The last day of a ten day run in L.A. I tear open the little cellophane wrapper on the in room coffee service. The bag explodes. I toss it in the trash and open up the other one. This one might make it, I start a pot. In room coffee, while usually pretty bad, has become vital over time. That little bump to my psyche before I face the rest of humanity.
Sometimes traveling across the country sees more like traveling to different planets. Sure the people look roughly the same, but what’s inside them seems to differ almost enough to call them a different species. I’ve had to wonder while I’m here what this place is all about. Everyplace has a point, a direction that the majority of the populace travels in, at least some kind of motto.
On the surface L.A. a pretty cool place to visit. If you find yourself craving something, there’s probably a shop front selling it in the next block or two. They have even divided various cultural specialties into sub towns within the city. Head out to little Tokyo for some awesome Ramen (start at Daikokuya) or to China Town for other culinary delights or culture specific services.
But under the surface indoctrination into the L.A. mindset can become a pill that is too hard to swallow. Once you get past the pervasive feeling that SOMETHING is about to happen, not sure what it is but I know it needs to be capitalized. Maybe they just expect the earth to shake like a wet dog and send them flying off into the sea, or maybe there are just waiting for the Kool-aid and alien combination to take them away, but it is all caps either way. There is still something else that just seems off to someone from anywhere else.
I’m thinking it boils down to the huge, double dose, mind numbing level of political correctness that everyone here has swallowed. Granted it gives a great deal of creative leeway to the general populace, as long as they never utter a discouraging word. I sat for at least 20 minutes and watched a homeless person reenact an episode from Hogan’s Hero’s. Everyone seems to give each other space in the shops and on the sidewalks, and unless you are a member of the aforementioned homeless group, people really don’t tend to get too loud. That is unless you express an opinion that is negative, disagrees with another person, or uses science and logic as opposed to sensitivity and a willingness to accept idiocy in place of fact.
Simple conversations become fodder for a CAUSE way too easily. “what do you think of the dining in the area?”
“It’s great, a few more vegan spots than I need but great.”
“well those Vegan places exist because we are not meant to eat meat like animals.”
“Um, have you seen your teeth? You’re an omnivore it’s what we’re designed to do.”
“No,no we’ve evolved beyond that.”
“Same teeth, same digestive tract, I think we’re still omnivores.”
“I’m talking about EMOTIONAL evolution!”
“So you think how you feel supersedes nature and physiology?”
“Of course it does!”
“So if you’re a vegan, what do you feed your cat?”
And in L.A. apparently it does.
“Man if what they are saying is so wrong, stand up for yourself and say something.”
“Oh no, that would offend them.”
“What they are saying offends you, so what’s wrong with expressing a different view?”
“People have a right not to be offended.”
“No, there’s no such line on the constitution.”
“It’s a basic human right.”
“Like a natural right? You think in nature anything is worrying about the emotional well-being of the creature it’s currently eating?”
“No, we’ve evolved beyond that!”
“So you feel you’ve evolved and become better as this new creature that can’t express its own opinions or consume the foods it’s designed to consume, or relax in public at any time for fear of the emotions of another creature that should be able to care for their own well-being? This is better?”
“There’s just no talking to you!”
I guess there really isn’t. The residents do prove their humanity from time to time. Especially while driving, I think it’s that magical thing a vehicle does to our minds making us believe that no one can really see or hear us, that no one can observe us giving them or our noses the finger. However, no light changes without the sound of a car horn accompanying or in some cases preceding it. It’s actually more common here than most other places I’ve been. I’m convinced they didn’t want to offend the blind by not giving them driving licenses so they just gave the lights an accompanying sound. Watching them drive proves the point. The folks here are just as angry and contentious as everywhere else. They are just afraid to show it anyplace with witnesses.
Would I vacation in L.A.? Sure it’s a fun place to be, in spite of the virulent infection of this Political Correctness bug. Everything is nearby and the people are nice, even if they don’t really want to be.
The coffee is done, and it looks like the bag tore on this one as well. Most of the grounds are floating in my cup. I drink it anyway. Wouldn’t want to offend the hotel folks.