"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." -- Thomas Jefferson
Since I retired from the Daily News two months ago, I've learned one thing above all others from email, comments and community meetings: The people of L.A. are afraid that City Hall willl trample on them at every turn.
That's what led me to this quote from Thomas Jefferson that speaks straight to what I believe is the only way to change L.A. for the better.
So many people who have worked so hard for so long for their communities believe that their government is their enemy, that even voting, sending emails and letters of protest, organizing their neighborhoods will not make much of a difference.
In Jefferson's terms, they fear their government. And that is truly tyranny.
That's what I have believed personally for a long time. I did what I could to show the truth of it in stories and editorials at the Daily News. I believe there has been some change over the years, most notably the LAPD is no longer a militaristic army at war with the people, particularly the poor and minorities.
But for the most part, the public gets lip service to their grievances while City Hall continues to serve itself and the special interests.
What keeps coming up for me is that only drastic action -- a campaign of civil disobedience -- can possibly change things.
Already, there are signs that others feel as I do.
On Thursday, thousands of parents are planning to march in Downtown L. A. to demand their civil rights. They are fed up with the schools of their choice -- charter schools -- being treated as second-class citizens by Los Angeles Unified.
"Families That Can" plans to work statewide for fair treament of charter schools. Other movements are afoot to stage parent protests for full funding of all public schools.
Why not Concerned Citizens of L.A. taking to the streets to demand their civil rights.
I keep having this fantasy that thousands of us will descend on City Hall carrying a bag of garbage and leave it there in protest of the outrageous imposition of what amounts to double taxation.
We pay taxes for garbage collection as part of the city's basic contract with the community. But now City Hall is facing bankruptcy because of reckless spending and has started charging us the full cost of picking up the garbage we already paid to have collected.
I keep thinking Bastille Day, July 14 when the French celebrate their revolution, is appropriate given that that the city's leadership increasingly seems to be emulating the arrogance and indifferrence to the people of Marie Antoinette.
Civil disobedience isn't a one-shot performance. It takes organization and persistence. But it wouldn't take that much in L.A. to turn the people's fear of government into the government's fear of the people.
City Hall is that weak. Nothing but greed holds it together. And the politicians, most of whom really have no experience outside of City Hall, will do whatever they have to in order to keep their jobs. If the public has more clout than the unions, developers, contractors and lobbyists, these frightened little men and women will do what the people tell them to.
Maybe it's just a private fantasy of mine. But my gut instinct is we're so fed up we're ready to make a stand and join hands in actions that will actually make a difference.
So what do you say? Will you meet me on the steps of City Hall on Monday July 14 with a bag of garbage in hand or will I look a fool standing there alone?
Ron Kaye is the former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News where he spent 23 years helping to make the newspaper the voice of the San Fernando Valley and fighting for a city government that serves the people and not special interests.
Twice in recent years, Los Angeles Magazine listed Kaye among the city’s most influential people, specifically in the area of politics. Kaye has been variously described in the media as the “accidental anarchist,” “the Patrick Henry of the San Fernando Valley” and a “passionate populist.” He is now committed to
carrying on his crusade for a greater Los Angeles as an ordinary citizen. Previously, Ron worked at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Australian as well as papers
in Fairbanks, Alaska and Yakima, Wash. He also wrote for Newsweek magazine, The Guardian in London and the National Enquirer.
Ron, lots of UTLA people and Villaraigosa supporters just got elected to the Democratic Party County Central Committee. It only takes about 4,000 votes to get a voice in how the Party spends money on local candidates, and small margins make a difference; in my district, the woman who finished out of the money was 151 votes behind the woman who just barely made the cut.
Among those elected in my district (they're chosen by Assembly District--mine is the 43rd) is Heather Repennig, who worked for Parke Skelton and the Mayor's office on the Affordable Housing Bond Prop H two years ago. One of those who just missed was Robert Silver, an incumbent and actor from SAG. Obviously, the Mayor hasn't done much for SAG, so it's sad to see an actor go.
I'd be curious to learn about some of the other committee winners around the Districts, if your readers have any special tales about who these people on the local Party Central Committees are. You can find your own results for your party here.
Ron, I will gather as many as I can to take a stand on July 14th. This city is filled with so much corruption and incest amongst the politicians and I am so personally fed up with all of it. Two steps forward and three steps back in trying to do anything. For all of the taxes we pay we deserve so much more. I am with you on July 14th!!!!!!!!!!
Ron, I have been saying the same thing for three years...ever since the night Villar won the election...the handwriting was on the wall!
IMO, the ONLY way we can get anyone's attention is by an act of civil disobedience. I have attended a few City Council mtgs. just as an objective observer...and I was SHOCKED, HORRIFED at the total disregard that it shown to citizens of this city. They have NOWHERE to turn...except the street!
Organizaion is indeed the major obstacle; but I will plan on bringing whoever I can round up on July 14th! That's a date!
I agree with the families furious about being denied their rights when it comes to Charter schools, in defiance of Court Order for the past decade, not just common decency, when LAUSD doesn't and can't provide safe and challenging schools for many middle class and upper middle class/ westside families. The whole emphasis is on what's best for UTLA, so they want to keep the kids in their juvie halls as warm bodies which collect revenue that LAUSD can misspend. When parents take the time and effort and expend their own money to form charters, and LAUSD/ UTLA (the real culprit -- look at how the recent elections for President were about who was going to be the MOST hostile to charters) fights them tooth and nail, they should file a class action suit to get their fair share of money.
What happened to LEAP in Chatsworth, being forced to close despite sending all of its grads, mostly "minority," to college, because they couldn't secure any space from LAUSD, is a disgrace. That school also disproves that only wealthy, white and Asian kids go to charters -- they were a small minority at the school, whose parents included immigrants. Now LAUSD is also revoking "child care permits" which have been a lifesaver for many, in a further attempt to keep kids from escaping from their failed, dangerous local schools. I laud the Mayor's attention to education, but that must mean for everyone, not just the lowest-performing, lowest-income, who are already getting the most resources. "Even" the bright middle class kid whose parents pay the bulk of taxes, deserves to be given an appropriate education.
But on your analogy to the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette was really a bogeyman: she was forced from her home in Austria at the age of 17 to marry a profligate French ruler holed up in Versailles, and was just a handy target, as a foreigner with no French roots. Chopping off her head and killing all the aristocrats was less a model to emulate than more akin to the bloody Bolshevik revolution.
As for the garbage issue: yes, it's a large sudden increase and burden, but the idea is to pay for cops, so if Chick can assure us the money goes for that, would you still feel the same way? But I'm totally against Janice Hahn's proposed property/parcel tax for "her" gang prevention program, that she wants to lay on the ballot in November. Enough of taxing the struggling homeowners for everything, just because they're easy targets.
I think IT IS TIME FOR ANOTHER "BOSTON TEA PARTY", yes, I do, and if I can get a ride I will be on those steps with you and holding my sack of garbage. TH
Dumping your trash on the steps of City Hall may be an amusing protest stunt, but it's not civil disobedience.
To really exercise civil disobedience -- satyagraha -- in this case, one approach would be to refuse to pay the additional trash fees, and accept any consequences that go along with such civil disobedience.
Unlike tax protesters (ie Wesley Snipes) who deny that the legal obligation to pay the taxes exists or applies, you would not be disputing that the law commands you to pay the fees. Instead, you would by choice disobey the law on the grounds that the fees are improper or immoral.
As you note, that kind of true civil disobedience isn't a one-shot performance or a publicity stunt. It's an act of deeper substance and conscience -- and, ultimately, greater risk.
But don't get me wrong -- I'd very much enjoy the spectacle of a large group of y'all draggin' ass down to City Hall, dumping your trash on the front steps, and spattering the mayor's shoes with coffee grounds and banana peels.
Your protest is not a bad idea Ron. Let me suggest one more.
Let's spend the money the City is taking from us. Here's what I mean. For the last 15 years or more, I have reported every pothole in my Neighborhood Watch area. I report every burned out traffic light I see in the City. And I call in burned out street lights. Every morning, I have about a dozen graffiti removal addresses to report via City website.
If they take our money, make them spend it on our quailty of life. And, be persistant about it. LADWP is a special case. Many of our neighborhoods still have series wired incandescent street lights. Those white colored tear drop lights are over 50 year old. Get better light for your neighborhood. I got LADWP to replace DOZENS of these old lights in 1994 and 1995 in my East Valley Basic Car area. I think we contribute to City Hall's neglegence and corruption by not demanding services for our neighbohoods.