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Washington Post Metro columnist Donna Britt came to town and had her say about Los Angeles in a Friday column. The email correspondent who called it to my attention wrote, "As a former Angeleno, now living in Maryland, this column from my local paper is one of the most offensive and ignorant things I've read about L.A. in a long time." You be the judge:
How could so much darkness flourish under so bright a sun?L.A., which conservative types might insist stands for "Loose and Amoral," is the geographical source of much that horrifies -- and, frankly, delights -- the denizens of less tolerant communities: ultra-violent movies, sex-on-the-brain music and the type of colorful "literature" that stunned moms discover hidden in their teenagers' bottom drawers.
People are . . . different there. L.A.'s sledgehammer sun melted former Kentwood, La., resident Britney Spears's inhibitions to the point where she couldn't resist giving Madonna mouth-to-mouth career resuscitation. Janet Jackson lived there quietly for decades before the Santa Ana breezes whispered that the Super Bowl would be the perfect place for Justin to spring open her booby trap.
What other locale's suburbanites would tolerate the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation (AIM) -- the place for America's favorite porn stars to get HIV testing -- on a middle-class thoroughfare, sandwiched between Enterprise Rent-a-Car and a religious gift shop?
She goes on to hang around the foundation offices and be amazed that porn people look like everybody else, then concludes: "It's different out there."
Well, I guess the difference between east coast hacks who write about LA and LA-based hacks is the east coast hacks display their ignorance and cliched thinking in more elegant prose. No matter, it's all a betrayal of what journalism is supposed to be all about. How many local newscasts were led the past two weeks by the porn/HIV story? You can see why a loser like Britt might think this is a big deal in LA. But if she wasn't such a C student, maybe she would've figured out that the story led the news because it let the editors show (and endlessly promo) the cheesecake shots. So next time your local TV station starts breathing heavy about a big exclusive story or a "on your side" investigation, remember folks, this is what these stations' news directors think of you... an audience that wants to see boobs.
Posted by: dzzrt Ratt at April 25, 2004 02:23 PMKeep in mind that the L.A. Weekly, Los Angeles magazine and even the LAT's editorial directions are largely determined by "furriners." It explains a lot.
I personally just love having my town (since 1968) explained to me by New Yorkers and Texans, and look forward each morning to discover what's happening in Chicago (Oh boy! A candy factory closed down! The repurcussions can be felt as far afield as, maybe, Des Moines).
Posted by: exherald at April 25, 2004 07:37 PMI read this and thought about my mom's 25th high school reunion. She graduated from Wabash High in Wabash, Indiana, came out here for college and stayed. She went back for the reunion, and told all of her classmates that, yes, she's living in Southern California. And they all said, "But...you're so *normal*!"
Gimme a break. If everyone in LA is a freak, then everyone in DC is an uptight prig. Or am I not allowed to make sweeping generalizations about the rest of the country? Did I miss that rule?
Posted by: Adam Rakunas at April 25, 2004 10:37 PMWow, I never knew that Washington D.C was the wholesome city. I'm glad no one there watches pornos, has kinky sex or reads anything trashy. Washinton D.C--the city of light.
Posted by: Tiffany at April 25, 2004 11:32 PMDonna's a church girl and the Post's version of middle-class female African-American columnist. She's not writing for the audience that reads this blog. Karen Grigsby Bates is the LA version.
Posted by: KateCoe at April 26, 2004 06:59 AMKaren Grigsby Bates is the LA version.
A pointless insult to Bates, who wouldn't treat any city with such naievete.
Posted by: joseph at April 28, 2004 07:58 AM
of LA Observed
Yet another easterner ignoring the majority of Angelenos and Californians who work for a living to try to provide for their families and communities in favor of the fringe.
Should all of DC be judged by the handful of lunatics on the political fringes and/or the handful of truly violent residents in the District's poorest neighborhoods?
Posted by: Brad Smith at April 25, 2004 01:22 PM