I'll be honest, there are a few things about this City - or its populace, rather - that bug me. One of the main issues I have is that people think that LA is such a big City and no one knows their neighbors. Sadly, this is more true than not... but it doesn't have to be.
People in LA chose isolation. it's a sad state of affairs when there is a call to meet your neighbors and nobody shows up. When do neighbors in LA meet? In tragedy or impending tragedy. How many people in apartments south of Griffith Park finally met their neighbors the night of the fire... at their common balconies, on their roofs, and in the street? It's that potential threat of disaster that brings people together, be it crime, natural disaster, or man-made chaos.
Re-branding that picnic at Pershing Square something along the lines of a "Preparedness Picnic" may have brought out a bunch more people (if it was marketed as such). For some reason, Angelenos are a testament to Maslow's Hierarchy and don't find neighborly interactions as highly ranked as safety. And then, they don't need friends or acquaintances in their real neighborhood because they have a MySpace page at home with plenty.
Next time you see someone walking near you, say hello. It's the least we can do to build this community called Los Angeles. It doesn't have to be such a big, foreboding town if everyone would take time to appreciate and understand the humanity of the City in its people.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Downtowners have proven plenty ready to meet their neighbors. We had 27 people show up for a blogdowntown picnic you had to drive to on a holiday weekend. The difference is that there it was the community putting out the call.
In this case it was the Park (outsiders) holding an event and saying that it was for Downtowners. And then just not saying much of anything very loud. Blame the message, not the neighborly instincts.
I guess we're lucky. Our neighbors know each others' names, pets' names, what cars we drive, where we like to park. Maybe it takes a village! - Atwater Village Newbie
You bring up a good point CityNerd, but though Maslow's heirarchy is not to be ignored, I think you might have passed up something vitally important to civic life: safe and quiet streets.
Here is a link to a New York based advocacy group's survey of liveability in New York:
http://www.nycsr.org/nyc/broken.php
People in Los Angeles have been intentionally separated by planning, transportation design, and government subsidies of sprawl inducing construction.
That, and there is a pervasive ignorance of how their City runs, and how a complicated network of government agencies provides them with the benefits of western civilization. Also, our government asks little of us, but that we pay taxes and don't commit crimes. There is no culture of civic service (except in small pockets).
Myspace is not a problem, but a symptom of desperate people are to communicate with each other.
When I lived in LA I never really knew any of my neighbors. My parents still live there and they know two of their neighbors.
we all know each other in our 11 unit building! a rarity indeed.
Post a Comment