A blazing inferno devoured every obstacle in its path throughout Palisades, but as the temperamental fires continue to burn, the rage from its heat has sparked discourse.
The critique of celebrity’s response, California’s FAIR Plan, insurance drops and the Los Angeles Fire Department spread across the country faster than the fire itself.
Whether it was a millionaire, middle class or inherited home, the residents watched as their life’s precious belongings burned to ash as the country created memes of their suffering.
This disaster ignited a few weeks after the UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson’s assassination. Debates about health insurance accessibility in the United States erupted hours after Thompson’s death.
Now, after the fires in California, homeowners’ insurance is under scrutiny.
High numbers of people were dropped by their insurance company last July due to the increased threat of climate hazards. Others chose to live without homeowners’ insurance because of their inability to afford its rising cost in the area.
During recovery the state’s vulnerable homeowners are facing the possibility of receiving little to no help from deceiving insurance companies.
Amy Bach, an executive director of United Policyholders who advocates for property insurance consumers in California, said this disaster hit at the worst time for insurance executives trying to renew their confidence in doing business in the state.
For an advocate of the people to detail the current issue by describing how it affects insurance executives’ confidence of receiving good business is repulsive.
Low-income workers living paycheck to paycheck and families whose equity was based solely on their home lost everything in those never-ending flames.
And as the minorities of Palisades felt the town’s painful heat increase, hot stars radiated energy through their cellphones. Celebrity check-ins were viewed by the public as cheap attention grabbers and many responded with disapproval of the wealthy’s fortunate abilities.
Many took to social media to share their grief, sharing photos and videos as they fled their favorite town’s smoke-filled sky turning an orange hue. But what the rich and distressed posted online was used as gunfire for the public’s hot take on celebrity culture.
The weeping wealthy used to be greeted with compassion when disaster struck, but now people perceive their sorrow with shame.
No matter how much is donated to the community by celebrity funds, the unfortunate reality these people will face remains.
A year and a half after the fires in Hawaii, the biggest fundraiser for aid to Maui, Maui Strong, has faced backlash from Lahaina residents for not seeing the almost $200 million raised being used for their community.
The pattern of the lower class being pushed out of their homes after disaster is one commonly displayed. However, in these recent cases, American’s have acknowledged there is oligarchy in control and a backlash of the wealthy has ensued.
Even as Palisades embers cool, the media’s fire intensifies.
The Los Angeles Fire Department’s whistle blowers detail how underfunded one of the richest cities in the world’s fire department is, and the corruption lying underneath political schemes.
Drill towers passing unqualified women for positions to meet a required female quota, city council members taking bribes from real estate agents in exchange for stalling homeless projects and the decrease of LA’s standard to one firefighter per 1,000 people.
The lies are no longer deceiving, and more American’s are beginning to distrust higher echelons of society.
However, as each passing disaster uncovers years of previous lies, it is important to remember instead of looking left or right, one should look up to ask why.
Fire department standards, aid spending and insurance company regulations are set by the individuals in power. If our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is promised and protected by our government then how do countless lives suffer daily while following the American dream.
We as the people of this country must come together despite our differences and demand the unalienable rights promised before we too sit and watch as our life’s precious belongings are set aflame.
