Back when Laurence Fishburne was just "Larry." Source.Years, even decades after the movies
Training Day and
Boyz N the Hood permanently stamped their imprint upon popular culture, Alfred Lomas-a former gang member and current intervention worker in the dangerous and famed South Los Angeles-has come up with the idea of
"gang tours" for tourists of LA.
These tours will be exploring all of the famously gang-ridden neighborhoods of and surrounding South LA, as well as discussing "important chapters in the development of the city's core, such as how racist housing restrictions shaped ethnic enclaves and the formation of gangs."
Though it seems to be exploiting historically downtrodden people for the purposes of being ogled by tourists as though they are driving through Six Flags' Safari; to me-it doesn't seem too different from when people rushed to visit "Ground Zero" shortly after 9/11 or when people take bus tours through the similarly gang-ridden New Orleans' 9th Ward.
American culture has been scooting further and further away from fantasies of glamour, and closer and closer to the exact opposite side of things: just as our favorite TV shows morphed from wealth porn where characters always had just enough money to be in the lap of luxury (
The OC, Gossip Girl, Friends, Sex and the City) into less glamorous shows about characters who-no matter how much money they have-are still invariably "ghetto" (
Jersey Shore,
The Sopranos), while our favorite movies shifted from psychological thrillers stemming from bourgie boredom like
American Psycho, and
American Beauty to straight up tales from the 'hood such as
The Departed,
City of God, Slumdog Millionaire, and
Precious.
That is just to say: our culture has been lusting for doses of reality to put our humanity in check for a while now.
I, personally, would much rather see this side of Los Angeles than take the classic LA tours of over-indulged movie sets and overpaid celebrities' homes.
The tour will cost $65/adult and the profits will be funneled back into the very community they explore, so there will definitely be some good coming out of this, other than just-as Lomas explains-"sensitizing people, connecting them to the reality of what's on the ground."
There are also some other awesome, still-in-development ideas that make me totally want to go on this tour even more such as selling shirts that will be painted on the spot by graffiti taggers and staged dance-offs between locals where the tourists pick a winner.
Would you want to go on a Los Angeles Gang Tour?
Comments (12)
I would. I find it interesting.
It would be pretty interesting if I ever had the money I would go.
this is total exploitation to a non-existent tourist "destination". Unless the "ghetto" and the people are being compensated for this, then i find it totally appalling. Its inviting non-lower income people to "slum it" for an hour just to feel something else (the movie Havoc comes to mind) The ghettos and "hoods" are always overlooked by government funding, therefore, gang violence is just a reaction to the socioeconomic times of the area. Moreover, its been perpetuated for so many decades, that the government basically doesn't care anymore.
This "tourist attraction" has to reinvest in the areas (urban revitalization) and promote awareness of the problems (instead of areas outside of the US).
@HachiR0ku@xanga - "The tour will cost $65/adult and the profits will be funneled back into the very community they explore, so there will definitely be some good coming out of this, other than just-as Lomas explains-'sensitizing people, connecting them to the reality of what's on the ground'."
it's less of a "destination" and more of an exploratory experience, and it was created by a former gang member who still lives/works in South LA, so it seems pretty cool to me =)
bad idea. as much as people might ACT like its a zoo sometimes; it shouldn't be treated as such. you dont expect any backlash? you should.
@erahslover@xanga - if you read the article you'd see that the tour seems less about ogling the unfortunate and more about discussing racist urbanization (focusing more on the set up of the city, not gawking at people while driving by on a bus)...who said anything about backlash? how is it any more exploitative than the tours of the similarly gang-ridden New Orleans' 9th Ward (which have gone on successfully for years now)? also, how is it any more exploitative than old school gangsta rap (which sold the mere idea of "ghetto" to the suburbs, made huge profits, and funneled none of it back into their old neighborhoods)?
SO... you're comparing listening to music(exploitative old school gangsta rap) to busing people through an area where people still live? That'd be like saying blues artists from the south making music to tell their story is on the SAME level as Pat Boone taking those SAME songs and recommissioning it for non-race music radio in the 40s-50s. Do you REALLY think "Fuck the Police" was tailor-maid for the consumption of kids in the suburbs? REALLY? Listen to ANY rapper from that era of hip-hop and they'll tell you just how IGGED they were when they had their first show and the 1st 50 rows of people were bright-eyed white kids. The Roots still talk about it to this DAY "Yeah, our fans don't really look like us".
Just because it worked in New Orleans doesn't mean it'll work if you bank off of that same idea in a different area. With the recent tours to the 9th ward I can see why that would be lucrative for the locals because its still in shambled from Katrina and Rita... but you putting THAT in the same category as "Hey, remember all of your favorite hood movies? Im gonna take you to where those movies were said to take place.. you're going to visit a REAL GHETTO today folks!" and wrap it up in this self righteous bow to try and make it look like there ISNT a higher element of exploitation than education. I mean, look at the title of your article.
The case you're trying to make here to back the idea is flawed. People visiting ground zero is a LOT different than people visiting a ghetto... if you can't see the differences maybe this isnt something you should be exited about. I seriously doubt anyone TRULY cares to get bused through "the ghetto" to learn "the history" and I seriously doubt I'm going to be the only one who thinks this is less of an educational venture and more of a bunch of well-to-do people on a bus(as you said) gawking at people while safely aboard a tour bus. I think the people responsible for the idea are very naive to think the people actually gotten to take tours will be in it for the reasons you're proposing. On the website it says "all buses are equipped with bulletproof tinted windows" if that isnt an enabler for gawking I don't know what is.
You're giving people way too much credit on one end of it(people who'll take tours besides yourself) and not enough respect on the other end(the people actually living there). If I'm coming off abrasive I apologize. That wasn't my intention. But this won't do well. This just sounds like some over glorified "slumming" shit that suburbanites do when they're bored "lets go drive to the ghetto so we can run back and tell our friends so they'll think we're hardcore" like that silly-ass movie "Havoc" that came out a couple of years ago.
I myself am not from there(though i have close friends/relatives who were born and raised there) so don't take my word for it. Do research online... my opinions aren't exclusive to just me. LOTS of locals are chiming in on their disapproval.
@erahslover@xanga - those tours are not put together because of the movies, that was just a connection i made to make it relatable to people like me (presumably who are on xanga). and i absolutely feel that gangsta rap was exploitative - at least with the tours the money will be FUNNELED BACK INTO THE COMMUNITIES THEY EXPLORE. it doesn't matter why gangsta rap exists, it doesn't matter how real it is: it made money off of visualization of the ghetto. period.
so what if locals disapprove? the same thing is happening with the show "jersey shore" saying its exploitative of NJ and Italian-American stereotypes. I in fact am from NJ, and I know that the show reps NJ perfectly.
as long as people have voices there will be people who disapprove. at least this is one way of making money to GIVE BACK TO THAT COMMUNITY. i see nothing wrong.
ps - the 9th ward tours are not for enjoyment or entertainment, they're for the purpose of making people see and donate money to that community. no one enjoys seeing devastation.
Music did it with ART, and the money made helped those involved who were signing/writing about stuff that effected them. Thats how it works. You cant just make a buck off of something that happened to people (STILL LIVING THERE)by driving a car though it and think its perfectly fine. Thats like saying if I DREW paintings of my own hood that im EXPLOITING it by making money off of it if people are interested in buying it. OR, if I die or go to jail my family setting up a museum of my art and paying people to look at it while im rotting in jail reaping NONE of the benefits from them EXPLOITING me. This tour isnt ART... its largely BULLSHIT.
Why are you so GUNG HO about this idea? Are you apart of its creature or its eventual manifestation come January? Because I have no bias whatsoever, but the ridiculous claims you're making, makes it seem you have a higher stake in this than someone who just randomly heard about it.
I just asked a few friends of mine who grew up in LA about this 5 mins ago and the consensus was that they were slightly offended and it sounds like a good way to get shot. People who do controversial money making crap like this; they always paint it up to look like they have the best intentions at heart. Whose to say the locals won't start up their OWN tours that charge half or a third of what is being charged here. Do you have any idea of the police brutality that will RE spark up if that happens. Because essentially people who will do this (and people WILL do this) will be taking money out of the state's pockets and the law will have NONE of that.
If you think after gas, protection, bus maintenance, gas, paying the tour-guides, and GAS that the money left over will be FUNNELED BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY will actually happen; You're FAR more naive than I initially thought.
@erahslover@xanga - rrrrrrright...i'm the one abnormally invested in this...because *i'm* the one writing essays in some random other person's blogs' comments section.
i don't care how many of your friends you asked. i think this is a good idea, and i'm sure there is absolutely no way random tourists would "get shot" (the amount ingnorant and offensive that sentence alone is, is mind-boggling). when i lived in new orleans for a month i didn't go with habitat for humanity or one of the suburban volunteer groups, i went and stayed on 1st Street and Dryades, in the heart of an extremely dangerous hood (google it). we heard gunshots EVERYDAY and were simply told not to go outside when we heard them, or to get inside as soon as we did. none of us were shot, in fact everyone in the community was grateful that someone just wanted to help.
it is far more ignorant of you to think tour groups in LA would get shot simply from entering the ghetto than it is for me to say gangsta rap is exploitative. i'm not undermining it's value as art (i studied art in college and i have always listened to gangsta rap so don't try to throw some BS elitism at me) but they did make money so therefore they exploited what happens in the ghetto. period.
i'm not apologizing because i think these tours are a good idea. they will give money back to the community.
i will never think that giving money to people who need money is wrong. and i will never delude myself into thinking i understand their plight (as you and your five friends choose to) - nobody does. but this tour will help, especially being hosted/set up by a former gang member who still works in south Los Angeles as an intervention worker (that means he's dedicated his life to giving back to the community)
if you've ever actually volunteered there, or actually tried to help those people (as opposed to just fronting hardcore- saying "TRUST ME TRUST ME this is exploitative this is disrespectful!!" in the SAME BREATH as saying they'll shoot anyone who drives by?), I may be more willing to accept anything you have to say. But you and your random five friends who say a tour group would just get shot?
Heh. sorry dude, i have no reason to buy your lengthy BS.
ps : No one ever got physically hurt listening to a rap song, that kind of threat would be quite prevalent on a tour through the hood. Back in July went on a tour through the slums of Belize and two days later on a tour though the slums of Honduras to reach final destinations of a famous beach and a local zoo..
There were armored police on the streets we went on and we were followed by law enforcement. The slum WASNT EVEN THE TOUR, it was enroute TO what the tour consisted of and how we got to where we ended up.
The only time ANY PART of that whole trip looked like the locals were getting money from it were the tour guides and the people lined up on the streets selling souvenirs(made in china and india) or vendors selling food. But the difference is we were in Central America not South Central/East LA... if you truly think the locals arent going to get dicked over in Cali like they are in Belize/Honduras you're sadly mistaken. Look whats happening in Honduras right now... and think.. do you REALLY think that fucking tour money MADE ANY FUCKING DIFFERENCE??
Its people like you who think its is PERFECTLY NORMAL that make living in places like this so fucked up. Fuck you and fuck your opinions. If you cant handle my LENGTHY BS, then stop fucking submitting your articles WHERE THE COMMUNITY OF XANGA CAN FUCKING COMMENT ON IT. What a silly bitch. Freedom of speech is FINE, just as long as you dont disgree with how i use mine. Typical. Your bleeding heart liberal "were trying to help" mentality is whats wrong with this country. You overlook the HURT you'd be implementing in the process. What a moron.
"*i'm* the one writing essays in some random other person's blogs' comments section." This was posted at TRIPCRAZED.COM dont front like you arent aware of its existence when you came here yourself to respond.
And no one was throwing ANY elitism around AT ALL.. but I guess you ddnt realize how big of a HYPOCRITE you are by even SAYING that "i went to college for it" came off. give a fucking break. The idea is whack and you're whack for sticking up for it like its ACTUALLY going to help a community you're showing signs of knowing NOTHING about.
next thing you know you'll be proposing they sell "I survived the ghettos in LA" t-shirts at the end of the tour. Any way to make a buck huh?... for the community.
Put the thought of money aside for a second and actually use your brain to think about how this will mentally effect the people living in these areas, if your one track mind can actually manage to skip a grove over to the realistic side of the debate.
but given that you "dont have time for lengthy bs" i doubt you'll even consider/read this far. dont bring something up if you're not fully ready to deal with opposition. "i just think its a good idea" bam. if you had left it at that instead of pleading A BULLSHIT NOT VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT case; your email box wouldn't be filled with my rants right now.
But then again, throwing money at problems is ALWAYS a good idea.