Wildfires in Los Angeles are not just news headlines about rich people losing their homes. They symbolize the ongoing struggles of diverse communities. These disasters have occurred predictably each year, often overwhelming local residents and cause a chain reaction of consequences that is felt the community for years. Unfortunately, a harmful trend emerges in the wake of this devastation: black-and-white thinking that oversimplifies the experiences of those affected and dehumanizes them in the process. In this specific case, I have seen ZERO people concerned for the non- "rich and famous" who have been impacted- only distain and pure rage towards the "poor filthy rich 'victims'" of these fires which tells me: if you are making these kinds of comments...You just don't get it.
Black-and-White Thinking- You probably don't realize you're doing it or you're an asshole
Black-and-white thinking creates a narrow view of situations, leading to unfair stereotypes. This way of thinking usually stems from fear, ignorance, anger, insecurity, or a combo of all of the above. In the case of LA wildfires, I think many are responding to what they are seeing on the news and their preconceived notion of what it means to be an LA resident. This mindset often reduces complex individuals (i.e. human beings) to mere labels influenced by socioeconomic status or location. This way of thinking doesn't benefit the thinker or anyone else and it completely neglects the hundreds of thousands of people living in the same area that do not fall into the celebrity category.
What you may not understand about Socal
I'm writing this in response to the many social media posts I've seen yesterday and today that express a deeply bitter response to the "rich and famous" people affected by the fires. As someone who migrated to Southern California from the midwest I understand the misconceived perceptions that a lot of these people may have- especially if they've never been to L.A. before. Many movies and tv shows paint a picture of LA that will likely cause one to think that everyone is tan, rich, and that the beach, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and downtown are all located within 5 minutes of each other.
A. I don't think they understand how HUGE L.A. is surface area-wise. It is so spread out- if you are picturing it as a big city like NYC then that is the first big misconception. Just one of the fires (the Palisades fire) consumed a surface area larger than Manhattan and it is still only 8% contained.
B. Yes, there is obvioulsy a ton of money in many of the L.A. neighborhoods and a lot of the people affected fall into this category. Is it less tragic because they have money?
C. Housing and income is weird in SoCal. I have lived here 6 years and I still am baffled by it and this is my main point.
If you are in an area of the country, like the midwest, where a million dollar house would be a mansion it is hard to wrap your head around the fact that a million dollar home in SoCal could be quite small and that you definitely not a millionaire to purchase one.
Many of these homes (I'm not talking about the uber expensive ones- but the $500,000-2 million range maybe?) are not just casually purchased by wealthy individuals. They are passed down from generation to generation, they are inherited OR they are purchased by young couples who put their entire savings into a downpayment and start to build their future there. But these people, the ones I really want to talk about, are not rich. They are my friends, many live paycheck to paycheck. They do not have the resources to just rebuild a home. And in response to the nauseating amount of posts I read that said, "Don't these people have home insurance?" Have you ever dealt with an insurance company before?! They are not going to get enough money to rebuild 100%. They are not going to replace all their belongs. ALL THERE BELONGINGS. The companies are not going to do anything in a timely manner because they never do and when something of this magnitude happens there are not the personnel or resources to deal with it so the backlog is going to be insane. Not to mention all the aftermath...this will affects us ALL- not only on a human level but financially and environmentally in ways we probably don't understand yet.
Why are we so quick to judgment and anger? Why aren't we looking at this situation and saying, "These are humans." They are experiencing trauma and loss that we are fortunate enough not to fully understand.
The Role of the Media and Public Perception
Media representation of course can reinforce stereotypes. When news stories focus mainly on dramatic visuals without addressing individual experiences, it creates a distorted narrative. In this case the media is heavily focues on affluent areas because that is where the fire is. In this case the images are dramatic and relentless and the response from the media may be percieved as over the top because the scope of the devastation is incomprehensible. In this situation I'm not sure that the media (I'm specifically talking about CNN and MSNBC and our local LA channels) could have done much differently without being inaccurate. I have watched Fox news briefly and, not surpisingly, the first 3 statements I heard were false. Perhaps the consistent release of names of celebrities who have lost a home is unhelpful and definitely does not inclusive. At the same time, I can't think of another event where so many recognizable names have been impacted simultaneously- it helps paint a picture of the magnitude of these horrible fires.
Changing the Narrative
It is often easier to think in black and white I suppose. It takes less effort to challenge your knee-jerk response to something- especially if you're triggered by it. But, as mentioned before, this way of thinking doesn't benefit anyone and it usually leaves you misinformed and a little less empathetic than before. Our world does not need less empathy right now. So before clinging to a stance that is foudned in inaccurasies or assumptions and definitely before you publicly share those assumptions on social media- consider that maybe you need to do some more research. Ask questions. Read articles that are not from one news source. Stop and realize that the people you are seeing on the television screen are real people- rich or not- and try and put yourself in their position. If your response to my last thought is something to the effect of, "If I had all that money, I'd rebuild and be just fine" then I encourage you to think a little deeper.
Realize there is much more to it than money and that labeling someone as rich just because they live in a particular area is simply uneducated. Labeling someone as unworthy of recieving compassion because they live in a certain area is just wrong.
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