Does Race Really Account for Valley Pessimism?

VOICES-Bianca Barragan’s article in CityWatch, talks about a recent California Community Foundation/USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll showing that San Fernando Valley residents “are more pessimistic than South Bay and San Gabriel Valley residents about the direction of Los Angeles County and their neighborhood.” 

Reporting on a report from a story in the Daily News, Ms. Barragan chooses to highlight just a small part of what the poll seems to show. She emphasizes that one of the reasons SFV residents are the most dissatisfied is because they have the largest percentage of “white” respondents. 

Barragan cites a poll researcher, identified by the Daily News article as Ben Winston, who offered this conclusion: "White people were less optimistic, less trusting, less engaged; those were our general findings throughout the county." 

What she didn’t do was continue to quote more of his comments. “Part of it might be partisanship. Minority communities are often more Democratic and liberal and therefore more optimistic about the direction of the county, which is run principally by Democrats,” Winston said. “The Valley is a whiter region, a little more conservative than the county as a whole. That’s another reason why it might be a little bit less optimistic about the county’s direction.” 

I agree with one CW reader that this is a racist view. I’d like to know if data was used that adjusted for income level, area of residence in the Valley, years of residence in the Valley, educational level, and political involvement in civic affairs. 

The determining factor for being “pessimistic” may not be race but other reasons that combine to make whites aware of "bad things coming our way." Fear of the future is more likely to be related to a person’s degree of political involvement, wealth and education. Working class people who are striving to put their children through school and are aiming at a better life may not have the time to become politically involved. Thus, they may not realize the degree of corruption that exists in City affairs 

Moreover, one may find that a Black surgeon in Encino is as pessimistic as a White lawyer in Sherman Oaks, and both may be more pessimistic than an Anglo or Mexican auto mechanic in Van Nuys. Those who are more politically aware due to higher education, more wealth, and having the time to be involved realize that the city is dysfunctional. There’s a good reason why, about 10 to 15 years ago, the Valley tried to secede from the City of Los Angeles.

(Rick Abrams is an attorney and lives in Hollywood.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.

-cw

 

  

CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 83

Pub: Oct 13, 2015

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