City of Sin
Sorry for the late post!
Over the past weekend, I was fortunate enough to play at a benefits concert for HEARTBeats VIP, a high school extension of the Violence Intervention Program. As you may already know, VIP is a leader in developing sustainable programs to ensure greater possibilities for all victims of violence, abuse, and neglect. Based in Los Angeles, the organization is focused on elder abuse and neglect, child predatory abuse, and neglect, along with support for mental health patients and foster kids.
In Fit to be Citizens, we have begun to look over the various measures taken to exclude certain minorities in Los Angeles in attempts to create a picturesque landscape of a white only city. With Los Angeles becoming a health haven for those diseased, the pristine image of L.A. was held up at all costs, just like many of its stereotypical images now. The original Chinatown and its inhabitants being labeled diseased ridden, Japanese being isolated with claims of Yello Peril and Mexicans being diagnosed as a dirty, filth upon the land.
While Los Angeles and America as a whole, has definitely improved at redefining public health as something other than a thinly veiled guise of racism, do you believe that L.A. still tries to hide its less than stellar track records of sexual abuse, mental health and elder abuse in hopes of still retaining the picturesque view? We already know that with the several Hollywood allegations that have come out over the past year, sexual abuse is much more prevalent in Los Angeles than people would have cared to admit, something that probably was only far worse in the earlier days of the film industry. Do you believe that there has been a previous social stigma against Angelinos who were victims of any of these crimes, as it tampers the notion of L.A. as a city of beautiful gods?
While not to get to critical here, is that stigma still around? Only now that it is 'in/hip' or 'socially acceptable' to come against rapists, predators, and general abuse that went unheard and that what was previously a no-go topic has now become popularized and sold to the masses. Yet, further cases of mental health and elder abuse go unheard? As they say in the accused industry, Sex Sells, and I think it's buying our attention.
Once again sorry for the late post!
Over the past weekend, I was fortunate enough to play at a benefits concert for HEARTBeats VIP, a high school extension of the Violence Intervention Program. As you may already know, VIP is a leader in developing sustainable programs to ensure greater possibilities for all victims of violence, abuse, and neglect. Based in Los Angeles, the organization is focused on elder abuse and neglect, child predatory abuse, and neglect, along with support for mental health patients and foster kids.
In Fit to be Citizens, we have begun to look over the various measures taken to exclude certain minorities in Los Angeles in attempts to create a picturesque landscape of a white only city. With Los Angeles becoming a health haven for those diseased, the pristine image of L.A. was held up at all costs, just like many of its stereotypical images now. The original Chinatown and its inhabitants being labeled diseased ridden, Japanese being isolated with claims of Yello Peril and Mexicans being diagnosed as a dirty, filth upon the land.
While Los Angeles and America as a whole, has definitely improved at redefining public health as something other than a thinly veiled guise of racism, do you believe that L.A. still tries to hide its less than stellar track records of sexual abuse, mental health and elder abuse in hopes of still retaining the picturesque view? We already know that with the several Hollywood allegations that have come out over the past year, sexual abuse is much more prevalent in Los Angeles than people would have cared to admit, something that probably was only far worse in the earlier days of the film industry. Do you believe that there has been a previous social stigma against Angelinos who were victims of any of these crimes, as it tampers the notion of L.A. as a city of beautiful gods?
While not to get to critical here, is that stigma still around? Only now that it is 'in/hip' or 'socially acceptable' to come against rapists, predators, and general abuse that went unheard and that what was previously a no-go topic has now become popularized and sold to the masses. Yet, further cases of mental health and elder abuse go unheard? As they say in the accused industry, Sex Sells, and I think it's buying our attention.
Once again sorry for the late post!
Los Angeles is a city with flaws and race and disease are clear parts of such disfunction however they make this city what it is. Los Angeles in the 80s was one of the centers of the AIDS epidemic not entirely due to heroin addictions, but due to its acceptance of the gay community and making West Hollywood and other areas havens for them to love and be themselves freely without ridicule. So along with the disease and the unsanitary parts of Los Angeles comes the beauty and the history. With that however I do believe Hollywood and the very wealthy parts of LA do want to shy away and hide from the majority of Angelenos (those coming from other parts of the country and other parts of the world). It is through these perspectives of LA that problems erupt as depictions of our city seem to focus on the glamour and the glorious neighborhoods like the palisades or Palos Verdes. When it comes to portrayals of our city we need to make sure we are representative of the entire picture not only focusing on poverty, but how disease and other "dirty" topics pertain to such issues.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of how we treat disease in Los Angeles is an important issue to discuss and I believe that the perspective of looking at mental disease and sexual/abuse is interesting as well. In terms of sexual diseases and abuse I think because we are a community with such a large population and with so many different individuals, it is hard for people to stay safe sexually. Bad people will always be apart of our communities and it is impossible to not have any, however because LA has so many people this small group of bad people are therefore amplified tremendously. Also relating to mental health, because so many people have other disease that you may physically see, this is why many of us angelenos are lacking in our mental health. Same as I shared before its hard to isolate and help a certain group especially when you may not be able to physically see the disease.
ReplyDeleteSexual abuse stories, not meaning to minimize the experiences of people, have been popularized in the media recently. As a female, I am 'happy' to see these stories. I am proud to see people speaking up and showing that these acts are not okay, no matter what the pushback is from the ideal LA image. I also do not think that these stories are tampering the LA image. Rather than showing that we are flawed in that there are sexual predators in our city, we are are showing the strength of people standing up to this injustice. What I wonder is if those who experience elder abuse, child predatory abuse, mental health patients and foster kids are less inclined to share their experiences and that is why there is less publicity on the matter. I also think that the stories of those in the industry sharing their sexual assault experiences are being publicized more because of their fame. Each experience is important, but those under the spotlight already have attention drawn to them.
ReplyDeleteI would not say that its is now "hip" to come out against rapists/abuse that had previously gone unheard. Telling your story/listening to stories can be re-traumatizing to survivors of sexual violence or abuse. I think that only now people have been being more open t to listening to peoples experiences. This might be due to the social status of some of the people who have come forward. I don't think that there will ever be a time where it is hip or cool to tell your story or to be critical of rapists. Sexual violence is something that is inherently harmful and to think that calling someone out is hip means that survivors need to be reminded over and over again that someone had that power over them at some point. Hip has a temporary connotation and may belittle the impact of sexual violence.
ReplyDeleteClearly, there is a stigma and an alienation surrounding sexual assault victims, not only in LA but around the world. In the past sexual assault has been something that has been swept under the rug. Now, with recent revelation in the entertainment industry, we are trying to navigate our way into a society that no longer stigmatizes sexual assault victims but supports them too. This sense of comfort doesn't necessarily make it "hip" to out your abuser, but I believe this surge is coming from people building of off others comfort and momentum behind the movement. Additionally, people are concerned with the lives of celebrities, not everyday elderly or mentally ill people. The fact that celebrities are the leading force in this movement is giving it the power that it does, I don't think it necessarily has to do with sex. Assault is a disease that has plagued metropolises like LA, but now we have finally been able to utilize the cure of eradicating the stigmas and alienations that have come along with it in the past.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the first question, I definitely believe that LA tries to mask the reality behind a lot of the "messier and unfavored" issues that occur. With the rising reports and movements (like me too) addressing instances sexual abuse and assault occurring in the entertainment industry, I do think that the city is moving in the right direction. Still, I can't help but think that some may see movements like "me too" as an opportunity to capitalize on its popularity, neglecting its true meaning and focusing on economic gain (the business side). I also believe that there has been stigma surrounding those committing acts of sexual assault as well as the victims. In relation to recent news, with big movie stars and directions being accused of these actions, the majority of the public responds with shock and surprise. I blame this on the image that the entertainment industry has painted of these "god-like" figures known as actors. It is almost as if they cannot commit any crime, let alone one as serious as sexual assault or harassment. In this way, I think reality is glossed over. As far as mental health, the first thing that comes to mind is the homelessness population in LA and surrounding cities. Images of homelessness and poverty are often cast aside and avoided when discussing Los Angeles. In this way, I think the city does try to cover up this very real side with high-rises and fancy restaurants in Downtown when issues of poverty and mental health exist only streets over.
ReplyDeleteAs far as your point about it being "in" now to speak out against rapists, predators, and general abuse, I am torn. I have definitely recognized its rising popularity and on a similar note, the trendiness surrounding claiming yourself to be a feminist. While I think it is wrong that many industries have capitalized on this, only interested in their own personal economic gain, it is making a difference. Yes, there are selfish reasons behind it, but it is changing society nonetheless.
I do believe that people of Los Angeles try to hide the unfortunate truth about our city especially when it comes to people in the entertainment industry. In the entertainment industry there is a clear abuse of power when it comes to those who experience sexual assault in this setting and workplace. When people think about Los Angeles they think about Hollywood and celebrities and everything in between but what is hidden is the disgusting abuse that is extremely prevalent in the entertainment industry. Since being cast and attaining roles is the only way to make a living as an actress or actor it is easy for those in power to use this as a way to coerce and abuse those people who are trying to make a living. I think that there is always a social stigma against those who are victims of abuse since ousting a popular, powerful person can lead to great backlash, for example, our president. When it comes to Los Angeles it can be hard to hear that this is a big part of Hollywood/Los Angeles culture but it is painfully true. Recently, there has been a great movement towards addressing sexual abuse and I think that at this point it is only empowering women to come out as victims. I think that all times are important to address abuse and to come out against rapists and any other predators. I don’t think that sexual violence is every a topic that can considered “in” or “hip.
ReplyDeleteI there is definitely still stigma around sexual assault. It is something that for too long people have associated with certain characteristics that they don't define themselves as: slutty, easy, voiceless, passive, weak. These identifications feel similar to those that society muddles disease into.. I've mentioned this before, but I believe that with subjects like disease or assault or anything considered "dirty," there were always be some stigma because of the way we rationalize and cope with the difficult occurrences. We judge them or remove them from ourselves. In an effort to remove stigma, social media has recently been heavily used as a platform to share personal experiences and excavate the previously shushed issues and intimate components of sexual assault. I am indescribably grateful for the voices and the space we have created...but I found myself less and less shocked.. i realized i was dangerously and quickly becoming desensitized to the stories that were coming up.. it started to worry me, but maybe that is part of the process of bringing this out into the open? We live in a society that relies on mob mentality: whatever is considered a "sexy topic" at a certain time is what has the attention of the people... Especially in a city as morally and socially complex as LA, how can we shed light to issues like those in our own entertainment industries without people getting comfortable and moving on?
ReplyDeleteI will admit that I lack substantiative knowledge of current events or the track records of sexual abuse and mental health in Los Angeles; however, it would not surprise me if some of my unawareness has to do with the fact that Hollywood has tried to deny such allegations or hide them to preserve the clean, sane image of LA already imprinted into so many American minds (and minds across the world). But to some extent, I believe that this is not just an L.A. thing: no city wants to be notoriously known for its uncleanliness, lack of sanity, disease-ridden streets, and dark abusive side, so I think people anywhere would want to try and preserve the image of their city in the face of such allegations. This brings me to another thought: in every city of gods, there is always a mention of evil forces as well, and whether or not we like to admit it, there are people in Los Angeles who commit terrible crimes and contribute to the negative image of our city. But like with many topics/ negative images, the public tends to know that they exist (ie. sexual abuse, gangs, homelessness), but they try to block them out of their minds and focus on other things. I also wonder: if Sex Sells, why is it only buying our attention now? Is it because it has become a “hip,” widespread movement to speak out about sexual abuse and predators or because our society is experiencing a bigger shift?
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a stigma around “coming out” about rapists and predators. When the election happened, and people came out about Donald Trump sexually harassing them, so many people spoke out about him doing terrible things towards women. A lot of people I’ve talked to and around me and just people, in general, have said that “yes Donald Trump is a terrible person, but using FALSE allegations about what he did is wrong.” I guess people don’t understand that when someone speaks out about a sexual harasser, it gives courage to the others that got harassed. I also think that’s why people say that’s its “in” or “hip” because there are so many people coming out and speaking about it.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though people don’t care about mental health issues that much because people don’t understand it. It falls under the signs/symptoms…not seeing it seeing it on the exterior (symptoms) will make people believe that other people are just making it up and that nothing is happening to them and there is no problem…for example Multiple Personality Disorder…That’s the gag on that.
I do not think the rejecting and "cleansing" of sexually assault is mutually exclusive with helping other forms of assault or mental disorders, though sexual predation gets a lot of attention because it is such a wide spread problem that effects everyone. For that reason they do not want sketchy pass records to define them, so they try to progress (and only advertise it).
ReplyDeleteAs for beautiful gods, I do not follow what such an image is, but if it is related to preserving California's image my passage above provides a perspective.