Etgar 36: Summer 2008

By Andie Firestone

Today was our second day in Los Angeles. We started our morning by visiting South Central Los Angeles. Our surprise guest speaker was Carlton, our bus driver. He grew up there and lived there in the early 90s during the Rodney King riots. As we were driving through the neighborhoods we noticed that the homes were not as bad as we thought. We discussed that this is part of the problem in South Central. Everything looks decent enough that no one addresses the true underlying issues of the neighborhood. We also noticed that every house had bars in front of the windows and doors. Carlton told us that these bars were for protection so they wouldn’t be robbed by their own neighbors. The stores and even the churches had bars on them as well. The stores in the neighborhood were mostly liquor, laundromats, and bail bonds stores.

Carlton talking about life in South Central

From South Central we drove to Beverly Hills to compare and contrast these two neighborhoods that are not too far from each other. Walking down Rodeo Drive seeing all of the fancy design stores drastically opposes life in South Central. This is the difference in America between the haves and the have nots.

We then had a discussion in a near by park about the issue of class in America. We debated and discussed if the gap between these two groups is widening and why would it be important for those that have to be concerned about those who don’t have.

Our next meeting was with Participant Films. This is a movie company that makes films that deal with current issues and have a strong social action aspect to them. One of the three representatives was from the social action department that puts together educational guides as well as action guides to go along with their films. The other two representatives were from the documentary department and the narrative department. Even their entertainment films have a social action component in them. I think this company is great because it really makes people aware of the problems and issues citizens must be made aware of. It’s also done in an interesting way so people get involved and know how and what they are helping. It was great to see how you can combine art and social activism.

After this meeting, we went to Venice Beach where we walked on the famous Santa Monica Pier and overlooked the Pacific Ocean. We then had free time on the boardwalk to do some people watching and shopping.

Our last stop of the day was at Beit Teshuvah. This is a Jewish rehab for recovering addicts. 95% of the residents are Jewish and there are 120 residents. We met with 3 former addicts. All of the speakers came from different types of families but all had to deal with the same problem, breaking the addiction. Many of us could relate to them as they did come from middle to upper class Jewish homes. One thing I noticed about all of them is that they never spoke to anyone about their issues. They kept these issues and problems to themselves which made their situation even more difficult. I respect these people who took time to meet talk with us about their life changing decisions and how badly one simple decision can change the rest of your life. I think Beit Teshuvah is a great resource for those who need help and to teach others about the significance of addiction.

By Eyal Schechter

An early morning wake up call from the front desk began my day. I opened my eyes to the sound of Sportscenter announcing the results of the home run derby. After taking a shower I was on my way downstairs to get on the bus. I must take a moment to discuss the scene downstairs. It all starts off with the neon lights of the casino. Every color you can name is there and blinking bright with people yelling at the slot machines. As my first visit to Las Vegas came to an end, I give it 5 stars.

We began our trek for Los Angeles. We stopped after a couple of hours for brunch at Peggy Sue’s Diner. It is styled as a 50’s diner and had a very large tsotchke shop and they also had great milkshakes. It really was a great idea from our fearless leader Billy to stop there.

After brunch we drove for another couple of hours while we watched the movie “Crash” to get us ready for the themes we would deal with while in Los Angeles. Our first stop was at the Museum of Tolerance. The first part of the museum dealt with modern issues of intolerance such as terrorist attacks, hate crimes and prejudice. The second part dealt with the Holocaust. There is a section that recreates the entrance to Auschwitz and you decide which tunnel to go through, the one that says “able bodied” or the one that says “for women and children.” It was very powerful for me to see that.

After the museum we went to dinner in the Jewish neighborhood and ate at a kosher Nathans Hot Dog. From the ribs to the hot dogs you get everything as if you would at the original Coney Island Nathans. With two hot dogs topped with ketchup and relish I was on my way to a very filling dinner. Chomp!

To end our night we went to a Poetry Slam featuring the spoken word from some of Los Angeles’ finest. Wearing Nike SBs and tight pants with backwards hats, men and women came together and shared their stories of love, hate, war, friendship and injustice. With DJ Jamel in the back, the entire set was perfect. It was a tremendous way to show us the power of expression.