Los(t) Angeles and the Democratic Convention 2000: Suffering the Consequences of Sins

La Voz de Aztlan
Los Angeles, California
August 16, 2000
Los(t) Angeles and the Democratic Convention 2000: Suffering the Consequences of Sins
Los(t) Angeles and the Democratic Convention 2000: Suffering the Consequences of Sins

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"The city lies in chaos; every home and shop is locked up tight to keep out looters. Mobs form in the streets, crying for wine; joy has reached its lowest ebb; gladness has been banished from the land. The city is left in ruins ; its gates are battered down. Throughout the land the story is the same - only a remnant is left."

Isaiah 24:10-13

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At the precise moment when President William Clinton finished the last significant speech of his presidency on the floor of the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, Police Chief Bernard Parks gave the orders to assault thousands of youths outside the convention who were listening to the popular musical band called "Rage Against the Machine." The scene was surreal. As the large TV screens outside the Staples Center showed the delegates cheering in exuberance, a horse mounted cavalry of armored LAPD officers where at the same time beating down its young with batons. The moment caught everything that is presently wrong with the hypocritical, corrupt and immoral political system in Los Angeles and throughout the nation.
Do we all suffer the consequences of our sins? Consider the following. The Los Angeles Police Department is presently under investigation for corruption unprecedented in the history of law enforcement. The LAPD crimes involving drugs, thefts, torture and the framing of innocent citizens have been committed with almost total impunity and in many cases with the support of some of the city's corrupt political elected officials. On May 28, 2000, some months after the shameful LAPD corruption scandal was brought to the attention of the public by the Los Angeles Times, the beloved granddaughter of Police Chief Bernard Parks was shot and killed under still mysterious circumstances not far from the convention center. Lori Gonzalez, a beautiful and well liked young woman, was shot as she exited a drive-through restaurant in the company of a male acquaintance. The murderer walked up to the passenger side of Lori's car and pulled the trigger. The official version of the LAPD is that she was not the intended target. The police says that the intended target was the passenger who was only an acquaintance of the chief's granddaughter. They explained that the passenger "ducked" as the shooter fired the fatal shots and instead hit Lori Gonzalez . There are numerous aspects to this case that do not make sense and that point to causes beyond our present understanding.
Should we only blame the LAPD and Police Chief Parks for the crimes we are presently witnessing against youths who have legitimate issues and grievances against the government? The unequivocal answer is no because Police Chief Parks is only following orders and taking actions in the interest of corrupt political forces that include the two principal political parties; political parties that are now controlled by the greedy corporate business establishment. Money and greed is now fueling this entire political system. Corrupt Democratic and Republican elected representatives no longer represent the common people but only those business interests that have the money to pay for political access and who simply pay politicians for their votes at the expense of the poor, the weak, the economically oppressed, people of color, and the workers who are ultimately the real people who bear the burden of the present system on their shoulders.
This Satanic alliance between greedy business interests and the corrupt political system now functions like an evil "dragon" preying on the people. A case in point is the Mayor Riordan business cabal that has plundered billions of dollars of the 8 billion per year Los Angeles Unified School District budget meant for the education of over 700,000 school children. Mayor Riordan has accomplished this through vast amounts of money that were utilized to buy the present corrupt school board junta. Another example is the immoral depths that the judicial system has fallen to. Justice is now bought in America. The judicial system has now become a money making machine for judges, lawyers and law enforcement as well as for the corporate prison system. More and more young people are being incarcerated on non-violent crimes involving laws that were generated by "bought" politicians on the basis of a hypocritical and failed "War on Drugs." Laws are now being passed by corrupt elected representatives not to establish a more desirable, just and peaceful society but in order to "force" higher profits for the business interests that buy their votes. These are some of the issues that the young people outside the Democratic Convention were attempting to raise before being beaten down by the LAPD.
The Democratic Party's selection of an orthodox Jew as their candidate for vice president was calculated to deceive and to counteract the very criticisms outlined in this article. Another Jew of ancient times by the name of Isaiah prophesied against materialism and greed and against putting these interests above the interests of the poor yet Senator Joseph Lieberman has taken large sums of money from Medical Insurance Companies and has given them his votes to the detriment of thousands of ailing, suffering and physically ill medical patients. Perhaps no one has informed Senator Lieberman of what Jesus said concerning this present system; that you can't serve both "Caesar and God." Another glaring hypocrisy of the Democratic Party was the way it treated Latina Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez on the scheduling of a political fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion during the convention. Essentially, Congresswomen Sanchez was "publically stoned" by Al Gore when he was guilty of the same sin. Al Gore has also accepted large donations from Hugh Hefner, the sex industry multi-millionaire.
What are we to do? What can we common people do to change this system that appears to become more oppressive by the day? How can we counteract the lies and treachery committed by the elected political representatives? Should we all read the Bible more as the Republican religious right says we should? Should we form a new political party? Will this new party fall to the same temptations afflicting both the Republican and Democratic Parties? In this election, should we as Latinos abandon the Democratic Party and vote in large numbers for the Green Party which offers much better alternatives? A principal theme of this article has been greed and the hypocrisy it generates in the political system. Greed and hypocrisy are sins and human frailties that humankind has struggled against since its creation. The framers of this government's constitution never addressed these issues. Capitalism as an economic system is based on maximizing profits and without check can lead to dire consequences for workers, the poor and on the the ecological environment. Karl Marx had this in mind when he devised his economic theories, yet we have no proof that his ideas ever eliminated greed, poverty and economic misery.
Perhaps it is time to review the concepts of Democracy, Capitalism and the United States Constitution under the light of modern 21st century thought? Are these concepts now outdated? Do we live under them simply out of habit? Are we in denial of the fact that these systems no longer work? Are these systems being perpetuated through the manipulation of the educational system and the mass media by a few that benefit from them? Take the concept of Democracy for example. Does anyone believe that it is the people in the United States that actually determine who the president will be? Can Capitalism ever be humane and caring of the poor? Is the the government as established by the U.S. Constitution operating as the framers intended? The answer to the last three questions is no and we need the courage to accept it.
The people outside the system and many inside are in anguish and are suffering the consequences of the rampaging political machine which at times appears to be rapidly accelerating towards its self destruction. Ask anyone stuck in traffic for hours on the way to work after having to pay exorbitant prices for gasoline. Does anyone think that this is not due to the greedy corporate policies of the Oil Industry which repeatedly lobby against mass transportation systems and the creation of non-fossil energy sources? Ask the parents of the Columbine High School murdered victims, or of the of two 13 year boys recently murdered in La Crescenta, California by a 14 year old, or the Mexican-American community in Pico Rivera, California where four members of a family were brutally stabbed by the 16 year old boyfriend of an adopted daughter who left the door open at night in order for him to commit the murders. Does anyone think that the constant images of violence, murder and, mayhem on television and Hollywood films have absolutely nothing to do with the incidents? Who are benefiting financially from the mass media and why has it been so difficult to establish social responsibility in this powerful consensus and values creating medium. Is this connected in any way to events like the recent convention evening party where Hollywood entertainer Barbara Streisand raised 10 million dollars for President Clinton?
In conclusion, it can be said that humankind does suffer the consequences of its sins! Nations, institutions as well as individuals can not deny that we pay the price for our transgressions against what is good as inherently defined by our natural consciences. As individuals, we can make a big difference in this society when we act according to this fact and demand that our government elected representatives and its employed agents also act accordingly. Perhaps a firm commitment by all of us to this principle can do more for humanity and the quality of life than any type of political or economic system we can device.

************ Prior Cuacauhtzin Columns:

LOS(T) ANGELES: The Shameful LAPD and LAUSD Corruption Scandals

California Proposition 21 Will Incarcerate More Latino Children

The Hypocrisy of U.S. Immigration Policy

A DEAFENING SILENCE: Latino Elected Leaders and the LAPD Corruption Scandal

COCAINE: Los Angeles Police and the City Hall Connection

LAPD CORRUPTION: Who Killed Officer Cuesta?

When Law Enforcement Becomes Criminal

Vigilantism at the US/Mexico Border May Spread Northward