Editorial

Some look to the Westside of Costa Mesa and see blight.

A place where the hopeless, the homeless and the unwanted congregate

and spoil what otherwise could be paradise.

A place where criminals rule and law-abiding citizens have no say. A

place where the predominant culture and language comes from Latin

America.

A place where, they say, the problems are many and overwhelming:*

overcrowded apartments;

* gang-infested streets;

* too few single-family homes;

* illegal immigration without limits;

* piecemeal and misplaced commercial and industrial development;

* a lack of parks;

* overtaxed schools.

We agree that the Westside of Costa Mesa has problems that need

fixing. The living conditions and degradation that have occurred need to

be reversed. The community needs solid answers from its leaders.

There is reason to be hopeful, though.

Because in addition to those who look at the Westside and see blight,

there are even more who see the answers. Better yet, they see an

opportunity.

An opportunity to turn one of the most diverse populations in Orange

County into a thriving community that welcomes all people and ideas.

In their eyes, it is a place that can be a model for how other parts

of the country should tackle tough, divisive problems.

“Those of us who live here think it is just a great place,” activist

Eleanor Egan, co-chair of the Westside Improvement Assn. told reporter

Jennifer Kho. “It’s got the sea breeze, a diverse community, easy access

to commercial stuff on the Eastside and access to the freeway. It has

great potential and isn’t making good use of its potential.

But Egan knows the challenges also.

“These problems have been there for years,” she said. “I think we’ve

been ignored for a long time. I mean, look at the pavement. I think what

happened is people felt helpless and hopeless and didn’t try to do

anything.”

It is clear that the residents of the Westside have had to deal with

issues that their counterparts on the other side of town have not.

The good news is that the Westside activists have everybody’s

attention right now and the chances for solid, comprehensive changes are

better now than ever.

The bad news is the remedy some are proposing is bad medicine.

Many have aimed their sights at the Latino population, which comprises

44% of the Westside, implying that if only they weren’t here, the

problems would go away.

Unfortunately, they lay the blame for the poor school quality, the

crime, the lowering of property values, the existence of charitable

organizations squarely on the back of the Latino population.

But such rhetoric poses a clear and very real danger of racism and

hurtful stereotypes. Turning an entire race of people into a scapegoat

just promotes hatred and bigotry and even violence.

It’s un-American and, even worse, downright evil.

What many need to know, and presumably already know, is that the

Latino community is not going away. Recent census figures should make

that clear.

Furthermore, the Latino community is comprised of an overwhelming

number of people who toil daily in blue-collar jobs, who stimulate the

local economy with their purchasing power, who pay taxes, who fight

crime, who are equally concerned with preserving the quality of life in

Costa Mesa.

But some of those same people are uneasy or unfamiliar with many of

the cultural norms that we take for granted. And for that they suffer.

So, instead of name-calling and divisiveness, we urge the Westside

leaders to include all members of the community, listen to all ideas, for

that is where the keys to victory lie.

City and law enforcement leaders, churches and charities, business

owners, schools and universities, and, most important of all, the

residents can all work toward creative and innovative answers to the

Westside’s challenges.

It won’t be easy. But with so many rich rewards to be gained, the time

is now to cash in.