I just heard an idiot on KTLA blathering that the protests were only about immigration and that if both legal and illegal immigrants suddenly dissapered that it would be noticeable and prices of products would go up. I didn't listen to the rest of his diatribe because I got angry and changed the channel. I loath the media.
I was in downtown LA Friday-Sunday in the garment district and one of the shopkeepers I've gotten to know was concerned that I might be in the area again today.
Most of the shop owners of the textile places are Persian, but most have largely Hispanic guys working for them. This guy, Judah, is always looking out for me and whomever is with me when I'm buying fabric, as do several others since I've been up there a fair bit.
Yesterday Judah told us that even if we were staying in the area another day we needed to go no where near downtown. He said it's stupid that the protests are going to happen but that he was extremely concerned that it was going to get very violent.
He is also an immigrant (legal) and said he won't even leave the house and go to any of his shops (he owns four) and that he could open and have others trying to help guard, but that if he did, the workers had told their boss/owner guys that they would pay for it. Apparently the threat was when customers paid for like 10 yards they would give them 3-4 times that to screw their boss over for not supporting them, and that they were also concerned about physical safety if they didn't close.
He was the first to mention it yesterday, but later on several others did as well. It sounds as though basically everyone in the fashion district/Staples Center area was planning to close.