This past weekend’s “No Kings” protest was a display of free speech. That was their right. But part of what they were protesting was the use of federal and state assistance to clean up our streets. I can’t speak for Chicago or Boston because I don’t live there, but I can talk for Los Angeles, the city where I grew up and still care deeply about.
Last week, on October 12, 2025, I drove past MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, a place I knew well growing up. Months earlier, the Trump Administration sent in federal law enforcement officers to clear out the park, removing encampments, drug activity, and violence. At that time, Los Angeles City Leaders, the Mayor, and media figures condemned the action. They called it a farce, a clown show, and an all-out assault on the city’s most vulnerable.
These city leaders insisted the sweep was cruel. That families and children were being displaced. That compassion was under attack.
What I saw the other day told a different story.
As I sat waiting for the traffic light to change, a man fell to the ground. Within seconds, a crowd formed, not to help, but to rob him. They took his shoes, his shirt, and went through his pockets in just a few seconds. No one stepped in.
All around him, people slumped in addiction. Some were openly using drugs. Others stared into space. Pedestrians walked by, unfazed. It was just another day in MacArthur Park, the so-called symbol of progress and diversity that city leaders defended so fiercely.
I grew up in nearby Echo Park. My parents took us across from MacArthur Park to buy school supplies. Even then, it was rough.
This is not a place for families or children. It is a place that represents the collapse of compassion and accountability.
MacArthur Park, Los Angeles. (Photo: Hector Barajas)
The same officials who blasted the federal cleanup have gone silent as the park slides back into chaos. They demanded empathy but delivered neglect. They fight the federal government harder than they fight crime, addiction, and decay.
MacArthur Park isn’t a symbol of resilience. It is a warning of what happens when political blinders outweigh public safety.
As an Angeleno, it is painful to see my city in this condition.
