Slab City: A haven for the homeless gentrifies | On the Streets Ep. 9

Поделиться
HTML-код
  • Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
  • Lisa Biagiotti visits Slab City to see what the future of homelessness looks like. Off the grid, 190 miles southeast of Los Angeles, she tours this desert outpost with Phil Long, a young traveler passing through in a purple bus. She talks to 'Stickman,' who has settled on a concrete slab of this former military training base after 30 years on the road. At a community board meeting, she learns that Jack 'Two Horses' Martin has lost the resident election, and may be the first person ever evicted from Slab City because of gentrification.
    ON THE STREETS: www.latimes.com...
    SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS AND NEWS
    www.youtube.com...
    LET'S CONNECT:
    Google+ ► plus.google.co...
    Facebook ► / latimes
    Twitter ► / latimes
    L.A. Times ► www.latimes.com/

Комментарии • 751

  • @guycalgary7800
    @guycalgary7800 3 года назад +15

    Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose !

  • @doubled1425
    @doubled1425 2 года назад +5

    Well done by the reporter with heart and respect for the residents of Slabcity.

  • @davidlaskiewicz4963
    @davidlaskiewicz4963 4 года назад +15

    I don’t recall stating anything adverse to living off grid. However , the Slabs is very hot in the summer. Other downfalls Of Slab Living is Water ; Insects ; FLIES . I’ve camped for many years. My first thought when going to Slabs was David you don’t know how good you got it. I was staying at Coyote Howls East in Arizona in 2007. A annual fee of 450.00 a year was required for a lot . Water was provided with a real faucet. DUMP SITES provided.4 shower houses : free computers to use with internet ; community bldg in park with coffee. Community breakfast for 1.25 . Community Bldg jam sessions 3 times a week. Exercise classes , weekly movies . Then I rode to Slabs on my Harley in 2007 . My first thought was where are their dump sites . Where is their shower house ? Who does garbage pick up ? In Coyote Howls East garbage dumpsters are provided and they haul off the garbage. If I was going to live off the grid I would think of BLM Land in Arizona where dump sites are provided. And dumpsters are provided for garbage. Just Saying

    • @lorriecrow7872
      @lorriecrow7872 2 года назад +3

      Slabs has been hosting snowbirds going on 70 yrs.. ppl USED to pack out trash.. it used to be so clean.. Ive seen vintage footage from the 70s 80s it was AlOT like Coyote Howls

    • @kwpp7
      @kwpp7 Год назад +2

      The trash is HORRENDOUS

    • @mikebrown9781
      @mikebrown9781 Год назад +2

      @@lorriecrow7872 Back in the late 70s to late 80s when I use to partially winter it was great. We had as you mentioned pack out our refuse, emptied our black water at an approved dumping station. On Monday a clean up crew would be organized to pick up the trash of weekenders. There was a public health nurse every two weeks and a bookmobile weekly. Nobody had to worry about being robbed or burned out if they left their domicile unlike todays breed of Slabber. Oh, and there was no begging. Many snowbirds were not affluent but they paid their way all through life. More than I can say about todays squatters.

    • @CDTyphol
      @CDTyphol Год назад

      @@mikebrown9781 Cool

    • @LindaMerchant-bq2hp
      @LindaMerchant-bq2hp Год назад

      No snakes spiders??

  • @alanbrown7533
    @alanbrown7533 2 года назад +6

    Looks like a great location for a barbershop

  • @rcrhinehart66
    @rcrhinehart66 6 лет назад +116

    Let them be. Los Angeles city jail is the largest mental institution in the world and inmates cost taxpayers $60,000+ a year to incarcerate. All while providing zero mental health functions. Slab City probably saves the state a few dozen millions of dollars a year. Either way, let them be. They do not infringe upon the rights of anyone.

    • @no_peace
      @no_peace 6 лет назад +3

      Thank you!!

    • @Schlumbucketreturns
      @Schlumbucketreturns 5 лет назад +8

      Absolutely. Live and let live. Places like this are a very reasonable (and essentially free) way of managing homelessness in an aggressively capitalistic society like ours.

    • @noneyajdub
      @noneyajdub 5 лет назад +6

      They rape and murder without consequence. The child molesters out there hardly get arrested.

    • @Bearintheweeds
      @Bearintheweeds 5 лет назад +4

      They're hurting themselves and the environment. If they were in society some of them could actually get services. Just because the state sucks does not mean we should allow this are you aware that there's Ben child molesters and rapists and murderers caught out there

    • @kathymack3791
      @kathymack3791 5 лет назад +12

      @@Bearintheweeds- Sadly, there are rapists and child molesters everywhere. I would hope that Slab City residents would police thst kind of behavior and deal with it.

  • @IamtheKGB
    @IamtheKGB 8 лет назад +126

    I think a lot of people get overwhelmed with regular western life. most people have chronic stress from work, bills and responsibilities. I think some people get fed up or just dont see the point of it and move here. it seems really peaceful and relaxed. and like one guy said, its a community and the loneliness factor of homelessness isnt there as much. not to mention that communities help each other out. it looks like a very special place and Id hate to see it go away, people should start more places like it.

    • @mattjwatson5089
      @mattjwatson5089 5 лет назад +7

      Its full of people running from the law.

    • @gbmarie836
      @gbmarie836 5 лет назад +9

      I have watched a lot of videos about Slab City and I dont think it is safe at all, especially for women unless she would have a tough man with her. I have read stories about rapes, Rigs being burned while you are away, stealing from people in the middle of the night, packs of dogs attacking other dogs, and I even read they found a dead person there. Of course, it would be nice if people could police themselves but I dont think it is happening at Slab City, just brutes being bully's to others and that is not a way to live. A lot of nomads go there but they go in groups. Not a good place at all.

    • @TheMSLADY73
      @TheMSLADY73 5 лет назад +16

      @@gbmarie836 funny because everything you just described happens in every city in every state in the U.S. So I would say that its not less safe than any other city in America!

    • @gbmarie836
      @gbmarie836 5 лет назад +7

      Are you kidding me? The crime ratio per person in cities cannot compare to the crime rate in the very, very, tinyl population of Slab City. @@TheMSLADY73

    • @tiggernordberg7015
      @tiggernordberg7015 5 лет назад +16

      How many of you have actually been to Slab City? I have but I don't stay because it like moving. They seem to police themselves just fine when I was there.

  • @jamesmakar2544
    @jamesmakar2544 5 лет назад +134

    I bet she is gone before it gets dark.

    • @a.citizen7668
      @a.citizen7668 5 лет назад +12

      I'm sure her camera guy is carrying.

    • @jonmacdonald5345
      @jonmacdonald5345 5 лет назад +4

      A. Citizen Not in California people are too pussified out there when it comes to guns!

    • @a.citizen7668
      @a.citizen7668 5 лет назад +3

      @@jonmacdonald5345 LOL

    • @lookingglass9175
      @lookingglass9175 5 лет назад +5

      If she was smart she will be

    • @kileNoe
      @kileNoe 5 лет назад +5

      Yeah she seemed so unrelatable the only reason she came was for views and I bet the whole time she can't even comprehend why people would choose to live free

  • @JJF10101957
    @JJF10101957 8 лет назад +23

    I find it refreshing that Lisa went into her trip with as few preconceived ideas as she could.

  • @johntilson2535
    @johntilson2535 5 лет назад +15

    I notice comments like, "There's rapists and murderers there". Having spent time in prison myself, there is a basic code of conduct that inmates must follow and is enforced by other inmates, independent of corrections officers. And it's very similar to the one at Slab City. It's based on respect, there is no court trial to convict and a suitable force of fellow residents crushes any violators no matter how violent, powerful, or insane they may appear to be. In other words, in an organized (controlled) 'free' society, a person can hurt people and maybe get away with it. Not so in prison. Not so in Slab City. I Imagine any rapists, murderers or child molesters wind up either being run out of Slab City or simply...disappearing!

    • @seannewhouse1943
      @seannewhouse1943 4 года назад +1

      Oh please there's plenty of gotten away with a lot down there there's no way in hell you would get me down there

  • @panxerox01
    @panxerox01 6 лет назад +140

    Everybody is homeless, they just don't know it yet. One bad illness, one bad choice with a law, one bad boss, one bad corporate decision and its over and your out thinking what the hell just happened, "Happiness is but the penciling of a shadow"

    • @charleshoang6481
      @charleshoang6481 6 лет назад +16

      panxerox01 even if people own their house right away they still can be homeless if they owe few hundred in property tax for few years without paying for it!

    • @shaleemichelle
      @shaleemichelle 5 лет назад +27

      Precisely. As you've essentially already stated, most of us are literally one medical bill or single misfortune away from bankruptcy and homelessness. Yet we always find a bone to pick with the impoverished, blaming them for literally everything, accusing them of laziness or simply not working hard enough.
      As well as thinking more highly of ourselves (generally speaking), and being led to believe that if we truly work hard enough, we'll be successful and fortunate. People fail to realize - more often than not - that the only bone to pick is with the government and the corporations. Corporate welfare and money in politics is something that's often overlook by the unaware public, because the government likes to keep us looking the other way, by pitting us against one another and giving us someone else to blame (the homeless, the poor, the ethnic communities, the left/right, etc).
      This is precisely why I plan on going about things via the van life movement, keeping myself as mobile and off the grid as possible, until I can find a decent area with lackadaisical building codes and regulations. Then building affordable and alternative style home, most likely a cob or strawbale style. It's not feasible for everyone, but I'll be damned if I continue living the next 50 or so years of my life in the way the government wants. Fuuuck that.

    • @markbrown5117
      @markbrown5117 5 лет назад +3

      Sir spot on point. Thank you.

    • @EurekaLiveTV
      @EurekaLiveTV 5 лет назад +1

      i know a guy named Fred who isn't homeless.

    • @TheWhimsicalFamily
      @TheWhimsicalFamily 5 лет назад +3

      My family and I live in a camper

  • @sjames9005
    @sjames9005 5 лет назад +4

    Soap and water are scarce too.

  • @oldman9843
    @oldman9843 5 лет назад +12

    Jack Two Horses seems like a cool brother

    • @MOODMENDR
      @MOODMENDR 3 месяца назад

      hes hilarious. I trimmed weed with this guy and never laughed so hard.

  • @tammyjackson5927
    @tammyjackson5927 4 года назад +5

    As a single woman I don’t think I would feel safe at slab city! I live in a Fifthwheel tiny home!

  • @sgtshadow5200
    @sgtshadow5200 6 лет назад +20

    Do these people not understand once the land is sold to private owners it falls under state law which means all kinds of laws.

    • @outbackeddie
      @outbackeddie 5 лет назад +3

      They understand that very well. That's why they don't like it.

    • @vendetta8084
      @vendetta8084 5 лет назад

      Who is gonna buy that shit

    • @capt.jackoffgrid
      @capt.jackoffgrid 3 года назад +3

      It can't be sold to a private party, only a 501c non profit

    • @growhouseanarchist4795
      @growhouseanarchist4795 3 года назад +1

      @@capt.jackoffgrid Hey Jack can I get an update on the Slab City counsel shenanigans.. I pray that no one inside of Slab City was evicted from their spots.. Did you get to keep your Slab pad my dude?

  • @DanLaw559
    @DanLaw559 8 лет назад +20

    I don't ever want to see slab city lose it's freedom. Slab city is my dream home. I hope the freedom doesn't die, but spreads like wildfire.

    • @DanLaw559
      @DanLaw559 7 лет назад +6

      Don't get outside much do you?

    • @sentradynamics8889
      @sentradynamics8889 6 лет назад +1

      It will spread. It has grown a lot in recent years. Why haven't you gone yet?

    • @kwpp7
      @kwpp7 Год назад +1

      Aim high, lol

    • @slewfoot6608
      @slewfoot6608 Год назад

      the freedom of slab city under threat

    • @LindaMerchant-bq2hp
      @LindaMerchant-bq2hp Месяц назад

      Slab city beats skidrow

  • @dinahsoar6982
    @dinahsoar6982 5 лет назад +34

    Nothing like romanticizing Slab city...it's bleak, acre after acre of dirt and scrub brush for as far as the eye can see...full of people who have one thing in common: they are nomads, for one reason or another. It's their life, and the life they've chosen or not...but there's nothing desirable about it to a realist.

    • @jamesjerome6942
      @jamesjerome6942 5 лет назад +2

      Preach brother!!!

    • @dinahsoar6982
      @dinahsoar6982 5 лет назад +2

      @ThinkAboutWhatYoureSaying 1. I didn't say or imply the reporter romanticized Slab city. . Why would YOU say I did when it's not true?
      2.. I didn't say I don't like scrub brush or nomads. Why would YOU say I said that? I said it's bleak as far as the eye can see: because it is bleak: (lacking vegetation and exposed to the elements, which is one definition of bleak: look it up)
      3.I didn't speak for every realist on the planet: I spoke for myself. Why would YOU imply that I was speaking for every realist on the planet?
      4.Yes, a realist would make the comment I did, b/c I AM a realist and my comment expresses my opinion. I don't need evidence or logic or rationale to speak my opinon.
      And I don't need your permission nor your approval to make a comment and give MY opinion. Nor do I need to prove my opinion. My opinions are based on MY personal observations of which you know nothing. And opinons are judgments, unlike Truth which can be supported by evidence and facts.
      It is however a FACT that people do romanticize Slab City: (make something seem better or more appealing than it really is, which is one defintion of romanticize: look it up). I've heard them do it with my own ears multiple times and not just in this video.
      I think YOU are the one who needs to think about whay they are saying. You might want to think twice b/4 you reply to a comment, b/c it helps if you actually understand what is said and the given context. You took my whole comment out of context, spun your own narrative and that is a pre-text. You are like the fake news, misrepresent what someone says so you can bash them.

    • @punaticlavalover854
      @punaticlavalover854 4 года назад

      @Doctorshockstudios I think it looks very well cared for.
      They have porta luas & conpost toilets.
      Trump Supporter I presume???

    • @dinahsoar6982
      @dinahsoar6982 3 года назад

      ​@@punaticlavalover854 My comment is an opinion. It doesn't square with yours so it has to be b/c of Trump. RIDICULOUS...that's what you are.

    • @hippiebits2071
      @hippiebits2071 3 года назад +1

      Without romanticizing this place at all it still seems many of these people are far better off living in this little cobbled together community rather than they would be on the streets of major US cities. At the very least they can build themselves reasonably appropriate shelter. This seems a lot better than some of the heartbreaking stuff one routinely sees in inner cities.

  • @kenjohnson9498
    @kenjohnson9498 5 лет назад +6

    LA Times Lisa - things have changed in Slab City. you should definitely do an update feature. you will be surprised by how things are now, and it needs to be shown without any sugar coating.

  • @feriwarlock9610
    @feriwarlock9610 8 лет назад +69

    What I find striking is that many of these people are quite articulate and intelligent. Some end up in slab city due to economic circumstances but I think part of it is choice as well.

    • @cBodhi
      @cBodhi 8 лет назад +16

      +feriwarlock i go there 100% by choice. it is a great experience and a taste of true freedom. i am grateful for the times i spent there.

    • @MISJPEREZ
      @MISJPEREZ 7 лет назад +5

      feriwarlock most artists don't know the value of money.

    • @soynut6389
      @soynut6389 6 лет назад

      feriwarlock n

    • @MrDickhead47
      @MrDickhead47 6 лет назад +11

      feriwarlock I work in IT and can barely afford a 1br in California

    • @btbam93
      @btbam93 6 лет назад +14

      feriwarlock The first guy in the video playing music is my cousin. He’s there completely by choice.

  • @David-kj1vm
    @David-kj1vm 4 года назад +8

    "Nobody owns it"??? Are they really that naive???

    • @BorinkenProject
      @BorinkenProject 4 года назад +2

      State of California owns it they just dont want the responsibility of the major clean up.

  • @rodciferri9626
    @rodciferri9626 6 лет назад +8

    That "council" in Slab City is an abomination.

  • @xstensl8823
    @xstensl8823 2 года назад +3

    American tend to judge people by what they own and equate worth in $$. you see this everywhere in American media on how so in so is worth this, or gets paid this. America is now a soulless society whose values now have taken a paradigm shift toward material wealth. it can be quite intimidating.

  • @joymcarthur5429
    @joymcarthur5429 4 года назад +2

    Why is it that so many people in places like this have that stuck together, never knew a comb, nasty kind of hair?

  • @johnmorris9711
    @johnmorris9711 4 года назад +9

    10 years ago I spent the winter on a cot under a tree at low and beal rd. a tarp to keep the rain off...good winter

  • @mollywalts2776
    @mollywalts2776 5 лет назад +8

    Just found this and super disappointed in the B.S. that has happened.
    Slab City: No longer the "free-ist place".

  • @OlymPigs2010
    @OlymPigs2010 5 лет назад +4

    ..seeing that Slab City was a former US Military Installation..has anyone ever tested the land for Radiation or for any buried Toxic Chemicals ?

    • @ThatSkeptic
      @ThatSkeptic 4 года назад +2

      I doubt that they have. I bet if they can build on it, they would have and drove everyone out.

    • @tommytomtomt
      @tommytomtomt 2 года назад +2

      just looking at them..., they must have brain damage from that radon already

  • @JR-of5hp
    @JR-of5hp 6 лет назад +11

    Did someone say Shithole.....

  • @emmyarellano3704
    @emmyarellano3704 6 лет назад +7

    Are ppl safe here? If there's no one "running" this place it would seem to me there'd be a lot of crime going on? I've heard of women being beaten and raped in Slab City, is that true?

    • @heyyall9378
      @heyyall9378 5 лет назад +3

      Women are beaten and raped in wealthy suburbs by their husbands. Or do you not keep up with the news? If you're a woman and want to be safe, buy a gun and never get married. Husbands and ex husbands are the most dangerous people in a woman's life.

    • @AStanton1966
      @AStanton1966 3 года назад +2

      With no active police department you would need a pit bull and as pet.

  • @A3Kr0n
    @A3Kr0n 5 лет назад +3

    People keep saying their free in Slab City but they're only as free as the government lets them to be. It could all come tumbling down in an instant.

  • @phild.1122
    @phild.1122 6 лет назад +8

    Still can't get by without money, 5 miles to niland for water at the community center, cheapest place to get food is walmart on the other side of Brawley, need a vehicle and gas, also for the wind storms that can last up to 3 days, impossible to deal with if you don't have solid structure.

    • @cheripiez67
      @cheripiez67 5 лет назад +1

      you can no longer get water at the community center,the chamber got a high ass bill,so the water source was cut off

  • @sallyclay1974
    @sallyclay1974 5 лет назад +4

    It looks like a toxic waste dump there.!

  • @al4385
    @al4385 4 года назад +5

    "Lawless & Free" but has it's own version of a homeowners association. lol?

  • @paulwormwood6414
    @paulwormwood6414 3 года назад +1

    Be prepared to defend yourself. If you can do that, you will be ok.

  • @lookingglass9175
    @lookingglass9175 5 лет назад +27

    I’m going to be evicted off the land I am squatting on. Brilliant

    • @ianodenmah9372
      @ianodenmah9372 4 года назад +1

      Hater

    • @seannewhouse1943
      @seannewhouse1943 4 года назад

      Hater!? That's exactly what I got on live chat good to hear it. What ive noticed that no matter how hostile things get their there's always some backing them up with a vengeance. Remember now, she's a nice gal so don't punch her

    • @capt.jackoffgrid
      @capt.jackoffgrid 3 года назад

      🤣 you liked that eh?🇺🇸✌️😎☀️🌵

  • @wandaclark5020
    @wandaclark5020 Год назад +2

    This place is making these people happy they are in their own community of course different bad situations may arise but look at all the crime going on in the inner cities all the homeless should just come here actually. This is not as bad as Kensington pa a bus 🚍 should come and take some from Kensington pa willing to come out here it's a better life for homelessness than Kensington pa. Sending prayers to the 💔 brokenhearted .

  • @CarolynsRVLife
    @CarolynsRVLife 5 лет назад +10

    I did a few videos on slab city when I was there. I thought it was pretty cool.

    • @sallydermont7284
      @sallydermont7284 4 года назад +3

      That's because you're an idiot. There's nothing "cool" about that squatting desert slum.

    • @borod5571
      @borod5571 3 года назад

      I seen your Videos. ‘’Cool Videos’’

    • @myjourneytotheslabs8899
      @myjourneytotheslabs8899 3 года назад

      @@sallydermont7284 I remember with carolyne was there she was spitting on everybody telling us that she wished we were dead I cried all the time while she was there

    • @CesarClouds
      @CesarClouds 3 года назад

      @@sallydermont7284 Omg Sally.

  • @MountainFisher
    @MountainFisher 6 лет назад +2

    That "Sticks" guy at 1:30 is filthy dirty. He has to go get drinking water so he ought to at least wash his hands. Must be nice to live downwind from dog shit.

  • @fozzybear8878
    @fozzybear8878 4 года назад +2

    IS there any follow up on this? I would like to see how that fella got on, and did he have to move, etc.

  • @mobiltec
    @mobiltec 5 лет назад +3

    HA! No matter how free you think you are, when people settle in the same place they end up with leaders, rules and everything that comes with society. It won't be long before there are taxes.

  • @jessdragonify
    @jessdragonify 8 лет назад +12

    there's probably thousands like slab city,you just got to find em

    • @Bearintheweeds
      @Bearintheweeds 5 лет назад +1

      Pascal and locus in Hamilton Ohio. Not nearly as big but hidden right in the middle of town.

    • @bluemountaindrivepae
      @bluemountaindrivepae 5 лет назад +3

      Homeless camps, not a place you want to be.

  • @ladyofthewoods2448
    @ladyofthewoods2448 5 лет назад +4

    I have a home it’s a pain like ball and chain. Nobody comes I am alone with the care taking of the place, I’m 58 single female I’m close to selling become a nomad .

    • @lindalai9092
      @lindalai9092 5 лет назад +2

      Then you will have a whole different set of problems.

    • @LP-MeAndMyShadow
      @LP-MeAndMyShadow 5 лет назад

      Where ever you go, there you are.

    • @Urz75z
      @Urz75z 5 лет назад

      Go for it,plan it well and enjoy the voyage

  • @ps8540
    @ps8540 5 лет назад +4

    Now these people need to find an nice forgotten ghost town, if they have to leave.

  • @SuperKidsCostumes
    @SuperKidsCostumes 8 лет назад +9

    Where's the rest of this report? Where's the point of view of the council members? and all others referenced in this video. That's biased reporting no matter who I may agree with I like to hear both sides so my opinion is better informed.

    • @KavaKavana
      @KavaKavana 4 года назад

      I’m not sure there is “both sides”. Maybe just infinite sides

  • @germanicusfink2350
    @germanicusfink2350 5 лет назад +8

    I heard the air smells pretty bad out their.
    Apparently people get used to it eventually.

  • @tonyclifton1517
    @tonyclifton1517 6 лет назад +5

    I'm not convinced there is really such a thing as some idealistic unlimited freedom,no matter what scenario you are in you still have to have shelter, clean clothing, food, clean water, the right nutrition, and deal with many of the conditions you have in the city or suburbs,plus some additional problems.

    • @no_peace
      @no_peace 6 лет назад +4

      The freedom I want is from other people, and it doesn't really exist. No matter what, if you don't conform in one way or another, people can punish you for it.

    • @no_peace
      @no_peace 6 лет назад +3

      It doesn't matter how far away you get.

  • @davidhamlin705
    @davidhamlin705 5 лет назад +1

    This is an old Marine Corps Base which is now located 39 Palms

  • @trashtvstar4635
    @trashtvstar4635 5 лет назад +14

    I get the impression that when they say "You can do whatever you want" they mean drugs.

    • @lastnamefirst4035
      @lastnamefirst4035 4 года назад

      Or have sex w a dog perhaps. Poor dogs

    • @guidadiehl9176
      @guidadiehl9176 4 года назад

      Lots of meth in Slab City.

    • @douglaconti7113
      @douglaconti7113 4 года назад

      @@lastnamefirst4035 did you ask them

    • @lastnamefirst4035
      @lastnamefirst4035 4 года назад +1

      @@douglaconti7113 ask if i could have sex w their dogs? No. None of the dogs were my type. They were all a bunch a bitches

    • @capt.jackoffgrid
      @capt.jackoffgrid 3 года назад

      🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😎✌️☀️🌵🇺🇸🤔

  • @TheMajinCollins
    @TheMajinCollins 4 года назад +1

    Technically it's a shelter if you think about it homeless Americans just decided to try and build their own community mad props

  • @seannewhouse1943
    @seannewhouse1943 4 года назад +3

    NO hostility,.. at all!?!? Lofl!! If they're not hating on you they're bashing you as a hater for hating on they're hate I can walk & chew gum, mon!!! I heard them saying so many words making distinctions between them and other people I know what I heard!!!!! I've read about places elsewhere around the country that are like this and in Canada and stuff thatre FAR MORE pleasant I've looked up a lot about Slab City to know that I would not want to locate there or would recommend to anybody else I mean even if nothing else it's the type that you get coming through there regularly I don't care for the all-around disposition because it does exist and all these overtones of anger and hostility, defensiveness all the time what is that all about I've read about it enough from others. I sure got hostility over nothing the other day from them and then they sit there and talk about all this friendly also they're saying that there was no hostility oh, good one project THAT on to me!!! they don't like people poking at them well you sure had no trouble doing that with me what am I not correct in saying that that's EXACTLY what it was!!!!. Peace for what!?!? stupid assholes!? I'm not saying it's everybody there that's like that I'm not saying that at all but sure is a lot of them I can tell you that right now, I sez

  • @trevillyan5515
    @trevillyan5515 5 лет назад +5

    Someone is always in charge

  • @JonaChristoe
    @JonaChristoe 8 лет назад +53

    houseless not homeless

  • @bethroesch2156
    @bethroesch2156 5 лет назад +5

    So much for freedom in the Slabs

  • @missredumbrella
    @missredumbrella 5 лет назад +1

    The Welsh dude at the end ✌ class!

  • @MrSTOUT73
    @MrSTOUT73 5 лет назад +8

    She broke the code and figured out why it's called Slab City. LOL

  • @leroygarner3791
    @leroygarner3791 2 года назад

    Hey Phil wish you all the best from South Carolina Homeboy!!!!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯💯

  • @desertweasel6965
    @desertweasel6965 2 года назад +2

    If those dogs could talk you would have a lot of ATF and FBI swarming that place.

  • @autumn7436
    @autumn7436 2 года назад +1

    I like that; no homeless in Slab City. It's so true; here I don't feel homeless.

  • @artm6723
    @artm6723 5 лет назад +16

    They are slowly becoming what they left behind. Damn shame.

  • @thedarkwave44
    @thedarkwave44 6 лет назад +2

    4:11 is this a joke? People Running for President now😂😂🤣🤣

  • @laurazehnpfennig2484
    @laurazehnpfennig2484 3 года назад +2

    I think this is awesome.

  • @charleshoang6481
    @charleshoang6481 6 лет назад +10

    If I have money I will build a reservoir and hundred of bathroom so all the homeless in California could come here to live with a decency and dignity of a human being !

    • @no_peace
      @no_peace 6 лет назад

      That is a great sentiment. I love your comment.
      One thing many people can do is make a composting toilet (it's relatively cheap) and a compost pile. I thought you had to have a liquid sewage system but then I started watching videos about van dwelling and off-gridding. There's so much stuff we don't know because it was kept from us.

    • @rt66vintage16
      @rt66vintage16 5 лет назад +1

      Sure Jan.

  • @garygerard4290
    @garygerard4290 4 года назад +1

    I tried to live there but a bunch of them ran me off, 'they didn't want my kind around

  • @MultiJebusChrist
    @MultiJebusChrist 8 лет назад +11

    4:08- Cheba Hut sticker spotted :D
    Also, I've been to Slab City once and have been known to bum around the mesa at Taos (I should have a mailbox over at Manby at this point...), and agree that Slab City is the more free place, not that Taos mesa is exactly regulated lol. That said, I prefer Taos because of the climate and those damn good New Mexico vibes! Plus, the food is killer!

    • @roosterj2599
      @roosterj2599 2 года назад

      I love in New Mexico. Thank you for your positivity and nice comments about our home. Yes. The Vibes here are amazing and so I'd the food. I dont live in the wilds of NM. I got a mortgage, utility Bill's, etc. I do have mucho respect for the people who chose to live outside of the box.

  • @MichaelHalpern-uc5zo
    @MichaelHalpern-uc5zo 5 месяцев назад

    Im traveling in my truck, but i like this place better. Im moving there!

  • @Bearintheweeds
    @Bearintheweeds 5 лет назад +3

    Ya no one tells you to move except the guy that burns down your shack. No one ever told my house to move

  • @deanchristopher1697
    @deanchristopher1697 6 лет назад +1

    Cool vid, thanx.

  • @hippiehillape
    @hippiehillape 8 лет назад +39

    i'd like to have a beer with that last guy

    • @busterbiloxi3833
      @busterbiloxi3833 5 лет назад +5

      He's a Welshman and will drink you under the table.

    • @paulbunyun-xi9by
      @paulbunyun-xi9by 4 года назад +1

      Zach Davis I would like to have a beer with the reporter!!!

    • @BazzerObama
      @BazzerObama 4 года назад

      He’s a Welshman, he’ll want proper beer, real ale............none of that weak piss that’s brewed in the USA

  • @dystoniaify
    @dystoniaify 7 лет назад +2

    I visited during the winter and everything was gone except for a few tweekers, weird. I am too disabled now to live off grid by myself, or I would do it in a heartbeat.

    • @dystoniaify
      @dystoniaify 7 лет назад

      In the winter of 2013...

    • @Garrysullivanjones
      @Garrysullivanjones 6 лет назад

      Sure sure

    • @no_peace
      @no_peace 6 лет назад +2

      Democrats are centrist right-wingers. You are thinking of the wrong people

  • @drakeclifton5625
    @drakeclifton5625 5 лет назад +2

    I really liked this

  • @TerroristNeutralizer
    @TerroristNeutralizer 5 лет назад +1

    Shit this is still better than downtown LA.

  • @johng4250
    @johng4250 5 лет назад +3

    This was 2016.....I wonder if anyone bought the 36 acres?

    • @omarzaragoza2797
      @omarzaragoza2797 5 лет назад

      I did

    • @johng4250
      @johng4250 5 лет назад

      Omar Zaragoza let’s see 36 acres at or near Slab City. That would run about $72, man I hope you had enough left for lunch.

    • @omarzaragoza2797
      @omarzaragoza2797 5 лет назад

      @@johng4250 i got a 30 year mortgage on it

  • @fukcoffdood2515
    @fukcoffdood2515 5 лет назад +4

    once the entity gets hold of it.
    that's it! its over.

  • @gigico511
    @gigico511 5 лет назад

    Great Work Girl ...

  • @RededicateYrLife
    @RededicateYrLife 4 года назад

    You bring relief to my craziness

  • @hectortato6145
    @hectortato6145 5 лет назад +2

    If your idea of freedom and happiness is to live in a place that resembles a third world country, you could have moved to Somalia or Haiti. Nothing is said by the people being interviewed about the crime and lack of personal security. There is no difference between living in slab city and in a tent on a sidewalk in Los Angeles. You have to crap where you eat.

    • @ildikoivanyi6873
      @ildikoivanyi6873 5 лет назад

      But at least you aren't harrassed by the state in any way. Priceless!

    • @hippiebits2071
      @hippiebits2071 3 года назад

      These people also aren't infringing on tax payers property rights or causing sanitation issues in parks and inner cities. They are occupying what would otherwise be a no man's land and in return government leaves them alone to a large extent. Seems like a win/win for everyone and I really respect these folks for their ambitions even tho they don't follow societal norms.

  • @jasondemmons5908
    @jasondemmons5908 6 лет назад +6

    They have a small place like this in Tennessee it's called hippie hill

    • @JenDoe1
      @JenDoe1 6 лет назад

      Jason Demmons really? I’m not too far away....tell me more! :)

    • @jasondemmons5908
      @jasondemmons5908 6 лет назад +1

      @@JenDoe1 they have Facebook page cool people

    • @tawkinhedz
      @tawkinhedz 6 лет назад

      No

  • @lensmith1870
    @lensmith1870 5 лет назад +3

    I bet it's a freak Show at night up there

  • @tuberose4601
    @tuberose4601 6 лет назад +8

    why do people keep getting murdered there then

    • @N1xZer0
      @N1xZer0 5 лет назад +1

      Because some people deserve to be killed. In this doc, "2 Horses" is getting displaced by some board/committee, and maybe he's a peaceful man. But the draw of Slab City, for me anyway, is that if people mess with you, you can incapacitate them.

    • @riverman721
      @riverman721 5 лет назад

      @@N1xZer0 ya fuck them dumb fucks

  • @rickjamez7004
    @rickjamez7004 5 лет назад +3

    MORE POWER TO YALL

  • @oaasun3451
    @oaasun3451 5 лет назад +2

    its not homeless, its houseless.

  • @thomasjensen6243
    @thomasjensen6243 4 года назад +1

    If you put a bunch of garbage in a circle then that is considered your land.....huh???

  • @leannie2513
    @leannie2513 7 лет назад +14

    I often wonder is this where the idea for trailer park boys came from

  • @davidkirkpatrick712
    @davidkirkpatrick712 3 года назад +3

    Wow pot is so great ....look how successful all these pot heads are & great citizens

  • @hrrr.
    @hrrr. 8 лет назад +24

    This is what I think the near future will be in ALL of America. Eventually. I am ok with that.

    • @heatherjo989
      @heatherjo989 6 лет назад +2

      Marcus Aurelius
      MAGA!

    • @ryta1203
      @ryta1203 6 лет назад +1

      Better gun up then.

    • @stevenbenson5241
      @stevenbenson5241 6 лет назад

      I never understood American's need to have authority figures, like Trump, to save them. It never works out.

    • @lmlowe9100
      @lmlowe9100 6 лет назад +3

      @@elgatofelix8917 MAGA = Maggots Are Governing America...looks like they voted for and still support the #FAKEpresident...too.

    • @shantolion1576
      @shantolion1576 5 лет назад +1

      @@elgatofelix8917 antisemitic asshole

  • @LindaMerchant-bq2hp
    @LindaMerchant-bq2hp 11 месяцев назад

    Being evicted from slab city how much worse could it get??

  • @TheOscarzepeda
    @TheOscarzepeda 8 лет назад +5

    Great video !!!!! come back again !!!! I'm from Chicago planning on moving to Slab City !!! to create my huge masterpieces !!!!! Land of Oz ...... I'll definitely keep you posted...... Namaste !!! Oz

  • @kimberlyhoffman242
    @kimberlyhoffman242 5 лет назад +3

    if you dont own it get off it!

  • @BrianD146
    @BrianD146 4 года назад +3

    Thanks,
    The sea was wonderful with fresh water in the beginning and was a boomtown in the 50s.
    The farm runoff brought pesticides which is heavier than water and a sunk to the bottom
    Yes, if the lake dries out they'll be dust storms containing that chemical or what's left of it.
    The runoff also carried salt from the surrounding ground which has nowhere to go but concentrate in that water.
    So originally the water was fresh and wonderful and was a boomtown in the 50s. But as it got saltier the boomtown started going away.
    The fish die-offs are from algae blooms in summer which strip oxygen out of the water and that's why the fish die off.
    There are people there today that fish and eat the fish. I wouldn't do it.
    I've always proposed a canal system from the gulf of Mexico that helps keep the Salton Sea at the appropriate level.
    The Mexicans should have no problem with allowing this because of the migratory birds that both countries depend on.
    It should be a money maker also. The water would be flowing downhill about 140 feet which could generate electricity.
    It could also possibly be a money maker in that the gulf of Mexico would provide better water that might increase the quality of the Salton Sea, making it a tourist attraction again where people want to play and live.

  • @ricodelavega4511
    @ricodelavega4511 6 лет назад +14

    that reporter is quite beautiful

  • @marcelobarefoot3549
    @marcelobarefoot3549 6 лет назад +4

    Thats the way i want to live

  • @kentnauman9863
    @kentnauman9863 5 лет назад +3

    What a total waste of humanity

  • @tommytomtomt
    @tommytomtomt 2 года назад +1

    Put a price tag on a toilet full of feces and a CA resident will pay top dollar...

  • @mac2k2020
    @mac2k2020 3 года назад +1

    Lisa Biagiotti is adorable

  • @David_a_journeyman_curmudgeon
    @David_a_journeyman_curmudgeon 6 лет назад +3

    Civilization and order will eventually germinate no matter how lawless an area seems.

  • @brandonrock09
    @brandonrock09 6 лет назад +1

    where do food and supplies come from???

    • @whackamolechamp
      @whackamolechamp 6 лет назад +1

      There is a town called Niland nearby where you can get food, water alcohol. You actually pass through there on the way to the Slabs.

    • @Salongsberusad
      @Salongsberusad 5 лет назад

      Tax payers

  • @AnnMitt
    @AnnMitt 5 лет назад +1

    Any water access?

    • @seannewhouse1943
      @seannewhouse1943 4 года назад

      They got a Channel of water somewhere but they said that it might have chemical runoff from the military I would avoid it and they talk about not taking the water anyway I don't know what that's all about I'd be all for hauling in large barrels of water but all you got to do is get a water from Air machine and you're set

  • @peezyworld420
    @peezyworld420 4 года назад +4

    Was there two weeks ago at West Satan (Jack's camp), he hasn't moved yet and says he has squatters rights.

    • @valalongtooth1
      @valalongtooth1 4 года назад

      Do you think he is being railroaded by Jesus freaks because of something as petty as the camp name?

  • @129diggsdrive
    @129diggsdrive 7 лет назад +7

    I don't really know much about this place; I've seen a few videos on it. I'm sure they don't give the entire experience, either positive or negative. I have so many questions though! If it's truly a "free place and no one owns it," how is it that a group was trying to buy a part of it? To whom are they paying the money and how do they have any authority to kick out an individual who's been in that spot for four years? Where do these people throw their trash and old food? I can only imagine. Even basics like women who are menstruating...where does their trash go? Is all the trash burned in a certain place? Yet doesn't California prohibit that sort of thing? Air pollution or some such squawking? Certain areas of this "city" must be overrun with the rank scents of discarded food, dirty diapers, personal trash such as used toilet paper, dirty dogs, unwashed people.....I wonder if there's a problem with flies? Are people responsible to pick up after their dogs or do they just leave piles of dog poo everywhere? Do people really have control of all the dogs? Do abandoned dogs form wild packs? Do people there bathe/shower regularly? Where do they throw out dirty/used water? There's no running water so how often are dishes washed and bodies and clothes washed? Several of the people in the video had very dirty hands. What happens if there's a fire in someone's trailer and it spreads quickly in that dry environment of shacks and scraps? There's no fire station. How quickly can an ambulance arrive to take away a seriously hurt person? How are the more vulnerable inhabitants protected from predatory inhabitants such as child abusers, women abusers, thieves, gang activity, or drunkards having fights? What is one's recourse if someone steals a majority of your belongings? There are no authorities to protect anyone or to impose "justice" on a criminal. How do these people receive mail? There's no such thing as an earthly utopia because every community has a common entity: humans. And humans are flawed and selfish. Yes, fun-loving and helpful and generous and kind....but not one of us is perfect. So, you get a bunch of people together in a place with "no rules" and a place which bills itself as "the last free place in America" and you get trouble. If people think they're free to do whatever they want (despite some sort of unspoken code of treating everyone "nicely"), then they are absoLUTEly going to freely do whatever they want. This place seems perilous: unsafe for lone women and children, unhygienic, a possible haven for druggies, and scorchingly hot. Yet, if people want to live this way then I think they should. It's their choice. I suppose one has to count the cost of what sacrifices would have to be made in order to live here. I'm not wiling to compromise my physical safety, to compromise on hygiene/cleanliness, or compromise on the stability of keeping my belongings. Perhaps in this environment you just have to "take your chances" in exchange for living as you want. To each his own.

    • @robertmatthews2009
      @robertmatthews2009 6 лет назад +5

      129diggsdrive the whole place is a garbage dump. There's no garbage collection it just piles up. As for single women and children, why would there be single children unaccompanied in Slab City? Single women have to take their chances. Many of the residents are addicted to various drugs, methamphetamine in particular. It's not a safe place. If somebody doesn't like you, they'll burn your place down. It's not an unusual occurrence. As for flies, they're not such a problem because of the heat. In the summertime it can get to be a hundred and ten degrees to 120 degrees. In the summertime, the population of Slab City is about one-tenth it is in the winter time. Some of the people who come to the Slab City live in very nice Arby's, a huge number of them are just bums who cannot get along in society because of drug problems or mental problems. Some of them just like the lifestyle, not having to work and take responsibility for themselves or anyone else. I would not recommend Slap City as a place to meet your future husband

    • @kinniwright1642
      @kinniwright1642 5 лет назад

      You make your rules as you go.

    • @kinniwright1642
      @kinniwright1642 5 лет назад +1

      @@robertmatthews2009 All courtesy of your tax dollars.

    • @robertmatthews2009
      @robertmatthews2009 5 лет назад +3

      @@kinniwright1642 Tax dollars? What tax dollars are going to Slab City other than social security for some of the older residents?

    • @africacarey
      @africacarey 2 года назад +1

      Questions we all want answered

  • @JohnDoe-ev9kt
    @JohnDoe-ev9kt 6 лет назад +22

    "WAIT !! - You mean it's called Slab City because all these slabs are here ?!?!"
    Oy Vey.

  • @bluestate69
    @bluestate69 6 лет назад +1

    an update?? and WHY was he forced to leave? and it doesn't sound like they had the authority to boot him out?? lots of unanswered questions in this video. not that informative.

    • @no_peace
      @no_peace 6 лет назад +1

      He said they were going to buy the land he's on. I don't understand how that works (buy from California? From whom?) but that's what I understood from it. I kind of checked out for awhile though haha

    • @bluestate69
      @bluestate69 6 лет назад

      thanks for that info! it just seemed like they were in discussions about buying the land. and even if they voted to buy the land, that process hasn't even started. so i am confused by his reaction.

    • @kinniwright1642
      @kinniwright1642 5 лет назад

      This part in not slab city and the Jesus people are trying to purchase the land.

  • @northidahonightmoves2479
    @northidahonightmoves2479 5 лет назад +2

    And they still walk their dogs on a leash.