today's gay pride parade in West Hollywood. It was reported on as though they were discussing Thanksgiving. Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving. Tomorrow there will be a gay pride parade. Next story.
The next story informed me that there was a peace march, referred to on the news as a parade, through my neighborhood yesterday. As you may know, I live in a neighborhood home to a long-standing gang battle. I won't mention the particular gangs fighting over this turf, for the particulars are not important. What is important is that people are being gunned down here, over the years. Not only gang members. Citizens, as it were. Two teens recently in March. And yesterday the citizens marched.
Cross-cutting against the "normal" types of violence that attaches to gang behavior, the turf battles, retaliatory back-and-forth shoot-outs, the children in their bathtubs that take stray bullets, there is a malicious racial component to the "story" over the past ten years. A plan was hatched in prison, where the leaders of one gang, Latino, sent out orders to kill blacks moving into this neighborhood. Several years ago law enforcement did something about it. I forget the details, but they were complex given that the gang in question operated out of the prison system. While someone went to prison, it's a little like getting transferred to the main office for these guys, so I'm not sure what they did to put an end to these murders. But they did, and now the murders are back to the more typical pattern. Kids playing basketball taking stray bullets now and then.
That was parade story two on last evening's news.
The big controversy is recession related, though. If the Lakers win the championship, the city will have to pay for a parade. The city has no money. The city of LA is laying people off by the thousands. California is crumbling around us and civilization as we know it is changing. Even the definition of celebrity is crumbling before our eyes, with reality TV stars rubbing out coverage of every movie star but the occasional Brangela or Aniston. Even our movie star governator cannot save the day. (Even the word for our chief executive has changed. Governor has become Governator in every day speech, at least for the moment.) The foundations of Californication are crumbling.
How can we pay for a parade? Why should we pay for a parade? Why should we have a parade?
There is also the cost of the increased police presence since Lakers fans, being baboons, will destroy vehicles and commit grand mob attacks on the city at large without security to stop them. How can we pay for all this madness and glory?
I'm thinking, "Why don't the fucking Lakers themselves foot the fucking bill this year?" I mean, really, the budget numbers they were tossing around for the parade are $250,000. Kobe likely pays more than that a year on plush toilet paper, why not foot the bill for the city, for the people?
This wasn't discussed on the eleven o'clock news last evening. No, various city council members were interviewed here or there around the city. The eyes of the world will be upon Los Angeles for just a few hours, we should show it off nicely and have a parade.
I'm not leaving the house today. Let the parades go on all around me, I'm not in the mood.