In a world where so much is disheartening, Fatburger in Sherman Oaks, managed to make me happier–and not just because of the delicious burger.
While waiting in a socially-distanced line to pick up my order, I saw this posted on the window:
I am not sure if the manager chose to do this or if this is company wide. What I do know is that the business cares. In a time of callous disregard by those refusing to distance and refusing to wear masks, it was refreshing to see that this Fatburger location cared enough to spread helpful information to our community.
FatBurger at 14402 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA.
Please patronize the Fatburger at 14402 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 . They also have delivery through GrubHub, Postmates, et al. We need to support businesses that truly act on their message of “We’re all in this together.” Thank you, Sherman Oaks Fatburger, for connecting your customers to this helpful information during this difficult time.
First, I want to say that I stand with the peaceful protesters.
Second, I condemn rioting, looting and vandalism.
Third, I value our police, first responders and law enforcement.
Finally, there is no place for racism in law enforcement. Equal justice under the law mandates equitable enforcement of the law.
I awoke at 5:57 AM today, a little less than 30 minutes after last night’s curfew in Los Angeles lifted. I had grown used to helicopters circling at the nearby park like clockwork at 11:30 PM each night. I admit that hearing the helicopters made me nervous. The noise pollution was my nightly reminder that COVID-19 was still out there, lurking, being transmitted by those not practicing social distancing. Last night, it was the helicopters hovering at 10 PM that got to me. Those were not patrolling the park. They were patrolling against the rioting and looting taking place. I have a friend who’s a citizen of another country and doing business in California. She’s currently living in Beverly Hills. I made it a point to check on her.
Before bed last night, I promised my mother I’d be in touch as soon as I woke up. It’s a quiet morning as I sip my coffee. However, the news is disquieting. Hundreds were arrested yesterday. Businesses in neighborhoods I love were destroyed, already crippled by the pandemic. Those yearning for justice who were peacefully and lawfully protesting, were overshadowed by opportunistic anarchists.
“The medium is the message” is a phrase coined by the Canadian communication thinker Marshall McLuhan. Last night, all many people heard and saw was the rioting and the looting, not the well-justified despair behind the protests. Protest is a legally protected form of communication. Looting and rioting are not. So many will write this off as “an urban problem”, a “race issue”–and put the news into convenient thought-oubliettes of their own making. They’ll write this off as one “incident” among many, not questioning or thinking about the systems and systemic injustices that cause and foment this type of behavior.
It’s hard in the face of such devastation to maintain nuanced thinking patterns. Right now, many Americans are tuned in or tuned out. Many are stuck in the familiar us-versus-them mentalities or “not my problem”. This morning, I read another unsettling article. Rural America has not reached the apex of it’s COVID-19 fight. Being a “small town girl” living in a city devastated by riots and looting, my heart hurts today.
We love to think in terms of conflict. We are taught that narrative is conflict–man versus man, man versus society, man versus self, man versus nature. One of the biggest issues we have is that we don’t agree what the “conflicts” are. It’s more than right-and-wrong and black-and-white. The type of problems we face are not solved by caped, masked heroes and feel-good soundbites.
We are habituated to think in terms of conflict. What if we started from a place of consensus? Instead of focusing on what we don’t agree on, can we clarify what we do?
Let’s start here:
Can we agree that everyone has the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” regardless of skin color?
Can we agree that public health threats affect all of us, directly or indirectly, rural or urban, young or old, well or not?
What can we agree on? In times of disagreement, we tear down. In times of agreement, we can build. We’re at the point where we need to re-build. A society divided against itself cannot stand. We need to stand up for each other now. If you haven’t done anything lately to heal race relations, take some time and do so today. I donated to the NAACP.
A little extra effort goes a long way. Yes, we’re social distancing. Yes, we’re wearing masks. Thank you. Please take a moment and do something for our health heroes and public health today. I choose to report my symptoms and social distancing to How We Feel app. Find something that’s do-able for you.
Please do something, even if it’s just listening, without judgement or prejudice, to someone’s pain, whether that person has been affected by racism or COVID-19 or both. We must take the time and make the effort to heal each other. The cures are better than the social and medical ills that affect us.
Am I brave enough? I ask myself this question constantly. Am I taking the path of least resistance because it’s more convenient? I see and hear from so many angsty people daily, in person, on my social feeds. And sometimes, I’ve taken the primrose path of least resistance or sat on the sidelines or decided to be above the fray.
This week, I started questioning what would have happened if George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and the other Founders had taken the path of least resistance. Would I be here today, enjoying (for now) my freedom of speech and freedom of the press which enables me to have a Hollywood livelihood?
I was saddened by the shootings at the Capital Gazette, but it’s not enough to be saddened. It’s not enough to have prayers and thoughts. Almost everyone has thoughts. It’s what you do with those thoughts that count. What brave action have you undertaken lately?
For me, it’s been delving into an aspect of film making I know little about: documentary. I am currently producing and narrating “George Hobbs: Stick Figure Wisdom“, about Los Angeles artist George Hobbs who uses his free speech to make art that pushes back against the powers that be.
There’s a swath of people in this country who are decidedly anti-journalist and anti-media, which is why those of us in fields that depend on freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of information must continue to offer the truth, whether it’s heard and appreciated or not.
This Fourth of July weekend, enjoy the fireworks, but make some fireworks of your own in your own life in a metaphorical sense. Make a big bold statement. Make a declaration. Speak your truth AND act on your truth.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. Nearly 17.7 million women in the US have been the victims of rape or attempted rape since 1998. Every 98 secs, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.
Please take a moment and listen to this excerpt from last week’s What Women Want Radio broadcast on LA Talk Radio with authors and playwrights Veronica Loving and Jazzmine Jackson.
Their memoir of surviving sexual assault by a family member, “Feeding a Monster“, is now a stage play at the Hudson Theater. Click here for more info.
Net neutrality concerns all of us. Actor friend Carl Bressler just gave me the scoop on Facebook on how to petition the FCC to keep the net neutral.
Here’s how to do it, courtesy of Carl:
1. On your computer, not your phone! – go to: www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/express
2. Enter under Proceeding the numbers 17-108.
3. In comments, say you support Title 2 oversight of ISPs. Also say that you support net neutrality.
*Fill in the form carefully; they’ve made it less friendly and impossible to fill in by phone, on purpose.
Here was what I wrote to the FCC:
I support Title 2 oversight of ISPs. I support net neutrality. Like the printing press of the 1400s, the internet fundamentally democratized the way we communicate, make it easier for everyone to have a voice–not just leaders or the wealthy. Any attempt to de-neutralize the internet is deeply damaging to our freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of assembly and no “free market” consideration should ever infringe on our freedoms of speech, press and assembly.
So many of us actors and other creatives are now really in the business of content creation, just as much as we are in the entertainment biz or the movie biz. The neutral net has created immense opportunities for us to showcase our talents and a net that is not neutral will limit what audiences we can reach. It is important for every creative to fight for net neutrality.
1 out of 6 children in the U.S. do not have enough to eat. In this season of abundance and goodwill, it is so important to raise awareness to support these children. Please join the Thunderclap campaign for No Kid Hungry to support #GivingTuesday.
In March, I received a call I was never prepared to receive.
Earlier this month, I received a similar call.
Both times, my mother called to inform me that someone I knew had committed suicide.
At first, I couldn’t wrap my mind around the realities of these situations. I’ve dealt with deaths. There’s an ineffability of the aftermath of a suicide. No words can fully contain it. I am the type of person that always feels better when I DO something, which is why I am walking in the Out of Darkness Walk in Pasadena on November 4.
Please help me to vanquish the darkness of suicide by raising funds and awareness.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the state of women in the world. Hollywood was reeling over the avalanche of harassment and sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein. The #MeToo hashtag is near-constant in my various feeds. I am saddened. I keep asking myself, “How do I take action?” And more importantly, how to take action that reverbs beyond just Hollywood?
I see Saudi women claiming their right to drive and wanting more of the rights that we in the USA take for granted. There’s been significant action to stop child-marriage in India. Men are expressing remorse, sympathy and solidarity for the women brave enough to tell world their “Me Too”. There IS progress.
I had a conversation with Nada Nasserdeen of Rise Up For You this morning. It will be up soon. We discussed so many things and one of the things that came up was the pay gap. What Harvey Weinstein did was horrible, and once the headlines fade on this, we still have to keep pushing for economic equality. Abuse of power is intimately tied to money. Having money does not give you the right to abuse other people. One of the things that stands out about the Harvey Weinstein debacle was how he was perceived as a “golden goose” to quote Scott Rosenberg, a long-time associate. If you haven’t read Rosenberg’s comments, read it. Weinstein’s ability to make box office money left him unchecked. Considering how little progress has been made to include more women in the decision-making process of commercial film and television, it’s no wonder that he would-be-Harvey-s would feel invincible.
How do we move forward beyond this week?
Reach out to a woman in entertainment and let her know you support her. Let her know that you care.
Go to a play or movie directed or produced by a woman. Support women in the arts. There’s an old maxim that “You’re only as good as your last picture.” Let’s support women making art.
Do not tolerate bad behavior, “locker room talk” or any action that demeans a woman or girl at home, work or school.
Support women globally, especially to empower them economically. A threat to women’s freedoms anywhere compromises women’s freedom everywhere. One of my favorite ways to do this is by funding a micro-loan on Kiva.
This is about more than the transgressions of one man. There are more Harvey-s in every industry, every country. This is not just a Hollywood problem. It’s a power imbalance that manifests everywhere from gilded Hollywood to the most humble villages on earth. As long as the pay gap is tolerable to the majority, women will still be a minority, even if women outnumber men.
Here’s a quick, fun way to alleviate hunger and get families access to fresh produce:
Take a selfie, including fresh produce and post it up on Twitter or Facebook and hashtag it #DrinkGoodDoGood. Naked Juice will donate 10 lbs of produce to those in need.
If I told you 13 million children in a country don’t have enough food, you’d be appalled, right? What if I told you that was happening in the USA? It’s true. One out of six children in our country don’t have enough to eat. Forty eight million children and adults, 15% of the US population, experience hunger and food scarcity.
That’s something to be #hangry about. Join me in fighting hunger this Hunger Action Month.
It’s so important to support Houston at this time with funds to trusted charities like Habitat for Humanity. If you’d like to understand how funds do more than donations of items, please check out this article.
Am I brave enough? I ask myself this question constantly. Am I taking the path of least resistance because it’s more convenient? I see and hear from so many angsty people daily, in person, on my social feeds. And sometimes, I’ve taken the primrose path of least resistance or sat on the sidelines or decided to be above the fray.
Kristin West 