Comments on: Mapping LA Update

By: Elisavet

Elisavet — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:51:29 +0000

Oh, Yorkie. Don’t even give a half a thought to these people who’re trying to wall themselves off from some supposed lesser aspect of their zipcode or locality… I part-time grew up on Mt. Angelus and believe you me, the fool on the hill was and probably is alive and well. My grandmother, the homeowner there on Outlook Ave, was a big vodka fan (no, not even Ketel One but good ole Popov in the break-free bottle) and was celebrated for clocking her older gentleman neighbor one night for undetermined offenses. Add to that our neighbor on the other side who they claimed was a gypsy (her late-night singing was a freakish thing to take in while trying to fall asleep)and a lady from Mt Angelus Drive who wouldn’t even walk her spaniel in hard sunlight without a golf club and pepper spray, and you have merely a hint of the cast of characters that paved the way for such lofty naysaying about being *gasp* one of the 90042. And wasn’t the madness the greater part of the charm? A pox of homogeniety on the lot of them, I say.

By: gm

gm — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:24:37 +0000

good post. i like the “how dare they” comment.

By: H/M

H/M — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:48:31 +0000

I live on Mt. Angelus and I live in Highland Park! Those Mt. Angelus comments were a little strange. When people ask where I live I say
” Highland Park near Ave 61/Monte Vista, you know, near the Catholic church” never Mt. Angelus. We are all part of this same great neighborhood.

By: transit

transit — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:26:13 +0000

Please folks!, Ive been here 49 years, My friends that went to Eagle Rock high school lived in “eagle Rock” and my friends that went to Franklin High School lived in “Highland Park” and we all got along…However when you started to define the neighborhoods 43′ 57′ HLP ect…then there was trouble. As you can see even the folks that feel that they are beyond all of that are creating there own “turf” defenitions that are similar to the local “gang” turf that has occured for years. If your neighborhood is stable with a low crime rate and has a sense of “Neighborhood” who cares what your zip code is!

By: Milla

Milla — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:13:36 +0000

the fact that the most incendiary comment came from someone named Adrienne Martinez-Hollingsworth speaks volumes. talk about self-loathing.

i don’t understand why people try to create hierarchies among the neighborhoods in the northeast when the neighborhoods are far more similar than different. we have enough gangs already. no need for more divisions.

By: YORK BLVD.

YORK BLVD. — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:10:19 +0000

Thanks (to one of our original readers), you’re right that I paint with a pretty broad brush, but while the Haves may span the ethnic spectrum in HP, the Have Nots are more narrowly focused. Still you are correct to point out what the posters themselves emphasize as “socio-economic” differences.

I’ve seen that History Channel episode, and I just have to laugh. Nuanced reporting on a nieghborhood never sucks weekend Gangland Marathon viewers in as well as phrases like “reign of terror”, ominous music, and still photographs of gang members from a decade ago. If I can find an online version of it, I’ll take some blood pressure medication and write a post on it.

By: brohammed

brohammed — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:36:30 +0000

Good post, but with all due respect to all parties involved, I think it would be a mistake to classify this type of behavior as falling strictly along racial lines.

From what I’ve seen, a lot of hispanic folks also get caught up in this type of thinking…. its just the general “haves” versus “have nots” division that is so exaggerated here in LA by the media and whatnot, which lots of people buy into at some level, and then feel the need to make clear to others and themselves that they are (or wannabe) one of the “haves”.

Speaking of the media, if you want to get REALLY pissed off… check out the History Channel’s new episode of the show “Gangland” about the Avenues Gang. Not only does it glorify the gang, it also paints Highland Park as being slightly less safe than Baghdad, with a backdrop of lots of cheesy video montages of local landmarks. If Highland Park were a person, I think she would have grounds to sue the History Channel for libel for this one, its truly terrible.