Tag Archives: Los Angeles

What Homeless Problem? Leaders Scapegoat the Poor Instead of Tackling Development’s Filth

05 Friday Nov 2021

Posted by in Homeless, Los Angeles, Poetic Blog, Political, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Homeless2

-by Bill Watkins 10/27/2021

The problems of “Los Angeles” run deep, as deep as the rivers and lakes that used to bless this land before the great European conquest.

It used to be a land of many names to many tribes.  By any name naturally sweet, especially when compared to what we industrialists have done to it.  Litter spews out of sidewalks’ cracks, asphalt trying to make all accessible to earth-burning cars, elected leaders in suits meeting in grand halls making and spending money…

Then we are appalled “at that bum on the corner.”  At all the trash, the smell of urine, RV’s mounting months of rentless stays, providing homes to some and eyesores to others – those enclosed in business attire at stationary houses, nine to five jobs shaking their heads…  “Let’s have a meeting about the homeless!!” they hurl, as the trash mounts.

Did anyone ever think we should just pick up the trash?  Daily?  And not just in gas-guzzling trucks, but on foot?  Los Angeles has forgotten how to walk!  LAPD, since the 1960’s, has even decided to police by helicopter!  Never mind the noise, the sound of war…  There they are because you forgot to lock your deified car, someone stole it, and now we add the second crime of noise pollution from above to stop the theft!

I call for a return to Otsungna.  Yaangna, or whichever the names were before the Spanish and their guns stole land and branded it angelic with their bibles.  We have failed.  We have desecrated.  We have polluted…  And now it’s the fault of poor people?  People who look to a blessed outdoor life?  Sleeping under the stars?

In this formerly peaceful, natural space the conquerors called Los Angeles I don’t see a homeless problem.  I see a filth problem, and lazy leaders getting rich in suits who haven’t the slightest idea how to get out of their SUV’s, put on some work clothes, go out on foot –

and solve it.

Standards, 911 Los Angeles!

22 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by in Law, Los Angeles, Poem, Poems, Poetic Blog, Poetry

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

I have seen a few things, the
light bright from a Palm Desert
recovery facility.

Allow me to help you see!

Gangs are unnecessary.  To
have them in our city a choice.

They can be budgeted out, if
city leaders would reduce their
own inflated salaries, cut out
the fat of things we do not need.

Illegal fireworks, the booms, could
be budgeted out!

Litter picked up, law enforced,
pedestrian workers employed,
tents removed from sidewalks,
an encampment established
outside city limits with county help.

Sober up, L.A.!!

Really think, use the brain that
will say it’s dumb to drink
flammable liquids!!

Sober up, L.A.!!

Take off your ridiculous monkey
suits, city leaders, and join the
lowly, me and others to clean
this mess up for good!!

Sober up, L.A.!!

Be the first major U.S. city to
raise its standards to eliminate
even a single cigarette butt from
our sidewalk cracks.

Build better sidewalks, have non-
lethally armed security to secure
them, Engage the community!

Let’s be there, at our schools
with law instruction!

Let’s be at our recreation centers
and get to know our children!

Allow them to vote!!!

Anyone should be allowed, who
wants to help our country!

Perfectionism is a curse!

The old way needs changing, unless
you love the trash and bombs
on the fourth so much.

I do not.

I like peace, and obeying the law.

Take off your ties and suits, put
on some work clothes and join
me in a vision of something better.

Garner a day when police answer
the call, because
they are budgeted to win.

Stop the flow begun with self-
seeking campaigns, appeal to
God or Higher Power, take less,

and allow the city to thrive
the more.

Concrete River

11 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by in Los Angeles, Native, Native America, Native American, Nature, Poem, Poems, Poetic Blog, Poetry

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

We fail to see what the Indian saw;
goalposts moved, the feeling is raw.

God gave all peoples land, but fate
brought white Euros away from theirs,

Hope was in the “New World,” except
that for its old inhabitants, a grave

challenge emerged from the golden
ships on the Eastern horizon, the

Atlantic bringing bibles, armor, guns,
horses and a love for gold not seen

by the decorated native soldier, the
adorned native explorer—who roamed

a wild land with ease, the world a
welcome mat to sleep upon, gather

and hunt.  A river was sacred, a waterfall
the same; trees, even rocks worshipped

as gifts from the Great Spirit.  Instead
of human art, a reveling of God’s art

was the native way; instead of a written
history or spirituality, there was one

passed down with poignant, well-placed
words and teachings, songs and music,

Ones about the “L.A. River” before it
was called that I’m sure existed.

It would be full and running wild at
times, dry and trickling at others,

through trees, brush and local wildlife—
including bands of Indian tribes,
grateful for the flow.

Civilization is a double-edged mess.
I think I like it.  I hate it.  I’m sad
about it, but sure like the plumbing!

***

What of the river?

Concreted over now, we took away
its beauty.

A crime by any view, there is no
possible way to support killing
it and doing God’s will, we stopped

the wild flow, the thrill.

We placed our destructive flag on
its top, moved wildlife off their spot,

Came with horses, buggies, then
cars and our own urinated rain,

the plumbing’s good, but we are
not—

God’s Earth is full of things still
pristine, and those like the L.A.
River—

That dies every day civilization soars,
roars and choppers rot.

I dream of a day when time
forgot.

To Los Angeles:

24 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by in Los Angeles, Poem, Poems, Poetry, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

50/50 with a Fringe on Top

***

Welcome to Betty Ford.

We must recover, many of us know this,
but have we admitted yet that we have
a problem?

L.A. is not the greatest city in the world—

But it could be.

It could lead like the LAPD in Lethal
Force Policy—Matt Johnson and the
commission talking De-escalation,
Obama taking notice, the nation
watches and seeks good Ideas.

Ideas!!!

Something whose creation money cannot
buy.

Private Campaign Spending should be
now and forever outlawed, right
next to hiring a pedestrian cleaning
force—call them “Street Angels”—

We must clean this city from the bottom
to the top, let’s trim the budget of
fat—like the bloated salaries of political
hacks.

This is supposed to be a humble service job;
how much did John Adams spend to
become President?  I think it was $0.00
because he was a lawyer with land in
the private sector—

I recommend to our leaders that if it
is riches you want… Invent something.

Get out in the private sector with your
skills, which should be protected by
the public sector… and make a ton of
money.

City Council?  The Mayor?  A Police Chief?

A Supervisor for the County? Where wages
start at 200,000 dollars a year?

And we wonder why graffiti plagues us—
it’s a revolution, a rebellion saying “Screw
you, suits!  You have forgotten us, are not
protecting us, are not maintaining our
roads, sidewalks and communities so we
formed a gang to secure ourselves.”

“Gangs” could be budgeted out of existence.

Maybe fund Animal Services to enforce
every code instead of running a public zoo.

Enforce every code.

Don’t play with illegal fireworks—

eradicate it.  Budget them away, put our
heads together, take a walk from border
to border in your district and note how
many clogged storm drains you see.

People tell me sometimes, watching me
clean, that the problems are too vast
and deep—and what you clean today
just comes back tomorrow!

So come back tomorrow and clean again.

God bless us to rethink our bloated
salaries, “benefits” which often include
non-emergency “health” care which government
should never grapple.

“What is health?” is answered differently
by every person, like choosing a religious
faith—in fact my health program is my religious
faith (Christian Science) and by the First
Amendment, Congress shall pass no law on it.

Wake up!

Lazarus, take up thy bed and follow me
into the fixable gutters and graffiti of L.A.,
the bombs exploding from June through August,
the rebellion—folks without a voice, disenchanted
with you, voter turnout poor, as we shake
our heads at the mailbox—

Filling up with the Trash that is private
campaign spending.

“Vote for me!” on an expensive post card.

“Don’t Vote For Her!” in despicable color
and glossy font.

While our sidewalks crumble, the Homeless
waiting not on “housing” as much as
a purpose.

Give us day labor posts, a morning lineup
for a job to clean our city for eighty-five
dollars a day.

I’ll be first in that line, let’s fan out, out
of our offices and suits, but if addicted to
them, give me a bib and a broom, pay me

and watch this place start to shine.

Our budget should be fifty percent
safety, fifty percent infrastructure.

Anything not related to those two things
should, like fringe stuck in a storm drain—

be taken out

The Search for Meaning

06 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by in Blogs, Native, Peace, Poetry, Political

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ancient Sins, Amends
and Justice

-by Bill Watkins 6/5/2017

Livingston2 -- Work Walk

LORD, help me communicate your message.

Amen.

***

I have left Los Angeles, California in search of meaning, poetic justice—taking my sins east someday across the ocean back to Europe.

I have decided to pass through beautiful Livingston, Montana for a year or two to gain a different experience, to become a man, prepare for England’s colder weather, and to get some financial standing.

410 years ago three Watkins brothers arrived in the land we now call Virginia—a land that was inhabited by a great people.  We, the English, named it what we wanted and called it ours.

We measured ourselves against the natives by skin color, dress and military weapons—saw an “advantage,” sought to conquer.

Our sins are vast.  Sins of judgment, murder, selfishness, ingratitude, ignorance, and self-righteousness.  Sure, we were chased there by religious wars, oppressive social structures and monarchy.

But also greed.  Vanity; the desire for fame and glory, riches—gold and spices.

A name to place in history as the man or men who discovered a new land or route around the world.

Notice no mention of “God” yet.  While our explorers spoke of “mission” and Bible and bringing God to the New World, our actions were GodLESS.

We lived by the gun and sword.  Died by it.  So many of us throughout history to now just on that Jesus-mentioned “wide path to destruction.”

Lao Tzu said “You cannot change the world.  It cannot be done.”

So why write a piece like this?  Why leave Los Angeles?

Why come to Montana, en route to Wales, United Kingdom—home of the Watkins family that stayed in Europe?

Meaning.

For this poet, meaning… For the world, this poet sets out with the gift God directly gave to drive truth into the wide path.

To split that path, and light the trail back to Heaven’s narrow road.

If I believe through fast and prayer that I may move a mountain from there to here, it shall be done.

If I know CIA killed JFK, then covered up the crime—I shall say so, demand truth, and move on to other dark chapters, light them with alacrity.

If I am sure that we owe amends to anyone related to American SLAVES, I shall write that fact—and push us to truth, action and needed reparations.

Hurting others is hurting ourselves.  Killing off Native America, is killing off Nature in this land.

We must stop, restore land to the Native peoples “won” through bloodshed, threats and broken promises—bring Karma back to the land…

The Great Spirit, often forgotten from big cities to the hearts of reservations—sad with despondent reservation, alcohol, depression—will and must rise again.

The Great Spirit will rise when the Native American people rise again, and the land will prosper.

A Third Political party will emerge.  One of peace and love for Mother Earth.

But first I must remove myself back to England.  Back across the sea, and take our sins with me.

I do so for the Cherokee.  For the Sioux.  For the Crow, the Blackfoot, the Tongva out west—all the tribes, together must rise as I leave with God’s spirit East from here to the land of the Celts.

I will take back, finally, the land’s Gold:

Native American Wisdom and Love for Land.

Europe will thrive when I bring this gold back to them.

And meaning will come to me, a life poetic that gave up comfort to honor God.

Arrest by Anger

22 Monday May 2017

Posted by in Blogs, Criminal Law, Law, Police, Political

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

An LAPD Favorite

-by Bill Watkins 5/22/2017

Police Corruption

CPC 236:
False imprisonment is the unlawful violation of the personal liberty of another.

CPC 832.5 (a) (1) Each department or agency in this state that employs peace officers shall establish a procedure to investigate complaints by members of the public against the personnel of these departments or agencies, and shall make a written description of the procedure available to the public.

BPC 6068 Attorney Duties:
(a) To support the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this state.
(f) To advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which he or she is charged.
(g) Not to encourage either the commencement or the continuance of an action or proceeding from any corrupt motive of passion or interest

***

Once I posed the dangers of involving anger in police work to a Sergeant at LAPD’s Hollenbeck Division headquarters.

He answered back with enthusiasm:

“Anger helps us.  I believe it is good for officers.”

I’ve personally been arrested by LAPD twice without evidence or probable cause.  The arrests were made when I stood on the Constitution, asserted my rights…

And they got mad.

***

For both arrests, by the way, I swiftly went to court and proved my factual innocence to a judge, and am still awaiting City of Los Angeles reimbursements for the troubles they caused me, financially and otherwise.

The total personal financial cost of LAPD mistakes to me:

$2500 in bail money.

Twenty total hours lost in actual time in my life; about fifty total hours of affect, as I lost two days due to a sleep-deprived jail stay in one of those illegal arrests.

If one wondered, the criminal code for arresting and detaining a California citizen illegally without probable cause is CPC 236, spelled out above.

But practice and code are two different things, and one would be very hard-pressed to find any filings of charges against police officers in this state for a CPC 236 violation.

Unfortunately, police—including the LAPD, are protected in a biased perversion of another big code: CPC 832.5.

That is the code used and abused by City and District Attorney offices to keep a corrupt cycle of “police investigating police” whirling and swirling.

The wording is key: “complaints by members of the public against” police officers…

Complaints.  Okay, “They were rude.”  “Unprofessional.”  “Made me feel bad.”  “Made me feel scared.”  “Did not say ‘please’ or ‘thank you.”  “The officer was discourteous and ordered me around too much.”

What about Criminal Charges???

“He hurt my shoulder.”  “They had no evidence, got mad, then roughly cuffed me and arrested me.” “They shot and killed my son.”  Those are crimes, if true.  CPC 240 Assault, and CPC 236 Illegal Detainment.  187 murder, degrees of it or manslaughter.

Shouldn’t a differentiation be made between “complaints” and “criminal charges?”

Shouldn’t an independent investigator without ties to police officers investigate all criminal complaints against police?

If there is a professional standards issue, by all means—832.5 plays, and the Internal Affairs process can have their way, decide if officers did wrong.

But with criminal charges:

We need to budget and acquire a way to independently investigate a police officer—like any other citizen—of culpability in that crime.

Nixon was not above the law.  Trump is not above the law.  Neither should cops be above the law, and neither should city and district attorneys claim them as “clients” to create even more bias in the process.

The Attorney’s Oath must be followed.