In the early 90’s I was a firefighter. After the Northridge quake in ‘94 our crew was sent from Tahoe to do S&R and disaster relief. We stayed at Kendren Mental Hospital on Avalon blvd. We were all white in a sea of dark faces. For the most part the people were thrilled to see us. The least friendly were the cops who were telling us that every night someone was shot in the neigborhood. You will be hard pressed to find a more willing group of victims than the people down there. It is so sad to see that the first thing an American does is go looking for someonw else to fix their problem rather then help themselves and their neigbors. Certainly many were in need of assistance, but Watts was hardly hit. There were some great friendly people, but sadly they were in the minority.
thank you for your note.