Why I Reached Out to a Seattle Blogger: A Plea for a Focused Lens on a Failing City
REAL ESTATE NEWS (Los Angeles, CA) — A couple of days ago, I found myself deeply engrossed in an email I was composing. The recipient was a Seattle blogger, who recently published a piece detailing the closing of a promising local store, Amazon Go. While his prose was somewhat elegant, I couldn’t shake off a feeling of intense frustration. Why? Because the post failed to address the complex web of underlying issues that led to the store’s closing.
In the text, I wrote, “How can you write a blog post about a Seattle store closing without even scratching the surface of the why it closed? You are fake news. Crime and censorship are king and queen of failed socialist city Seattle. You are their pawn. Try reading and telling the whole truth. The world might then begin to care about what you say.” To help him out, I included news reports about a Starbucks closure, retail theft and Seattle resident mass exodus. I’ve written plenty of warnings about California’s own exodus.
Might this email have come across as stern? Yes, but it needed to be. The city of Seattle, like many other urban areas in the United States such as San Francisco and Portland, is facing a range of deep-seated issues that are driving away its residents. So is Los Angeles. As the middle class gives way to more haves and have-nots, luxury lofts flourish in Los Angeles.
Let’s start with the glaring issue: the rise in crime rates. According to the Seattle Times, one in three Seattleites is considering leaving the city due to escalating crime and high living costs. Crime, as a social phenomenon, is influenced by various factors, but a well-documented connection has been established between crime rates and social policies. In Seattle, the prevalence of chronic criminal homelessness is a telling indicator of the failures in addressing the complex interplay between poverty, mental health, and addiction. City authorities have been unable to effectively manage these individuals, leading to a surge in crime rates that has sparked fear and insecurity among residents.
Then there’s the rise in living costs, another reason driving Seattle’s residents away. Housing prices have skyrocketed, causing unprecedented stress and financial hardship. Not surprisingly, Seattle’s housing market has become increasingly inaccessible for individuals earning lower incomes. According to a recent poll, renters, particularly those earning less than $20,000 a year, were more likely to consider moving out due to the city’s soaring housing prices.
However, there’s more to the problem than rising housing costs and crime. The increasing numbers of people considering leaving Seattle reflect deep-rooted social and economic disparities. Lower-income households have been pushed to the brink of housing insecurity, and homeownership has become an elusive dream for many. High-income earners are becoming increasingly concerned about public safety, with their concerns centered more on the city’s failing policies to combat crime effectively.
Despite these alarming statistics, the narrative portrayed by some media outlets remains one-sided and detached from reality. The city’s narrative must reflect the entire truth if we are to find solutions that address the root causes of these issues. Unfortunately, some news outlets and blogs continue to gloss over the complexities of these issues, painting an incomplete picture that does little to spur collective action or affect meaningful change.
This brings us back to why I reached out to the Seattle blogger. Just like many of us, he plays a critical role in shaping public opinion and awareness. Yet, his recent post, while eloquent and well-written, didn’t do justice to the complex and multifaceted issues at hand. Instead of a comprehensive analysis, readers received a superficial overview of the problem, devoid of depth and context.
So, I urge every blogger, reporter, and citizen of Seattle and beyond: don’t just scratch the surface. Delve deep into the issue, question the status quo, and most importantly, tell the whole truth. Seattle’s current state is a cautionary tale for all urban cities, and if we don’t learn from it, cities like Los Angeles may be next.
L.A. is hanging in the precipice. While taking the Metro train to properties and restaurants in Downtown Los Anglees over several days this week, more than 20% of my favorite restaurants were permanently closed, vacant. Although the Metro train was full of people breaking the rules (playing loud music, drinking, smoking, and even filling up the train with smoke by burning pieces of paper), Metro safety personnel almost never stepped foot on board a train, except very briefly. We never saw any sign of much-needed police on a Metro train. While L.A. currently has fewer used needles per square foot that some area, our goal should be 100% clean and safe streets, where women, children and pets can walk to schools, parks, shops and public transportation. Homeless addicts who want a clean, safe life plead, “call in the military!” Under the current system, homeless are being neglected, abused and killed like never before. Successful cities do not leave babies, puppies, criminals or incapacitated adults to fend for themselves. One thing is certain of a solution: rich, poor and middle class must follow the same rules.
Some skilled Los Angeles residents even find jobs in Seattle, not far from its own hordes of homeless. Seattle big tech industry is doing super. With almost no rules, lots of free stuff, cheap drugs and no taxes to pay, homeless drug addicts are feeling no pain in a sense, while being treated more harshly than feral animals in some ways. The hard-working middle class is getting squeezed, squashed and robbed. Like Seattle, criminals and closed businesses are creeping into Los Angeles. Everyone must get the facts. We’ve seen particularly bad, dangerous cities in the 70s. While some “starving” artists love the gritty city inspiration, the average Downtowner will ultimately not cope with a dirty, dangerous city. Everyone must face the truth. Without sunlight, California has nothing. There are many clean, safe big cities in the world. Los Angeles must strive to be one of those.
My email to the Seattle blogger was a plea for responsible reporting from all cities. Portland today embraces the zombie apocalypse model; deadly Philadelphia is even worse — so bad that the police don’t even care any more. It was a call for him, and others, to lend their voices to the unheard and to hold a mirror to the city’s faults. In sharing the whole truth, we can begin to engage in a dialogue that leads to transformative solutions. Let us not be pawns in the game of misinformation, but rather, champions for the truth, for it is only through an honest lens and sunlight that we can start to address and rectify the issues plaguing our beloved cities, especially LA.
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