Skid Row, Explained
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- Опубликовано: 30 мар 2021
- The story of how Skid Row came to be
We publish an extra video every month over at / johnnyharris
Thank you to the LA Poverty Department for their help in reporting this story. www.lapovertydept.org/
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Johnny Harris is a filmmaker and journalist. He currently is based in Washington, DC, reporting on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe. Johnny's visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways. He holds a BA in international relations from Brigham Young University and an MA in international peace and conflict resolution from American University.
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How cites in America usually solve social poblems:
1. Identify the problem
2. Find the most dehumanising solution
3. Forget about the whole thing
5. Profit
6. Put a line around it and blame the people dumped there
7. Capitalism
@@benfelps this is what happens to Black people across most of america. typically the next step is gentrification if people refuse to leave the area of their own.
if that fails within a "reasonable" time frame , well Breeona Taylor case illustrates how to get rid of black people when all houses around have been bought.
9. Trivago
_It is haunted._
*Instead by the hauntings of systemic poverty.*
yes indeed, one title i was considering for this was "The Cecil Hotel is Haunted (by bad urban policy)" I like your's better!
@@memelyshorts643 your mom is a male?
@@johnnyharris Its not really systemic poverty: its blatant neglect and refusal to address the insanely prevalent volcano of mental illness that continues to flow its lava out onto the streets of our country. Instead of spending 6 million per day just to operate an Aircraft carrier strike group, by which we have 19 of them.. At 128 billion, The new 12-ship Columbia-class submarine is the Navy’s highest-priority program, ranking third in cost behind the $406 billion F-35 jet program and the $153 billion missile defense program that includes Army, Navy and Missile Defense Agency programs. The military has 71 submarines in active service.. We have nearly 5k military bases on US soil, over 600 bases over seas. Think of all the money it takes just to operate this stuff, not to mention the Trillions of dollars it took to build it all. We have more military spending than the next 10 countries below us, COMBINED.. its pure insanity. Even if we cut our military spending in half, we would still dominate that spending chart. Johnny, please do an in depth video on military overspending-- its so important. I don't think people understand: Congress and the Trump administration agreed to spend $746 billion on wars and the military for the fiscal year running through September 2020. That is nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars. More than $2 billion every day. So did clinton, bush even more, so did obama... and Biden started moving troops in syria in his first couple of days, it would not surprise me if he gets us into yet another war; he's been in office for 2 months and he's already spent 2 trillion dollars-- Why are we allowing this overspending to continue.. it baffles me.
Its the forgieners obsessed with America for me
@@calholli All we need to do is raise taxes and thats billions more to invest into our society
I went to a food kitchen to volunteer one day at Skid Row. It was one of the most abusive experiences of my life. All the homeless try to do a one up power move on you, even though you are serving them. Somebody explained that these people have such a sense of powerlessness and feel looked down by everybody, that they try to assert dominance whenever they get a chance, even if it is in a dysfunctional situation as abusing the person giving you food.
I’m sorry you had that experience :( I volunteered at a soup kitchen in Skid Row and all the homeless people were really nice. Don’t want to invalidate your experience at all, just wanted to provide a different experience. This was almost 10 years ago so idk if anything has changed since then.
Let’s get something straight, even the homeless are entitled narcissists in Southern California. They feel entitled to get anything that they want, and they are obnoxious and dangerous.
@@lucho_1980 chill out
@@lucho_1980 Do you live in LA?
@@lucho_1980 When you have a choice to be kind vs mean, why do you choose to be mean?
The term "skid row" came from Skidders Row. Skidders were loggers, specifically the loggers tasked with skidding (getting) the logs out of the woods in The Pacific Northwest. They were on the lowest rung on the ladder in the logging camps. When they got paid, they would head to the most decrepit and cheapest section of the nearby towns, the sections of towns with the cheapest bars, hotels and brothels. Soon these areas of towns took on the identity of the patrons that frequented there, skidders row. From there the term "skid row" (now shortened) was applied to the seedy, poor, decrepit sections of all towns/cities. Unfortunately, terms like these almost always become a label to create separation between the haves and the have-nots, the educated and the uneducated, the poor and everyone who is not as poor.
Some skidders were also called grease monkeys (to make the ground easier to skid on).
In the show Malcolm in the middle, was the older brother a skidder logger? I remember him going away and always being in a decrepit bar while living in Alaska
Well those loggers weren't really poor, but I would say, as they visited the brothels, that they were exploiting the poor.
thank you for the factual clarification. This guy doing this documentary is so disingenous in nature is unreal. He represent nick name term as factual labels. I don't know where this guy gets his facts. But its obvious this guy has never been to los angeles (and if he has, he sleep walked his visit) Maybe his other videos are spot on - but NOT this one
Yes we have a lot of geographic influences in America. On every scale. If you want to go to a better place to live you have to behave yourself better and work hard and have enough money to go. If I go to Chicago the police are not very nice to me. If I go to Lincoln Nebraska the police are a lot nicer. The murder rate in Lincoln is very low. Everybody who comes to Lincoln gets treated better than the police in Chicago treat people.
This is actually way more terrifying than any story about dark powers or elevator games.
Congrats you got the entire point of the video
True, knowing the local government policy for Skid Row. That is way more horrific and simply worse than ghost stories.
Because human are the dark energy/power they described in that documentary
@@peterhsueh5214 False
the whole point of this video is saying America has homelessness and drug abuse problems, like every other country in the whole world lmfao, this youtuber always demonizes the US as if its the worst place on earth or something, reality is its one of the best places to live in worldwide, and if you can't make it in the US you probably can't make it anywhere else.
Im a Social worker for the homeless in Skid Row / SPA 4. Its a hard fight to assist this community. Thank you for shedding some light on the subject its really something people ignore.
I'm sure the people you're helping are very grateful, you're doing god's work, thank you.
I’m totally shocked to know about these policies. What kind of a human would see another, less privileged and needy person as an unwanted element. These administrators are not only heartless but have a blatant disregard for humanity.
Hi hi hi my little droogy
One solution would be to develop a massive housing project there similar to cyberpunk blocks where it's basically it's own city. Then you put in gyms, central market, schools, medical clinics, etc. There are some elements of Cyberpunk that I think would be beneficial and mega-commie blocks is one of them, they could even have a drug clinic and courtyard to make sure everyone's mental health is all right.
EDIT: changed restaurants and cafeteria to central market because there’s no reason to separate the two as you could have a market that sells both prepared and unprepared food. This is something the US has seemingly forgotten.
@@KRYMauL ok, but how are you gonna pay for that?
As a LA resident, I just want to say thank you for approaching this topic with the empathy and sensitivity it deserves while also criticizing the city and it’s history. I feel like I see a lot of bad faith documentaries that demonize the city and the residents of skid row and I was a little hesitant to see this video. But seeing how you approached it, made me appreciate your approach and I love the awareness and truth you’ve brought to this topic. Thank you so much!
The Scumbags that live in Skid Row are not decent people, these are drug addicts and gangs run the streets by selling drugs to mental cases with drug addictions...
The other name of this hell hole is "The BOX" #Pollyanna #ignorant
the problem are not the residents in itself. THe problem are the politicans that do nothing against homelesness
You honestly need to go to Skid Row to really gain a proper perspective of it..
No thanks
I think I'll pass, I'd rather stay in MN and freeze to death than go there.
@@thedevils5599 😂😭 fr 🗣️
No thanks bro 😭😂😂
Sorry but no, no, no
You cannot even predict what Jonny is gonna upload that is how good he is
Ummmm isnt that everyone on RUclips barr Phil DeFranco?
Your mommmmmm
You spelled his name wrong
Or when....
He's a pleasure to watch
As always, it's not a Johnny Harris video without a map.
there wont be a johnny harris video without a map because thats his forte hes done motion graphics
My dad was homeless on the streets of San Diego for the last 15 years of his life (since I was about 17). We had been out of contact for years until when I was 29/30 he finally reached out and we made peace. I met up with him to help him take care of some things, and I stayed a night on the street with him to see what his life was like. It was so heartbreaking, people treat you like literal garbage, nobody cares about anyone but themselves. I’m not making an excuse for my dad, but he was bi-polar, had major depression issues, and was a closeted homosexual. He broke his heel when he fell off a roof in his 30s(he was a roofer and later on a roofing supply salesman) and his leg had to be in a cast up to his hip; my mom said he was never the same after that.. He had diabetes and hepatitis, and was blind in one eye. He had been an alcoholic my entire life, and started using meth around the time I was 14. He was a college graduate, a successful man with a nice house and a big car for my sister and I, but he had too many demons and was too ashamed to admit his problems and seek help. To make a long story short, he jumped off a bridge in February 2019, just months after we had started a relationship again. It was his only way out from all the pain he endured for decades, both physically and emotionally. I had to pick up the pieces of his shattered life in the aftermath and it all was just… Traumatizing.
One of the things that really struck a nerve in myself and the rest of the homeless community, was the fact that there was **ONE** public bathroom in all of downtown San Diego, and yet, the city was spending millions to build a new stadium that it did not f*cking need.
I work in DTLA, and on the few days that I drive in, I generally drive in through Skid Row. Early in the morning, as the city is waking up, I often see the folks who live there in tents taking care of their home. Sweeping the sidewalk, cleaning up the trash. It's a large population of people in a small space, and they're not a monolith. It's easy to write them off as drug addicts and criminals who want to live like that, but the issue is SO much more complex. These are real people. It's interesting to know the history.
Thats just sad. 😥
Elisa Lam's parents have a restaurant in my neighbourhood and I remember seeing her there on a routine basis throughout her childhood. Her loss was a devastating blow to this community but the morbid fascination with the unusual manner of her death has, in a way, dehumanized her memory. Thank you so much for this dignified and sober approach to the setting of her death . In doing this you've taken the wind out of the sails of those prurient snake oil salespeople.
Thats creepy
@@Chuked ?!$::! how
I know it’s been a while now but I’m sorry for your loss. she seemed like a very kind woman and I would’ve loved to meet her (i’m in canada too)
@@summerhunny that he knew how elisa lam looked her entire life, its very creepy seeing them die like that after so many years
@@Chuked more sad than creepy
This guy makes videos on topics you can never expect. It's so random and yet crafted so well. #BORDERs
Indeed
Borders
@@luisivanmedina6906 Vox can Fire him, but he ain't stopping the BORDER's Show.
Agreed
actually this channel kinda reminds me of nerdwriter due its wide range of topics and the way he explores them
So this is really spot on. My best friend works for a homeless shelter in the heart of skid row, and I have volunteer a few times there. The policies you talk about are exactly what she and her colleagues talk about. It’s so shitty that LA let it fester cause homeless has exploded throughout the city. It’s now only a “problem” bc it’s spreading into West LA where all the rich people, and of course their solution is more cops and sweeps, which famously don’t get at the systemic issues of homeless. I am in the west LA area and we have a local homeless couple on our corner. Once the wife mentioned that while all the “soup kitchen” are in skid row and they could get food, it would be a death sentence to her. Lots of homeless people do not want to be locked into kid row bc they know it’s dangerous and hard to get out. She and her husband actually have jobs as well so they can afford food, but housing is too expensive, which it is. The median rent for in our area 1B/1B is $2633. My bf and I got lucky and found a rent controlled apartment.
Thank you for explaining the history of Skid Row. I had no idea about the deliberate boundaries ostracizing these people and deliberately keeping them from receiving the services of the rest of the city.
It’s absolutely despicable and inhumane.
No it's completely necessary, and 8if you dont think so then let a few of these animals in your own home. It's easy to sit behind a computer and say it is bad. It is not bad, containment is necessary, especially with virus and drug addicts.
@@ReliableGuy-sb8fb Containment is necessary, but it also fosters a culture that just encourages other drug addicts/homeless to migrate there too. Also, don't you think it would be better to actually solve the problem? Most developed countries in Europe don't have so many homeless per capita, so it's not inevitable
@@jennifermarie3158 solving the problem would involved revoking the 19th amendment, women voting has caused this problem, and it needs to stop. As long as you’re all voting blue there will be issues like this. But you Democrat politicians don’t even acknowledge there is a problem
the downtown LA bar and brunch scene is inching further and further into the “containment zone”...curious to see what happens in the next 5-10 years
It’s comforting to know that I have the same taste in content as Damon and his 1 wrinkle
HEY GUYS COME TO the Salton Sea California’s Largest Lake ....3
I love seeing you comment to videos I also watch
Class warfare.
gentrification.
like california and san francisco.
skid row will finally die when they open up a starbucks there and turn cecil hotel into a hippie 1980s style we work loft office ala casey neistat.
My take-away from that entire series is how these fake internet "detectives" wrongfully accused and web-bullied a man to near suicide and weren't held accountable.
However, it did work out right in the case of "don't F**k with cats"
@@omarhasanothman Well, after they actually did bully another person to suicide first.
@@JamesMoreauDrew true, the bad exceeds the good in this case. I believe these internet deticives are the same people advocating flat earth. 🤣
@@omarhasanothmanOn Don't F*ck with Cats, the question was openly raised as to whether the attention received from these internet sleuths had goaded Magnotta into committing murder. Maybe without that it would have remained a cat-only thing and a man might still be alive - although I admit I wanted to believe the opposite at the end of the documentary.
@@KSJAFN 100% why I was pissed the internet crazies were portrayed as “ heroes “
Much appreciated. I ended up on SR for six months a few years back. It's an experience that changed me. It affirmed a great deal of compassion, for both others and myself. I think your point regarding the dehumanizing approach is spot on. It's only through that lens(justification) that Society is able to somehow excuse itself, from affording others, rights and privileges, they freely enjoy.
It happened to me in SF but they call it The Tenderloin and since then I've changed a lot. I save money now, ever since then. I never realized how much that experience changed me.
How did u get out and have a better life?
Skid row is originally a term coined in Seattle Washington. In the 1850's 60's, it was a big logging town full of hills that went down to the Puget Sound. The loggers built long shoots (skids or slides) to transport logs on top of the hills and skid them into the water. There were rows of skids. Many homeless or undesirables lived or camped in these areas. The term became synonymous with homelessness.
The term "skid row" came from Skidders Row.
Skidders were loggers, specifically the loggers
tasked with skidding (getting) the logs out of the
woods in The Pacific Northwest. They were on the
lowest rung on the ladder in the logging camps.
When they got paid, they would head to the most
decrepit and cheapest section of the nearby towns,
the sections of towns with the cheapest bars,
hotels and brothels. Soon these areas of towns took
on the identity of the patrons that frequented there,
skidders row. From there the term "skid row" (now
shortened) was applied to the seedy, poor, decrepit
sections of all towns/cities. Unfortunately, terms like
these almost always become a label to create
separation between the haves and the have-nots,
the educated and the uneducated, the poor and
everyone who is not as poor.
@@banchoshawty, nicely done. 👌
The Cecil Hotel Ghost: *doesn't exist*
Johnny: I'm still 'bout to end this man's whole career
@@memelyshorts643 your mom’s a he?
@@memelyshorts643 davinci resolve is a great FREE editing software
@@memelyshorts643 use kdenlive its free opensource premiere alternative.
you can watch videos of "my linux experiment" he makes all his videos in kdenlive to get a demo how powerful that software is
mind blown everytime he uploads a new video. Every topic is so unique, random and he just know how to tell a story.
i mean he was a vox joirnalist for a reason
Actually he is clueless. Taking a fictional documentary and make it a story
His material has me hooked. So original!
@Eagle Johnny Harris is very biased & he tries to be woke. Why is his anti-colonization viewpoints always anti-american? He never talks about european colonization which is by far the worst!
@@nochatter7134 He has spoken about colonization from European countries. Perhaps you didn't notice or don't recall, but he has.
It’s really great that you’re shedding some light on this situation. Living in LA, the segregation issue can be pretty apparent, but it definitely seems like people who don’t live there or have never visited are completely unaware as to how deep this sort of thing goes in the city.
I was so disappointed by the Netflix doc. Thank you for this eye opening account on the surrounding area. My heart breaks for the people that society wants to forget. Something needs to be done to help those people.
In my opinion the documentary actually made it quite clear that the "bad energy" stems from the Cecil Hotel being a cheap place in a neighborhood with a troubled past combined with a national mental health crisis.
Agreed. I was worried they’d take the spoopy haunted route but they did steer the conversation towards facts.
I agree
yep, his title is really clickbaity and misleading.
yes，it did explain that
Came here to say this. Fan of this channel but seemed like the whole series wasn’t watched. Not saying the series is great or anything but they drop the “dark energy” thing throughout all the episodes
Johnny is staying at home like us, yet his contents still go everywhere.
You may find a lot of people are not staying home, even further, people are travelling and living like pre Covid ☺️
@@markn4504 u
@@mtizirawaylernyika7653 well yea I am one of those people but just saying there is a large part of the States and other countries that are all living 99% like before - a mask in a shop is as far as limits on my life have been 🤷🏼♂️
Yeah as soon as June rolled around I was traveling like normal.
@@ltakethefatlplease.3380 same. I’ve been on many holidays abroad during the pandemic. No point sitting around waiting for it to be “over” because I have 1 life to live and throwing years away is just pointless.
Chapo Trap House mentioned that "rise in crime" feelings from the past year could have been a euphemism for feelings of anxiety and dread at the site of homelessness.
Really, all it takes is one bad day. That is all it takes, just one bad day. Landlord raised your rent? Family kicked you out? Lost your job? Medical emergency? Natural Disaster? One bad day, and you become destitute; the other that doesn't count. I feel we all know this, but our culture tries to bury that horror by forcing us to work on insulating ourselves from it rather than asking why it this fate possible?
Let us push for universal public housing and universal medical care that includes long mental health facilities.
Wow. I remember working for a third party contractor with NYC HRA. My job was to teach job readiness to 18-24yr olds and manage a caseload of up to 100 kids.
One day during my workshop a kid told me “you know why they call it ‘the projects’ right Miss? we’re the project”… and I couldn’t help but feel broken beneath the burden of truth in the gravity of what he said.
Skid row definitely seems like a project from the 70s and 80s as well. The engineers will be held responsible for all these lives when they face God one day.
A man can find harm on his own without encouragement.
My parents used to threaten us “ do you want to go live on skid row. I’m going to drop you off on skid row if you keep on”
tough love lol
Did it work?
That's child abuse. I hope they aren't like that now.
@@swallowedinthesea11 not abuse just bad parenting
@@swallowedinthesea11 if THAT'S child abuse 99.5% of all asian parents would be in jail now
I spent 20 years overseas on military service and, justifiably (IMHO), proud of my country. When I finally repatriated I came to LA. As a retiree, I took up driving for Uber to keep busy and put a little pocket change towards my hobbies. I cannot describe the horror, the shock, the existential crisis I faced when I first drove across Skid Row. My heart ached and my world axis changed. How in any just universe could this...this, travesty of the human condition, be happening in MY country? MY country is (was?) the "Greatest Nation On Earth", right? We defend the freedom of the oppressed, our belief is in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, yes? We are a kind and generous people, aren't we? Then how in the holy F$@K could this be allowed to exist in direct contravention of the myths we tell ourselves about ourselves? I saw better treatment of the poorest and most helpless in some of the poorest regions on the face of the planet. It made me deeply ashamed. Here I was, doing what I believe was helping and defending others (which is true) when in reality, that effort should have started at home. We have no right to tell anyone how to run their world when we have this festering sore of human misery in our midst that we not only tolerate but actively enforce. Now when somebody tells me "thank you for your service," I tell them they can keep their thanks and they can show their gratitude by actively helping others; the homeless, the helpless, the needy, that desperately need it. Peace, out.
Preach
20 years lol thats long. how
YOUR perspective is what America needs. Thank you for your insight
A positive effect of americans finally taking care of their own shit would be that the rest of the world gets a well needed break from getting "generously defended" back into the stone age.
As a non-American I always thought the practice of „thank you for your service“ was weird. No other job gets the same treatment, not even medical personnel for keeping everyone alive or farmers giving people food. I mean everyone knows that while in US military you do defend your own country, but also attack others occasionally. So its like „thank you for…being in this organization that caries out a war that everyone lost track about what its even about?“
I'm from Chicago. Prior to the '70's, west Madison Street was the heart of skid row in Chicago. There were a lot of bars, stores and etc. What there also was was a large population of people who were in the same situation as those in LA.
I haven't been back there in years to see what it is like now, other than going to the UC to a Blackhawks game butt, THAT is in before the game and right out afterward. And, this is at night so what is seen in the daytime is not easily seen at night.
So, there are DELIBERATE actions taken by these cities to keep these people not only contained butt, IN THE SAME INESCAPABLE SITUATIONS.
Chicago's (current) Skid Row is technically Uptown. Chicago had a "plan" to overdiagnose everyone so that the city could gather social security checks and pass people off from one clinic to the other in order for business to make money off the situation. It ruined so many lives that many commited suicide to escape the system's grasp on them. People were just shoveled into human storage closets and treated like dumb pets. If anyone tried to get a job or any kind of training or education, the police would be called and people were threatened with institutionalization. It's still going on. They get around the suicide statistics by fasely claiming people were just addicts that overdosed; they do this without toxicology reports. Most just took entire bottles of the prescriptions they were forced to go on in order to make dozens of sister clinics financially happy. They tried to turn the homeless into a comodity that could be transported around. It wound up greating a sea of death. It's not like it would be hard to just house, educate and employ people... but then social workers wouldn't feel superior to anyone and neither would the general public. People would rather kill or exploit than treat people with dignity and respect. History isn't going to look kindly on anyone during this time period.
"butt" lol
This is my first Johnny Harris video. I am very impressed with the compassion, empathy and understanding expressed in this video. I guess I was just expecting a matter of fact approach. But the people over profit vibe had me subscribe immediately! ❤
As a train operator in my city I deal with the homeless quite a bit and it’s a lot harder to help some of them than you think. We have plenty of organizations and homeless outreach programs that move around the city offering housing, health care, and etc. I’ve come to find that a lot of them either don’t want the help, only want a portion of the help, or are too far gone mentally to accept it. People tend to want to split these people into a few simple categories like drug addiction, laziness, or mental illness and it’s a far more complex problem considering many have a combination of the above mentioned issues or some additional ones. We have to remember that a lot of those people have “RIGHTS” meaning they have the right to refuse or accept assistance as they please........ even if they don’t possess the mental capacity to make the right decision themselves.
This is the most balanced view and deserves more likes, you can’t use a one size fits all approach to homelessness, likewise people have the right to make unwise decisions. It not as simple, even to have free healthcare, access to housing and education it’s far more complex in many cases.
It doesn't help that a lot of those homeless "services" require you to give up your dignity and self worth to obtain health, ie claiming to be suicidal so you can get access to said services. Otherwise they could care less and only want the "easy" cases; ie single moms or veterans
Not true. Much of the population does not want the help. They prefer crime and drugs to doing anything to move up.
💯 truth. Johnny, bless his heart, one can tell he is terribly naive in his assessment in both cause and solution. As a native whom has done a wealth of social work in L.A., I concur many do not want help. For most, this is their community and lifestyle. Throwing money at the problem does not fix anything. If the person does not willingly want to participate in their rescue, there is little that can be done, unfortunately. I’ve seen it happen countless times.
@@jamesj3395 this is such a bullshit take. People with mental illness and no insurance, no job, no house, etc KNOW they cannot afford to take medication. Giving them a minimum wage job in one of the most expensive states in the country does nothing. Giving them a temporary home does nothing. Giving them temporary healthcare does nothing. I would probably choose drugs and community over slaving at 2-3 jobs to try to afford a place to live, food, healthcare and my medication too if I knew that these things weren’t free or permanent.
As an East LA native, I appreciate you taking the time to educate others on an otherwise “forgotten” part of the city!
Not too late to bulldoze it
@@whatevergina9401 Seriously, some people don't want help and don't have the capacity to follow societal rules,, getting them out of society and into a institution where they can be cared for is the only way forward.
@@AllRightsss or bulldozing the human trash that ruins that part of the city.
You should check out soft white underbelly then if you haven’t already..
not forgotten but ignored
Man Johnny, your editing, camera angles & creative storytelling is seriously out of the world! Seriously - wow.
LM
Thank you for the very illuminating and important sharing! Besides the visualization, music and sounds I particularly liked how you contextualized the story with history.
The term skid row originated in Vancouver, BC Canada and Seattle. It referred to an area back in the 1800s where the logs were shot down a skid through the east side of the cities. It was referred to as skid row. It was also the area where drunks and poor people would be. Skid row.
I was gonna say this, I live in Seattle and I went on the Seattle underground tour and heard about skid row, and when I clicked on this video I was confused to hear skid row was in LA
They're still there in Vancouver.
@@nectarshrub yep. I went there for vacation and that was the first time I saw a "skid row"
@@nectarshrub Yep isn't it like hasting street in vancouver was there accidentally when I was on holiday that a country can get such a mess with homelessness.
Glad I'm not the only one that caught this. This came from Vancouver, not LA.
The fact that we get free documentaries on RUclips by Johnny Harris is truly a gift 👍
👍
He's great reporter and gets to the causes of misconceptions. The editing is better than most as well!
Very competent and not just factual but..... artistic or something like that
Nothing in the World is Free. Unless you would use a Addblocker😂 but for some People like this dude here, Turn your addblocker off.
Have a nice day everybody
@@thedirty530 there are criticisms of his partnership with the world economic forum so he's far from perfect
Excellent presentation, thank you for the effort. One aspect to this ever present and growing situation that should be acknowledged is the massive budget allotted to address these issues, however, despite the nearly half billion dollars annually, there does not seem to ever be any visible change. The reason for this is that basically homeless are "farmed" as a cash crop allowing individuals to pull quarter of a million dollars as salaries and never "fix" a thing.
Los Angeles is my hometown. I lived near skid row nearly all my life. It’s daunting to see the extreme difference with skid row to other areas of DTLA. These invisible boundaries will continue to diminish justice for these people.
Did we watch the same documentary? The way they showed it is the ultimate way to teach us that weird things almost everytime have a very simple explanation.
The part of skidrow got more explanation than was needed for the story.
Agreed. I thought the Netflix docu made it very clear by the end that the Cecil is in fact not haunted.
Exactly! The docu series even had a whole episode diving into the neighborhood of skid row and how it played a big part in the history of the hotel.
I thought the same thing.
@@HaikoEitzenBartel Dude... they saw Richard Ramirez walking by in underwear covered with blood and they never react... Don’t expect them to see a ghost, they’ll think it’s a albinos.
I thought the same. And then I thought if he could have just said he was adding more info it would’ve been better than simply bashing Netflix for saying it was simply haunted. Anyone who has watched the documentary knows this was mentioned. In detail.
The documentary briefly went over the history of Skid Row and ultimately concluded that the Cecil wasn’t haunted by ghosts but plagued by decades of using skid row as a dumping ground for throwaway people. It focused on Elisa Lam but a huge reason why no one helped her when they noticed her odd behavior was because they assumed she was just one of the average occupants. The documentary also touched on the toxicity of the internet sleuths, mental health, police negligence but focused on Elisa Lam to explain these things. They interviewed former residents, employees and police detectives. It feels that Johnny made this video based on the trailer alone, everything in this video was actually gone over in the Cecil hotel documentary.
Exactly...
Except it took all of what you said and squandered it into a convoluted, unfocused, hot mess of a documentary that didn’t stick the final landing. They spent way too much time on the, “internet sleuths” who yet again proved they had absolutely zero substance, contribution, or standing in the case. The episodes needed more editing and explicitly stick to related specific topics to make a tighter, coherent narrative - they could’ve easily combined episodes 2 and 3.
@@Saratrooper yeah because the documentary was about the specific case and all the stuff related to it. It wasnt about skid row specifically. But despite that, the message about skid row was clear.
Exactly I have been going through the comments and wondering why nobody is saying this. documentary was good and focused on right elements and told the story truthfully.
@@Saratrooper yes I agree there could have been less time dedicated to the internet sleuths but a lot of their obsessive behavior was a lead up to the poor guy who was wrongly accused and suffered a mental health breakdown because of the bullying. However they also are knowledgeable about the case from start to finish, so they probably had a lot to contribute in terms of narration. I also agree there’s valid criticism regarding the organization and rhythm of the material which would have made a great video if Johnny would’ve actually touched on that instead of criticizing something they actually did.
I grew up in NY. As I became a teenager, I would walk from my middle class neighborhood and house into the wealthy district. If I went the other way, I'd reach the ghetto areas where people lived on the streets and crime and drugs were rampant. As a young teenager, this affected me deeply. WHY was their such a cutting difference? How could this be when there was so much wealth that could go around? How could you walk from one block to the next and literally find yourself in the deepest of poverty? I longed for a utopia, a place where classes didn't exist and people helped one another. I've not found it. This video has explained so much. To understand there is actual city and government policy in place to CREATE and PERSERVE this situation and suffering blows me away.
🙏🏼🧡for real
This was so enlightening, Johnny, thank you. It’s awful to see how these policies of the 70’s normalized dehumanisation so much so that Skid Row is an accknowledged part of LA with clear boundaries.
Any HUD experts out there, what’s the solution? Asking purely out of curiosity and wanting to learn more
And LA is considered a primarily a liberal city. This is perfect evidence that it doesn't matter if your left or right this is a class issue. This is like treating a bullet wound with a bandaid.
I think LA being liberal and warm is why it ended up like this. They refused to acknowledge it is a problem and victimize them, the only victims would be veterans who end up homeless.
@@uchennanwogu2142 as a veteran I know all too well how many veterans are homeless. I have been one. But all these people are a victim of a system that has failed all of them, not just veterans. We privatize everything these people would need to be a functioning member of society.
@@dragonsoldier1829 I know. its unfortunate- the government should create recovery programs to get the homeless on their feet and mental help.
LA and Southern California as a whole was a conservative stronghold when these policies were put in place in the 70's. Don't forget where Ronald Reagan came from.
@@knut true but the democratic leadership has done nothing to change it. Don't get me wrong I can not stand either party so I am not defending Reagan but pointing the finger at the other for past mistakes is all either party does. It is just an attempt to shift blame and accountability and then nothing really changes. Meanwhile the human cost only grows. You see something wrong then change it. Apathy and inaction is killing this country.
you were liking talking about how big is Russia last week and now investigating some hotel from Netflix series.
💀
Well, when you're a reporter, investigator, historian etc. You have to jump around a bit. Who knows what next week might be about.
Leave Johnny alone, he’s freaking awesome!
Maybe you should watch the video. He's talking about skid row.
@@loulouloucindy Come on people, I was just referring to how fast he can jump into different subjects, and it’s awesome.
P.S I’ve watched all the videos from the beginning🙏🙏🙏
What a great and thoughtful video! I’m glad I found your channel, and look forward to seeing more of your content. 😊
Just an fyi for those of you who don’t live in LA county: they are expanding the train tracks so the metro can reach more of the county so more people have access to public transit, many of these cities that will have more local train stations are upper class cities like my own. The “skid row” attitude is still at large, because rather than be happy that more people will be able to get around for cheaper, people are complaining that the homeless population will find it easier to make their way into “our” city. People still want to keep the homeless population confined to the center of LA. It’s so easy to ignore it all when you live so far away from it.
LA native here and I really just wanted to let you know that I appreciate this look into our cities history. so many people want to focus on the glitz of LA but not the parts that are "scary".
🇺🇸 Americuh 3rd world cUntry with a gucci belt 🇺🇸
I disagree, I think people are currently focusing on the horrors of L.A. Everytime you search up L.A, you will see videos showing the darkside of L.A only. I think we should focus more on the golden side of L.A and why its such a great city. I'm glad these sides of L.A are getting talked about, but I wish that was not the only thing being discussed . Its always the smog, homelessness and not the sunshine, diversity, Good paying jobs, and the adventures.
Not really. Everyone thinks LA is a shithole
LA is a terrible place. The Dodgers are the only good thing about it.
@@diamondmax5141 whoosh
Um... I think the conclusion the Netflix doc makes is exactly what you've explained in this video. It makes the conclusion that the Cecil Hotel ISN'T haunted and that internet conspiracies (about Elisa Lam's death) were the main reason why the hotel was believed to be haunted. The documentary actually discusses Skid Row and systemic poverty, and how Cecil Hotel's history of violence was a result of that.
[Also, I saw the whole "haunted" thing as simply a set-up for the show which was then subverted by the end of it.]
Sounds like he didn’t finish the documentary or he used a click bait title to get more people to watch his video
It seems like he just watched the first episode.
This is just really lazy on his part. Does he just bash Netflix for no reason? Some of that stuff is bad but they make some good things too. It's almost like he has a grudge against them. I could see him watching the first episode and just ignoring the rest of the show because it confirmed his bias. I expect him to put some sort of clarification in this or are we dealing with someone who has no ethics?
@@FrostySumo So you are saying that not watching Netflix is laziness?
Exactly
Watch Soft White Underbelly interviews. Even though the city’s response hasn’t been very good, many people on Skid Row much prefer staying instead of moving into government housing because the government programs require the people to be drug free. You can’t help people who don’t want to help themselves.
This video was posted a year ago. If you look at California now it looks like Ski Rows boarder has fallen. Because there are homeless encampments being pushed around many places in various cities in California. The magnitude of the problem has grown exponentially. It's no longer contained.
I've volunteered at a skid row food bank/homeless shelter multiple times and a piece of advice they say that you should never go out on your own and distribute food on the streets. The homeless have nowhere to throw away the containers, so they litter. There is then a huge influx of rats that come and fill the streets. The food banks have more than enough food for everyone on skid row.
They litter if they have dumpsters. Happens in WA. No excuses. Fucking up "protected" wetlands and making it difficult for emergency vehicles...
@@sn1ffy85 my interpretation of what ur saying could possibly be different from your intentions, but there can’t be a black and white thinking to this; no simple explanation. there are more then five thousand homeless people who live in condensed areas where there are more amount of people then there is space that can be provided for those people. nowhere in washington is there an overpopulation problem as great as los angeles, so that’s why you can’t just simply compare and use the same reasoning for the littering issues. the waste management people can’t just pick up trash there 24/7, and trash piles up fast. it’s not about individual responsibility, or a community responsibility, as many people are trying to live. they have the mentality of trying to survive.
They should have chutes that feed into an underground dumpster. it would make the place much cleaner.
🇺🇸 Americuh 3rd world cUntry with a gucci belt 🇺🇸
You earned my sub.
I felt betrayed by the Netflix doco. There was so much information they hid until they wanted to reveal it.
“She’s a perfect, innocent young girl who no troubles at all.”.
“Oh wait... didn’t we tell you she was bipolar and off her medication?... whoops.”.
“This death metal guy killed her because he was staying there too!”
“Oh wait... he stayed there a YEAR before she did... whoops.”
Etc etc...
There is a great piece on the Cecil Hotel and the people that stayed there , by Biographics
This is why i hate Netflix real crime docs. So many creators on RUclips do a far better job telling these stories in 20 minute videos.
idk, even if it seems like they did that on purpose to waste time or whatever, i really think it was good, more like showing what the people thought at the moment and why it was such a boom on the internet
I hate them for slandering death metal
They do it that way to tell the story in chronological order. Not all information is known from the beginning. Certain things aren’t found out until later. This is how some crime podcast stories are told too. It makes you feel like you’re living though it as it was happening.
I'm grateful for all the people who are working to bring a positive change. It is definitely changing. Love LA love America
Just found this and I’m subbed to you. Been a while since I’ve seen you. Hope all is well. This video in a vacuum is a perfectly distilled representation of the power structure of Los Angeles. It’s rotting from the inside out and it’s tragic.
I lived in Los Angeles for three years in the Harbor Gateway neighborhood and I worked for about a year and a half in a business located in the Fashion District so I spent a lot of time around Skid Row.
The first time I was on Skid Row it was scary. I personally had never witness that level of poverty or desperation in person and I grew up in rural Mexico. Truly one of the most disheartening things I have ever seen in my life.
as a future urban planner who’s been studying demographics and urban planning for the past three years, places like skid row is the perfect example of how easily these problems can be “swept under the rug” it’s horrible 🙃
Being taught how to be a psychopath, Do you still want to continue or looking for another direction to go?
It's also the same kind of mentality that gets us hostile architecture and laws against begging and prostitution. Make sure the citizens don't see the homeless and other people in need of help, and they won't nag you so much about doing something about them.
@Geo Leo maybe it's the only thought she felt like sharing, Why so much hate?
I hope this doesn’t come off as rude but how do urban planners get jobs when most urban areas are already pretty established and many people just keep moving to these cities? I understand sometimes some other cities pop up here and there but I’m sure there’s way more urban planners than how much that happens.
@Geo Leo shut up and stop being an elitist
As a recent subscriber to your channel Johnny Harris, I am just loving consuming your documentaries and experiencing real journalism. Got lots more to watch but what am I to do when my watching catches up with the rate at which you can produce these brilliant documentaries 🤷🏼
This was such a great and informative watch. Thank you for making such great vids!!
Can you call it a true crime documentary when:
a) no crime was committed
b) they hid facts from the viewer to manipulate the story that they had concocted
c) entertained theories of the supernatural and conspiracy?
EDIT: I wrote this before I watched the video. Thankfully, I’m not alone in my views
wait so there deadass was just a woman cracked out, acting tweaky in the hallways and they just said it was paranormal activity? wtfff
@@cinnamonthecat9661 yup. They suggested that she was possessed and the hotel was haunted because a serial killer stayed there once
@@cinnamonthecat9661 they did say what happened in the end. But it was a waste of time getting to that point.
But then again, knowing that she was bi-polar and hadn’t been taking her medication from the beginning would have taken away the story
@KG Sniper oh ? i have no idea tbh, i never watched it
@@OBIIIIIIIII 😧 bruh
The most valuable storyteller in RUclips, Johnny you are such a gem pal👌
I wish Johnny was my high-school teacher.
2nd that
3rd that
So valuable that he can tell a story you already knew before like it's first time.
Totally agree, always happy to see a new upload
I stayed at this hotel back in like 2013 or 2014. Worst overnight experience of my life. I think I stayed up all night crying and moved to another hotel the next day. I didn’t know anything about it’s history or why I had such a terrible feeling in my body. Wild
can you explain more about your experience
Skid row is known for drugs , she was just high on drugs
“Lost Angels: Skid Row is My Home” was my introduction to what Skid Row is about. A very thoughtful and empathetic presentation.
I never realized that the train stopped there-that it literally was attracting people w/ dreams yet no plan to navigate them once they arrived.
That was the American Dream sold to people in and out of America. Come here, work hard, and you can succeed. This idea that anyone could just show up somewhere, put in some elbow grease, and eventually become successful is still being peddled to people around the world.
@@angelintraining8199 Not just to people around the world, there is still an entire political wing that believes and perpetuates this childish nonsense to all of America.
@@angelintraining8199: 😢
The Greyhound station compound is still in there
I was in Skid Row at the time this video was posted. Honestly, some of the things I saw in the few hours of night I was there were sights I will never be able to forget. It was extremely sad and humbling. It's experiences like that that make me thankful for what I have. We must help these people, everyone deserves better than that.
the saddest part is that some of them don't want to be helped and would rather live that way.
California politicians actually make money from poverty in California by continuously funding programs to aid them that don't work. I remember seeing a man building tiny houses for homeless and was told to shut it down in a video. In another vid a rights advocacy attorney was trying to fight the corrupt government assistance programs designed to enrich the pockets of political cronies with failed gov programs.
@@steevieg that is for sure NOT the saddest part. Did you hear the part about dehumanizing the poor and people in need?
Humble police stopping be here! What you experienced was more the opposite of humbling. To be humbled means to feel lowered in importance or significance. Living on skid row would be a humbling experience certainly.
Got an extra bedroom?
Thank you for this video. Skid Row is something I'm familiar only 'cos it is referenced often in LA based content on the internet, but I never sought the meaning behind these two words. Never been there, probably never will, but this is fascinating how things might end like this - a slum in the middle of a rich metropolis.
No ghosts necessary, just an old case of structural violence! Great video as always!
Werner Herzog put it best. "Documentary is simply a word. There is no oath to be broken. No filmmaker's license to be revoked. The only crime in Hollywood is not selling enough tickets. Making a documentary is the most efficient way to make a movie based on a true story."
☁️. ADITYA RATHORE ALSO MAKES GOOD JOURNALIST CONTENT LIKE JOHNNY, GO SEE☁️
herzog was shot by an air rifle in LA
he continued filming
Chickens wont stop dancing.
absolutely
@David Wang Aww thanks dude. I'm flattered by your assumption. But I am not a home owner. I think that my acceptance that owning a home is a catastrophic life-goal, and finding other things that make life worthwhile as a renter, contributes to that "good grip" on life you picked up on. Cheers!
I used to live in the financial district of DTLA.. it’s so crazy how easily they were able to “hide” and ignore the fact that skid row was just blocks away. It was so interesting and disheartening to see all of the homeless around the area.
I stayed in DTLA for a week and i thought the exact same thing
Why didn't they bulldoze the entire area, set up a new one on the outskirts and set up a high speed rail underneath the city?
It would have made so much more sense.
Homeless are all over DTLA, skid row is not hidden, it is easier to not be harassed and shoot dope there. That is why all the homeless are there.
@Bilbo Buttplugins ah, Bilbo Buttplugins, the moral authority we should all listen to. Telling us how some people deserve to suffer and die because they got addicted to meth. Sublime.
🇺🇸 Americuh 3rd world cUntry with a gucci belt 🇺🇸
My mother used to work in mental health and rehab in the state of Georgia. Even here, in Georgia, the effects of deinstitutionalization are seen everywhere. Mentally ill and handicapped people are regularly killed by accidents, abused, or sexually exploited because there is no place for them to be protected. Yes, mental health institutions were terrible at a point, but that doesn't mean that there is a viable solution for these people that can be shouldered by any community. They need structured help.
I'm from India, where there are slums (the skid row equivalents) in every city. I can see a lot of parallels here, the only major difference is the lack of policing within the slums in India.
Every state has something called "slum clearance board". The responsibility of this board is to build free/subsidized housing to the slum dwellers so that once everyone moves out, the area can be developed. The major problem is slums do not disappear but relocate. There are many who would rent out the free apartment and move back to the same or different slum.
Creating job, providing education will make the slum dwellers move out. But, at least in my state slums are seen as vote banks. All they need is something "free" from the political party in return to vote. Politicians make sure the slums remain intact so that the voting cow can be milked every 5 years. If by a miracle some govt decides to take radical steps on this, every other political party will make sure to stop it.
At the end making people believe that living in unlivable conditions (without access to clean water / electricity etc.) is their rights and they fight to remain in the slums. People feel victorious and that political party would have gained votes too, all the people in the slums have lost generations to poverty.
Not all cities have slums. Northern European cities solved it with their combination of affordable housing, mental help enforcement and whatever else but they don’t have this hell
„The Cecil Hotel isn‘t haunted“
Well that’s exactly what the Netflix documentary show concludes to..
👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻💩
This video missed the point of the documentary. It wasn't saying that the Cecil Hotel in itself is haunted, trying to overshadow the history of Skid Row, but rather focus more on Elisa Lam and her unusual disappearance.
@@DylanRomanov totally agree, low and bad energy will be there for sure.
@@DylanRomanov "dark energy" doesn't exist, well not in the context you want it to. the definition of it is "a theoretical repulsive force that counteracts gravity and causes the universe to expand at an accelerating rate." not some thing that makes it scawwy and spoooooookyyy
@@DylanRomanov "negative residual energy"
i'm not even gonna get started on that stupid shite.
also, There*
Great video as always. This is one I wish was longer, but not every single video can be an hour of condensed information
This is extremely well edited for a RUclips video. Wonderful content - subscribed!
I knew skid row was an area of LA but I didn't know it was entire city district. Amazing video
I always thought Hollywood was some posh place but my friend lived there in the '70s and told me it was a seedy area with lower income housing. He worked for the railroad, which pays pretty good, but I guess not good enough. He did eventually buy a house in another area of LA. He moved to the mid west in the late '70s and a few years ago saw that house on the news being devoured by a forest fire. Said he was glad he wasn't living in it. LOL
I thought it was one street!
I live in LA. The Cecil isn’t in Skid Row. It’s close to it but Skid Row is a few blocks away.
However, this was an OUTSTANDING piece about our city’s issues. I’d say mental illness and drugs are the biggest issues in that part of town, which in turn creates other crime. And that prison lighting thing is REAL. I never noticed until it was pointed out here
I think it is officially in what the city considers The Skid Row Neighborhood... (at least Google Maps marks it as so). But outside “the homeless city” of Skid Row.
I used to live on the Arts District, which is on the otherside of Skid Row than the Cecil and the boundaries do tend to shift. Development in Little Tokyo and the Arts District eaten a block or two from what you can see marked on Google Maps (which I assume was the original boundary).
Skid row is just a nickname. Its like toy district, produce district, seafood district, something else, no? Boundaries change a lot. The past 10 years, homeless were pushed slowly and concentrated in skid row. The library park, Pershing Square, city hall, angels flight, metro stations had a lot, but past few years, only a handful are there. Even drug dealers move spots. Main st. Where Cecil is doesnt have many tents, many now with covid more. Even LA street reduced a lot of homeless on sidewalks. Many are pushed deeper and deeper.
I've lived at 6th and Main in DTLA since 2005...two buildings north of the Cecil. Johnny gets some things right (the most important being the dereliction of the city in providing mental healthcare, rehab, work training and employment, and affordable housing) and some things wrong (he gets the city-established borders right, but the actual Skid Row activity is more contained--that is, it *was,* until an assortment of laws and a couple of lawsuits and the pandemic destroyed boundaries) and leaves out some things (LAPD's Central Station is in the middle of Skid Row; and he doesn't mention Skid Row's ACLU-supported activist group, LACAN)...but that's what comes from journalists who don't have a long-standing direct experience of a particular subject but want to stir the pot to expand their audience. It's a good start, Johnny...but you can do better.
bravo
Glad someone made this video. For those who played Disco Elysium, think of the doomed commercial area - a place so defined by failure people actually believe it’s haunted
I have been wondering the history of Skid Row. You did an amazing job with this. Thank you.
Ye skid row is a place for ex prisoners and drugs I know a dude that sold drugs growing up in skid now his whole life , she was just on drugs. Who give it to her is the mystery
Dude.. your videos have taught me so much.. I never realised Skid Row was an actual place, I always thought it was just a figure of speech for somewhere populated with down and outs.
Me too, I thought it was a term coined from a mixture of death row and skidders as in sh*t on the side of a toilet. And now that I’ve said that, it’s starting to sound a lot more real lol. What a shame though.
To have a staunchly democratic state/city with higher than average tax rates to “fund public goods/services” and yet still blindly refuses to deal with this issue straight on like they’re supposed. What a sh*t show, or should I say Skid Row.
I don't think anyone came away from the Netflix documentary thinking the Cecil Hotel was haunted or had dark energy. I'm pretty sure the documentary even covered some of this.
I think he just watch the first episode before making this video.
@@markusbisma5015 i was surprised, in fact this documentary tought me about Skid Row.
I agree, I never got the impression that they were implying anything supernatural at all
Yeah they dismiss it outright and then talk about skid row for almost a whole episode
Yh he didn't do his research or he just didn't understand it? I dunno. He basically did a video on why Netflix is wrong by giving info that Netflix themselves provide... In the documentary.
Skid Row containment zone is actually a great idea. In Canada the homeless inhabit every area of the city making it unpleasant to be in.
I left NYC in February of 1979. I took Amtrak from Grand Central to Los Angeles and spent my first few days there at the Cecil Hotel. I knew nothing of its history, but when I called a friend to say I had arrived there after my cross-country train ride, she made haste to get there and take me to her cozy cottage near UCLA.
According to friends in the area, well, the "Containment" isn't working so much anymore. Excellent little doc on a problem that's not going away. I don't have any answers either.
the area is getting smaller and it’s population is growing
Those edges are about to be snatched.
Yeah homeless are usually out at least 5 blocks outside the area and are grouping in other parts of LA as well.
@@lordofchaosiori yup, but it's "contained" as the vast majority of homeless stay there but skid row has only expanded even further.
Vagrancy has spilled over into the San Fernando Valley. Encampments now occupy freeway overpasses, and parking lots. LA just cleared out Echo Park and has closed it off for renovation. Venice Beach is becoming a disaster area, but the city is beginning to clear that out too.
As you know the Cecil Hotel is located on Main street. Local, Los Angeles, historians can confirm that Main street was filled with speakeasies during the prohibition era. During the 1920's and 1930's, my grandmother's first husband would often frequent them to gamble and drink alcohol. It's not just the Cecil Hotel, many other hotels and SRO's in the Skid Row area have checkered histories of suicides, deaths, rapes, etc. The negative energy is taken there by folks down on their luck and by folks struggling with the many difficulties in life.
Also I thought that there was a famous serial killer that stayed at the Cecil back in the day but maybe I'm wrong.
@@tiffanyanne7707 Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker", stayed there in the 1980's. In the Google search box I typed "Did serial killer ramirez stay at the cecil hotel?". And it gave several search results. According to Wikipedia he didn't commit any murders there but he was staying there for a few weeks.
Great video.
Now Skid Row basically extends across the entirety of LA. There is no more containing the issue. All of LA is being confronted by its decades of neglect.
A fantastic video, so well written and presented! Thank you!
Skid Row has been a blight on LA forever and we've not done a damn thing about actually helping the people that end up there. The negligence is sorta maddening.
LAs homeless population is complicated to say the the least. This coming from someone who lives in the LA area that moved from a place with less complicated homless population. Here in LA we got a large portion of homeless that cannot simply be helped with a flick of a finger. Mentally unwell people, mixed in with drug addicts, and you know both at once. Short of forcing back institutionalization and forcing rehab those people are not going to get the help they need. You can give them a house or apt but in the end your ignoring what got them on the street in the first place. Then tack on the people who want to be living on the street. Who choose to be nomadic and feel it's their right to live without a home. Yes, there are homeless that can be helped. Elderly who are down, working homeless, those seeking employment/housing; but those a drop in the bucket. Fixing the problem here is not being bleeding hearts and pitying anyone, it's taking a step back and looking at the layers and understanding the population and deciding logically how to get things improving.
@@RoMayDrako thank you. Having also spent time around a large population of homeless it’s sometimes infuriating hearing people act like society and city governance are just throwing these people away. There are more than enough resources to get people out of this situation if they truly want to but the reality is that most of them choose and prefer this lifestyle and some people and their politics can’t fathom this.
@@zeroh7671 And their free housing are always empty. They’d rather be in the streets
Theyve spent billions on fighting homelessness and poverty. Most of that cash ends up on Democratic politicians pockets and their friends in special interest groups. What does make it to the homeless is wasted because you cant help people who dont want to be helped as they would rather live on the street doing drugs than stay in public housing with sobriety rules and curfews.
@@RoMayDrako Exactly. I understand that majority of us are good people who don't want people living in such terrible situations. But sometimes, that's the life they choose. Sure, drug addicts and mentally ill are part of that population. But you can't force them to go to rehab or send them off to an institution. Many choose to live this life, so what do you do? There are more than enough social programs for these folks to get out of there. They just have to decide for themselves if they want to get out.
Appreciate the video, but just wanted to mention that the documentary does talk about the systemic problems of Skid Row (although briefly) and the mental problems of Carrie Lam. It could have been less melodramatic with a greater focus on Skid Row itself, but as an Indian who has never been to California, I did get the sense that Skid Row was at the heart of the problems associated with the hotel.
literally only the first episode feeds the audience's need for something supernatural, the rest of the history of the hotel, then the history, ELISA (not Carrie) Lam's own mental health issues, then the end is all about what the autopsy reveals. did YOU watch the show?
@@LoboMendez1 I did watch the show. Think about what I said...as somebody who has never been to California (I've only been to the US once in my life, on a business trip), I was able to understand that Skid Row was a problem created by city planning and was responsible for what happened in the Cecil Hotel. Although, I'll say this, as an Indian we have plenty of our own versions of skid row around, so the concept is not new for anyone living in a major city, really.
Amazing! I'm a urban planner and this extremely interesting. Thank you!
My grandpa was found dead on skid row in 1977. He lived in the Hotel Cecil and it does have dark energy. It’s full of sadness, addiction and poverty.
"Undesirable elements of society", "Containment zone". Just saying. Greetings from Germany.
I wondered how in Chicago they managed to corral the homeless in one area. Turns out it can be by design.
I was thinking the same thing.
In Germany, we call this Hartz IV. We hold children hostage to their parents.... We let marginalized people down. Once you are declared unable to work, you can be sure to be trapped in ALG II. Germany could help it's more.
But we also have Berlin Kreuzberg. Munich-Hasenbergl.... So many conflict zones.
@@Canleaf08 Are you comparing what you've seen in this clip to Harzt IV and aren't our of your mind writing this? These people can only dream of a country that barley gives a crap about them and provides Hartz IV.
Not really they can leave whenever they want. They’re not doing hard labor in death camps. Terrible comparison
Hey Johnny, this is actually exactly what I took away from the Netflix show. I was already familiar with Elisa Lam's tradgedy. Skid row is an egregious act against vulnerable members of society. I do not think of LA the same way anymore. Y'all have a reckoning.
I’m from Cali and when I visit southern Cali skid row is sad to see man. The homeless there will attack you and even kill you. It’s really sad how my state is not handling this situation very well. Theres folks with whole families who are out there on skid row man. The situation is very sad and I would advise folks that is visiting southern Cali to be careful and watch tour surroundings.
Did you watch the Netflix docu ?! Because they talked about skid row and also that the hotel is absolutely not haunted at all
Exactly? The documentary said the same things he said lol
But in the beginning they tried to insinuate it was haunted... Towards the end of the doc they kinda just switch gears and don’t say no it’s not haunted. I think that’s what he meant
@@XoxoxShelbs he probably didn’t watch the whole thing
@@XoxoxShelbs I feel like that is the point though, it draws us in with the ghost story we all want and were expecting in a way. And then presents the truth as simple and maybe less exciting/romanticised
I didn’t watch it, but the only thing I got from the trailers was “oooooh! haunted hotel and scary mental health crisis caused by ghosts!”.
I remember visiting Skid Row once when I was still in high school to perform for a shelter as part of a choral group. I had no idea at the time that it was a district for homeless people and stepping out of the bus carrying my group was to see the area was pretty shocking to me. Everything was boarded up and all the shutter gates were rusted with tents lined up on the streets. However, the people that I met there were some of the nicest and funniest people I would ever encounter. I always wondered from time to time if Skid Row ever had a point in time when it didn't have a huge homeless problem. Thanks for the insightful video!
There are now “Skid Rows” all over the place! Even in Grants Pass, OR! Why?? Some folks have told me that those folks really want to live there??
I don't think this is just LA. I have seen such places in London, Paris, Mumbai, Berlin, and many other cities where people just know never to go in those areas.
Hi. I went to school with Elisa Lam. We weren't SUPER close, but we did occasionally hang out in the same large groups together, and I knew her. We had some free-period chats and hangouts.
When she went missing, I posted a missing persons' alert on my tumblr (which was a thing, at the time) about her, with numbers and resources to call if anyone had any information about her disappearance. Ever since (and even after her body was found), because of this fascination the media has had with her case, I have continued to get random messages from strangers, asking me to divulge every bit of information I have ever had about Elisa, in case it could help them - those random people on the internet - either "solve her murder" or "prove she was possessed". ALL THE TIME.
As you would expect, these messages have gotten more frequent now, since Netflix's light-on-facts documentary. No matter how often I say, "I didn't know her well, please don't contact me", they keep coming. I feel like things like this Netflix documentary really dehumanizes the person Elisa was, and in fact, all the people involved in this story, and forgets that these are real humans and not mysteries for us to ponder for our own entertainment.
Thank you for shining a human light on this story. Elisa was a person, as is every person in that hotel and on Skid Row. Treating her story not as a mystery, but as a tragic event, is the only way to cover it.
And to anyone who IS fascinated by her case: I don't blame you. It's weird, and I understand. As long as you remember she was a human and not a plot of an interesting story, I'm totally okay with this.
EDIT: I realize I wasn't clear, so I'm sorry for my morning brain: I've seen the whole thing. My issue is with giving airtime to these theories that do dehumanize, because not everyone DOES watch until the end. The result - that I'm getting more messages about her "mystery" - speaks for itself, in my experience. That's what I'm saying. :)
What are you talking about? Have you watched this documentary? The entire final conclusion is that people were irresponsible and did exactly what you said and made her into a ghost story instead of a tragic case of mental illness. It explained the poverty situation and even said we shouldn't forget about the real person and the family and that she was a smart person that tragically died. I have a sneaking suspicion that no one watched more than the first episode.
@@FrostySumo Sorry! I was unclear in this first comment due to really bad morning brain - edited to clarify. Thanks for pointing it out.
I just don't like that Netflix gave so much air to this - people ARE stopping watching before the end and getting entirely the wrong impression.
skid row is somewhat madening when you look at how its treated, i have spent time there volunteering at one of the missions and its full of real people struggling who have been fucked over by the system in so many ways
No it’s not. Lol. It’s filled with drug addicts who rotted their brain to the point they have several mental illnesses. Nobody has SO much bad luck in a short period of time that they end up homeless with nobody to help them. If you get to that point, you got yourself there. If your friends and family are even to the point they won’t help you, it’s because you fucked them over too many times for them to give you another chance. I don’t feel bad for any homeless people. None of them fell on hard times. They brought themselves into hard times over a drug instead of going through a week of withdrawals and starting a sober life. That’s the hard truth about it.
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