This Tim Rush story isn’t going away, so I thought I would post a little something about it. Last weekend the Los Angeles Times printed a story about a Santa Ana resident that has called the law over 300 times to complain about his neighbors.
The majority of the OC Blogs have already weighed in. [Claudio @ Orange Juice, Art @ Orange Juice, Jubal @ OC Blog]
This Times story is a story only because of the racial tension that exists in Orange Countyâ€â€fueled by the May 1st protests and the a few political campaigns that focused so heavily on immigration.
When I was a reporter covering city politics for a newspaper, I sat through countless humdrum city council meetings and I watched hundreds of people get up and say whatever they wanted to the council. This happened at every council meeting, no exceptions. Just another reason to love America.
The Times knows that a guy buying a house and then complaining 300+ times about the neighbors isn’t really newsworthy…but a WHITE guy buying a house in SANTA ANA (or sanTana as Gustavo Arellano calls it) and then complaining 300+ times about the neighbors is interesting.
But Rush isn’t an abnormality. I’ve seen it happening more and more in Central OC, mostly in Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Westminster: middle-class (white) families buy homes in the center of neighborhoods inhabited mostly by Hispanic or Vietnamese families. They come because this area is one of the last places you can afford to buy a home in Orange County without selling a child to the sex-trade.
Once the home is renovated, they open their eyes and realize that they are living in the center of a neighborhood where they are a minority. Then, the middle-class (usually white) families use city hall to mold the majority of the community.
Sadly, ethnic minorities in Orange County don’t take advantage of the political systemâ€â€either because of indifference or ignorance. So slowly, the Tim Rushes and the other City Council supa-stars will be complaining about vending trucks, weekend soccer games, crowded bus stops, multiple families in one home, and the Spanish music listened to by neighbors.
Once they eliminate that, they’ll work on getting people with really brown skin banished. Then they’ll move on to sort of brown skin.
Claudio at the Orange Juice Blog brought up this really interesting point:
Ironically, Tim Rush is a hard core Republican. I find it ironic that the “party of less intrusive government” will use the same government to intrude into the lives of their neighbors so they can live the life they want to live.
Finding out that Rush is involved in conservative politics, is the cherry on top of this silly news story, but this isn’t just happening with Santa Ana or Orange County Republicans. No, no, no. This is happening nationwide.
When it comes to alleviating poverty and social injustices, conservatives say that government should stay out of the people’s business. But as soon as two dudes want to marry, or a husband wants to take his wife off life support, then government is their best friend and they use it to shape outcomes.