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# Los Angeles Welcome to reality, Mr. Smith
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/los-angeles-welcome-to-reality-mr-smith-editor/
- Published: 2002-10-28T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:49:19.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless

In his column, Mr. Ron Smith wonders if he is paranoid.

No, Mr. Smith, you are not paranoid. Nor, are you in Kansas anymore! The footsteps you are hearing belong to the growing number of Santa Monica residents whose politics are based in reality. According to you, they are the “elitist, obscenely wealthy ruling-class.” The very scary thing for you, Mr. Smith, is that these people, who are expressing their frustration over the many problems of Santa Monica (homeless, parking, minimum wage, rent control, historic districts), are not who you say they are.

To be sure, there are a few who are conservatives (who may even be a little mean). However, most of the “elitist” people to whom you refer don’t consider themselves conservative. You see, they are a lot like you — afraid of what they are becoming (or have become). They moved here to the West Coast to be free spirits, to pursue artistic endeavors, to surf.

But what they have found is that 20 years later, it is not really “cool” to have grandma and grandpa come visit and take the grandkids to the — fill in the blank — while stepping over bodies, urine, feces and garbage. They found that they can’t put that extra room on their houses because of the “historic” nature of their abodes. And, they found that the appearance of their beloved neighborhoods have gone to crap because of rent-controlled apartment complexes that line their streets.

So now they are walking, Mr. Smith. They are walking right over to the voting booth. And guess what? They are going to vote as though they were the “elitist, obscenely wealthy ruling-class.”

By the way, how many of the “thousands of hurting human beings” have you opened your little “abode” to over the years? I would bet not one.

So get off your high horse, Mr. Smith, and start walking!

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 28, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102802.pdf?ref=smdp.com)