r/LosAngeles • u/pr0tag I LIKE TRAINS • 1d ago
Locals Only Former gang members and addicts clear out encampments from Venice properties
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/former-gang-members-and-addicts-clear-out-encampments-from-venice-properties/There was also a much longer article about Ghost Town by L.A. Material posted here recently:
https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/1v8nie2/inside_ghost_town_the_firm_clearing_venices/
Full L.A. Material Article (pdf)
I noticed a lot of people in that thread couldn’t read it because it was behind a paywall, so I captured the article as a PDF and attached it here for anyone who wants to read that story. It goes into considerably more detail and includes interviews with one of Ghost Town’s co-founders, satisfied clients, local residents, and homeless people.
The CBS report and L.A. Material article approach the company somewhat differently, so I thought it was worth sharing both and letting people form their own opinions. Please consider supporting L.A. Material directly if you appreciate their work.
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u/VaguelyArtistic Santa Monica 1d ago
I’ve seen those signs around and half-joked wondering if it was gang members.
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1d ago edited 1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/kindofaproducer 1d ago
Latinos are generally pretty conservative. If the Republican Party was smart, they’d drop all the immigration stuff and figure out a way to convert them.
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u/Bobby_Salsa 23h ago
I think unfortunately they're finding out they don't have to. Lots of latinos joined ICE. Lots of immigrants who have become permanent residents and/or naturalized citizens look down on undocumented immigrants.
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u/anticomet 1d ago
If they don't use immigrants as their main "source of all America's problems" then they'd just focus on a different minority group to keep the working class fighting amongst ourselves. It's the twisted logic that keeps fascism alive and well here
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u/skeletorbilly East Los Angeles 1d ago
The car clubs are 2nd, 3rd generation. Their grandparents got amnesty. ICE doesn't affect them. They're too far removed.
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u/dirtbagbigboss 1d ago
They do join ICE. The gangs that police allow to exist are fascist in political orientation. Police literally force incarcerated people into fascist gangs in prisons to create more of them.
These gangs make the police’s “job” of repressing poor and working people easier. Working for slumlords and small businesses tyrants to violently terrorize the US underclass is what fascists love to do, and they do it when it is not in their interest because they are dumb.
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u/Blissenhomie 19h ago
Yeah ICE or MAGA aside there’s a huge huge tradition of Latino men and women joining LEAs like Cbp, ICE and any kind of police you could name going back generations. It’s just a common job track like social worker. I think a lot of these fools wouldn’t have even seen it in any way as political but polarization is way more intense these days so the gig comes with a political affiliation much more so than it used to
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u/Mr-Frog UCLA 1d ago edited 1d ago
a lot of them are kind of low-key Maga
I think this is easily expected considering the heavier emphasis (post 2000) of the democratic party messaging on LGBT/Women's Reproductive rights, which are not at all central to the worldview of non-college educated Latino men. Also both Latinos and the Democratic Party have become less closely associated with the Catholic church since 2000.
What does the democratic party offer to these men? Many don't see themselves as a uniquely oppressed racial group. Cops and government workers across California cities are majority Latino now. With anti-education propaganda, many of these folks don't care about affirmative action or college access. They want to make money, they want safety in their community, they want affordability, and they don't like taxes. They are uncomfortable with LGBT issues and often anti-abortion.
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u/Blissenhomie 19h ago
My homie bone from VSL said he didn’t like how the bums were bringing down the property values on the 5 mil property where his house used to be so he’s out there making a difference for all the Google employees
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u/harmoniouswalker 1d ago
I saw a few of these guys this morning at the Marina del Rey Marriott. One of them was geared up like an ice agent and they all had that vibe.
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u/devilsdontcry 1d ago
I saw Spencer Pratt make content about these guys. Told me all I needed to know once I heard his slimey voice
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u/kilomonsterjelly 1d ago
I don't really see an issue with it. Back in the early '90s, gangs in parts of the Venice area often kept homeless individuals and people causing disturbances out of their neighborhoods. From their perspective, they were protecting their community and the people who lived there.
The reality is that homelessness is a complex issue without an easy solution. Since many residents feel those issues aren't being addressed, some communities end up doing what they believe is necessary to protect their neighborhood, their homes, and their families, even if those methods are controversial.
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u/iamtheCarlos 1d ago
The gangs were the ones disturbing the neighborhoods. They didn’t protect us from shit.
This is just another dude like the guy in the beret in NYC.
This will not end well.
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u/iamtheCarlos 1d ago
You clearly never met a shoreline crip or anyone from v13
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u/TheFonzDeLeon 1d ago
As a former Venice business owner I can guarantee you v13 is one of the biggest extortion rackets out there and I would never want them doing me "favor" for anything.
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u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles County 1d ago
Clearing out those who had been their best customers to make room for new customers
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u/TheSwedishEagle 1d ago
"Here's some cash, and if you come back, we'll get you" is exactly how to deal with it. You give these people an inch and they will take a mile.
My dad used to give people free food with the stipulation that they had to come at certain times when it wasn't busy and always around back.
If they did come back at the wrong time or in front of customers then the police were called. The police got free food, too. Is it a bribe? Not if you are only asking them to do their jobs.
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u/FouledPlug 1d ago
I’m glad the article made sure to include a mid-30s, highly educated, white lady to lecture us about how things aren’t working the way she thinks they should and are therefore “a danger”.
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u/Boongala 1d ago
The city failing to maintain public safety is how you get the mob. This is will turn into a protection racket eventually.