Orange County, CA - One of Earth's Top 10 Evil places?

[Just Call me J]

Baltimore, MD sounds like it could be on this list too, from how much I've read from geteddie and others from that area.

Or is the sad fact that EVERY area has a dark side that society hasn't wanted to face? With all the focus on the Catholic Church right now, and the controversy of OC Judge Kline, it seems that every day the newspaper is reporting new allegations of abuse.

At least the topic is getting more exposure. Did anyone watch "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" a few weeks ago? I found it, completely by accident (I was flipping channels so that I could play a video game), and got sucked in immmediately.

It was a bizarre ending (I don't want to ruin it), but it presented some really compelling viewpoints (victim that doesn't want to testify/victim's mother, at victim's request, not reporting/old victim that missed the statute of limitations/victim that became a molester himself/victim having an attachment to the abuser). I had a sense of unfairness throughout the episode, because of how far the investigators and prosecuter had to go, just to prove that a serial pedophile did what he did. It shouldn't have to be that hard, even when there are writers intentionally making it a complicated episode.

Anyway, there's some food for thought. Nibble away.

We're in this together.

Jeremy

 

I saw'em all. Several episodes on mother/son incest. I can tell ya it was VERY interesting having lived thru the real thing. First of all,the mothers were a lot better looking than mine. Secondly,their sons could'nt hold a candle in comparison to my generation. We knew how to handle mom/son dorking back during the 1950s. I had a gun-collection. Did I flip out and kill people? Nope. Did I wreak havoc upon civilization? Nope. We had rules back then. Nowadays a mom dorks her son,he goes nuts. Society's gone to hell. Least little thing happens...BANG.
Go figure!
Must say I got off on the X-Files mom/sons episode though. It's a winner.

 

[Broken]

orange county is a model of america, which is why its rotting. Think about it. Huge amounts of capital, rich neighborhoods, no major industry capable of competing with major urban areas, with a few exceptions here and there, a service economy. Republican dominated, overpriced cost of living, on and on you can describe what the rich take from the poor.

I hate orange county. Its hell for me. As a writer, i try to think of situations that inspire me to new heights, but the reality of what people arent willing to see here is so bad i have a hard time imagining a more perfect symbol of curroption. There are a lot of places worse than orange county, but just walking around in this place, i feel it has a horrible pain all its own. Its the amercan dream. Its exactely what everybody in america is taught to want. It's a living hell build on apathy.

Everybody here is complettely miserable because they are completely alone. Family means nothing here, companionship is the favors your owed, and love is the best human meat you can buy. Justice, virtue, and compassion are four letter words. Sometimes i think id rather be crawling around a jungle looking for bugs to eat rather than live another moment alone and surrounded by people.

I find buetifull exceptions to the rule all the time, but they are in the same position i am. All the time all i ever hear is you cant think about that sort of thing, but who will? If not me or you, then who? Sometimes i feel like im screaming, because i want to do something so bad, but i have to help myself. If i was going to die tommorow, id feel like my life had very little purpose, like i was just put here to suffer. I would have a few memories of doing the right thing, some moments of tranquility, and a lifetime of pain. I try to be zen about it, but it hurts just the same. Every once in a while, id rather be sad for my world, instead of happy for myself. I just hope i make it out of this life, because if i can make a difference with my time here, i will feel like i have a purpose beyond just breathing.

I hope that meant something to somebody besides me. Thanks for listening.

 

[Just Call me J]

I hear you, B.

The rich areas are so stinking rich, and the poor areas stink for other reasons. There is a lot of apathy out here, but I have to say that I was a part of an anti-Nazi protest about 10 months ago. There were about 40 of us that showed up, all different political stripes (Greens, Libertarians, Communists, anarchists, and others). As bad as things are in OC there are people out here that care to make a difference.

I went to a book signing for Michael Moore about 6 weeks ago. He's a documentary filmmaker and author, and all around rabblerouser, trying to get people to care about what's going on around them, then point them in the direction of the nearest congressperson. He wrote about the evils of OC in his last book, called "Downsize This" (as well as his documentary "The Big One," which covers the book tour for DT).

The booksigning was pretty uplifting, for a couple days, until I got overwhelmed by the seeming hopelessness of trying to change the world. I talked with my brother about the unfairness of all the rich folk taking advantage of the rest of us, and he was of the opinion that we since we can't do anything about it, why worry about it.

That just frustrated me even more. I felt even more hopeless than before, since I had found someone that agreed with me on all the screwed up things going on around us (a rare thing enough in OC... but then, we're both transplanted from West Covina, in LA county, right on the other side of those hills).

The next day, still reeling from hopelessness, I went to see Lord of the Rings again. Man, that made a difference!

The theme of the whole movie (and book) is that even the smallest person can have the biggest impact. Stepping up and doing the right thing, simply because it's the right thing to do. It impresses the hell out of some people, but it's not really that big a deal, if you really think about it.

I still get hopeless every now and again. But when I think about Fellowship of the Ring (and the rest of the Lord of the Rings saga), I get goosebumps, and I feel some hope again. It may be fiction, but it's affecting.

Maybe OC should be renamed Mordor...

We're in this together.

Jeremy