Fuck A Condo Developer 'Till He Limps

Los Angeles is known for paving over it's history. It's the one derogatory remark made about my city that is difficult to dispute.

"Your city's so fake." - Fashionable Los Angeles-bashing informed primarily by what people have seen in (of all places) movies. One could level the exact same accusation against New York City if your view of New York was limited to Times Square and the ESPN Cafe. This is a blast charged by people who spend 3 days in Los Angeles divided between W. Sunset Blvd., Melrose Ave. and a trip out to Anaheim to visit Disneyland. If you're lucky you'll hear the aforementioned slam from someone who's actually been Downtown... unfortunately they were only there long enough to have a drink at The Standard.

"Your city doesn't care about it's Race problems." - Complete fucking bullshit. In the last three years it has been my experience that the most oft-discussed topics on Los Angeles talk radio have been 1.) Michael Jackson, 2.) Robert Blake and 3.) Inter-city Race relations and affiliated issues. Now come on, the only things that could've beaten Jacko and Blakey Boy were another major terrorist attack or the Dodgers winning The Series. Our city is intensely concerned with the treatment of illegal immigrants, police action involving "minorities" and redevelopment south of Jefferson Blvd. I'd be willing to bet that if you say Los Angeles isn't concerned with these issues it's probably because you're not following the ever-present dialogue dealing with these topics.

"Your city paves over it's history."
This a tough one because I can name more lost municipal icons than ones that remain. I truly fear the day when I will point to a parking structure and tell my children "That's where The Apple Pan used to be"; point to a Starbucks and tell them "That used to be The Orpheum" or drive by a bunch of condos and say "On that corner, that used to be The Derby."
The last one is, unfortunatley, about to become a reality. It's fucking time we have some real pride in our city and finally step up & ensure that the past and the present will finally be part of Los Angeles' future.

There's a letter-writing/e-mailing campaign to assist The Derby in becoming a recognized and protected Los Angeles landmark. For inclined Los Angeles residents: there's also a public hearing on this issue on Thursday, March 16th @ 10am. Go here to see what you can do.
Originally Printed on 3/14/06
Fire Off A Comment



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J.J. Oblivian Los Angeles, CA I'm in a gang called California.

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