Another Day In Los Angeles

Last week David Huerta was arrested. He’s the President of the very large service union here in California. On Monday, June 9th in Grand Park many unions including members of the Writers Guild of America (West) came together to rally for David’s release, and to protest the misery being inflicted on the city to serve the lie that we’re a lawless, decrepit, Gotham City that needs federal troops on our streets.

It does not.

Huerta was released earlier this afternoon, but has been charged with conspiracy to obstruct ICE. He can’t knowingly be within a 100 yards of a federal agent, which is an obvious infringement on his right to protest, and also a blank check to just ship him back down to detention on a whim. Accounts of his arrest have him simply observing the actions of the masked federal agents.

Today’s rally was peaceful. This evening is peaceful. There is no benefit to troops in our streets, or yours. It’s being done to make this administration seem like a wartime one. It’s an unhinged policy and the longer it goes on the worse it will be.

Lawyer’s phone numbers were written in sharpie on arms of folks that were trying to anticipate being detained and separated from their mobile devices.

The news is cutting around the many America flags flying at the peaceful protests.

David, come back, we need you.

Another thought on flags: the folks angry that the Mexican flag is flying in Los Angeles have the thin Blue Line flag on their cars, and I’m pretty sure every cop I ever met in New York and Boston had a tattoo of the Irish flag somewhere on their body. Flag talk is more or less silly, but TV news likes to scream about “invasions” of our cities, and inevitably the flag shots run under the yammer. The city is half hispanic. I got handed a Mexican flag and pineapple Jarritos when I got off the plane at LAX in ‘98.

The largest city in the fourth largest economy in the world is being mistreated by the federal government for purely theatrical reasons.

There’s a popular saying: “As California goes, so goes the nation.”

I hope the nation is paying careful attention.

If you think Los Angeles has been violent the last few days…you’re being lied to.

GD

Monday, June 9, 2025

Los Angeles