LOS ANGELES, CA — “They have deemed people like this a lower dredge of society, even when a majority of people are a paycheck away from the same thing…this is a really painful moment. You’re watching my things being ripped from me. Watching my friends go through the struggle — that’s what bothers me a lot.” [Jerome Noll, 32, Echo Park camp resident, L.A. Times]
On March 25-26, hundreds of residents and supporters stood up to a mass of riot-clad police, attempting to defend the Los Angeles Echo Park tent community from destruction. Dozens were violently arrested during the resistance, including a L.A. Times reporter. Despite this strong resistance (see story below) and wide support, the large orderly tent community, there for at least a year and at its peak with 200 tents, was razed. Many people were scattered to the streets, their possessions lost, and those given temporary shelter will soon join them there. With the pandemic still raging, and the homeless count in L.A. county 66,000, and in the city 41,000, the suffering is great. And despite the governor’s directive early on to house people, the powers that be instead turn to sheer organized brutality and displacement. This is an outrage. That it was met with such strong opposition from residents and supporters is a harbinger.
