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Talking with a family from Mission Viejo about illegal immigration, they acted as though the problem wasn't all that bad. Their mentality to be of the 1970s, for the man said, "it depends. You have your good areas and bad areas".

These are the types of people who keep themselves isolated in their tiny, gated communities and don't travel outside their tiny, little world. The world revolves around them, and if they don't see it, they believe it doesn't exist. There are many people like that who are in complete denial. My sister lives next door to a couple who are like this. The never go anywhere outside their neighborhood (only 2 miles away from a nasty bario), but all is well with them. If they go anywhere, they fly there.

I got off the Hollywood freeway at Santa Monica Boulevard and was in shock at the conditions of old Hollywood. Bars on the windows, litter on the street, advertisements all over the windows and some telephone polls, many signs in Spanish, etc. It looked more like Mexico than the United States.

Unfortunately, it's been like that for years. "Old Hollywood" died right after the 50's. Even though Santa Monica and Beverly Hills "appear" to be nice, I have friends in the local PD's that could tell you what goes on. They are surrounded by nasty areas. Lets just say, one won't get rich or get drug money if you rob a poor person.

You mean to tell me that the original part of Hollywood went downhill in the 1960s? It's been bad that long? I'll admit, the northern areas of Hollywood, near the bowl, as well as areas along the north and west, such as the Sunset Strip, aren't as depressed looking. However, the original Hollywood, to the south and east of the former locations, are somewhat blightful.

Well, this guy didn't deny that it didn't exist, for he informed me that there were places in the Los Angeles area that looked like Mexico. My point was that he acted as though it was a concentrated phenomenon, instead of the widescale problem. However, I know that most places don't look like Mexico, but with everything going on, many other areas are teetering on the brink of that possibility.