Reistance, Protest and Rush Hour

Here I am, this liberal frustrated by the people's right to stand up and march and speak their minds. But, I work in Westwood, CA right next to the Federal Bldg. So, in addition to evacuations due to bomb scares my coworkers and I must deal with the protesting that occurs fairly regularly. However, yesterday was different. There was to be rallies starting at noon all along Wilshire Blvd from downtown to the ocean and at 5:00 they would all meet at the Federal Building and proceed to March through Westwood. Sounds okay, right? Unless you work on Wilshire and you have to close your office early in order to have any chance of getting out of the building and making it home before midnight.

This may seem over dramatic, but I really have been stuck in the building for hours. I can't help it, traffic and commuter time trumps the right to protest. Well, not really, but . . . I live in the Valley. I grew up on the Westside, right in Mar Vista, but when I was grown I wanted a house and since I'm not one of the top 2% in the country I couldn't afford the Westside. In fact if I hadn't purchased my house in the valley (van nuys) 4 years ago I wouldn't be able to afford it either.

I digress. Commuting. It is terrible. 3 minor fender benders that have moved to the shoulder can add 30 minutes to an already 60 minute drive to an 11 mile commute. So, I'm not really sorry to condemn a city that allows permits for rallies and marches during rush hour. It just doesn't make much sense to me. I heard Gov Schwarzenneger was riding the bus yesterday in LA to experience the traffic first hand. Thank goodness he didn't come to Westwood too. I am sure it would have meant an even greater need to take what work I could do from home and get on the 405 even earlier.

I know I am rambling and ranting. It can't be helped today. It is hard for this liberal who wishes we were not at war but at the end of the day I just want to get home!!!!!!