Because We Don’t Live in a Perfect World

SB 1338 has been on my mind since California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the policy known as the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court in March 2022. Cutting through the verbiage from both supporters and opponents, CARE Court essentially creates a system of court-ordered medical treatment for up to twenty-four months when an individual—often unhoused and living with a psychotic disorder—is deemed unable to make medical decisions in their own best interest.

Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash

In the months that followed, organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the ACLU raised objections to the policy. I found myself dumbfounded by many of their arguments.

Some critics claimed there was insufficient evidence supporting SB 1338. Yet the evidence that the current system of social services and voluntary interventions is failing can be seen within the first few steps into Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles—a fifty-block district designated since 1976 to contain much of the county’s homeless population.

In truth, critics do not even need to walk through Skid Row.

Human and legal rights attorneys and advocates should spend a day walking and riding the L.A. Metro system. Start at Union Station and travel the lines branching toward Long Beach, Santa Monica, and North Hollywood. Spend a day observing what commuters see every day.

They should walk through homeless encampments without access to water or toilets. They should witness someone squatting in the middle of a crowded subway car to relieve themselves. They should see people eating from trash cans, screaming at everyone and at no one, or wandering into traffic. They should see people sleeping in trash bins or collapsed on scorching concrete in the middle of the street.

They should see the naked woman walking down a boulevard in full view of traffic. They should see pedestrians threatened, sometimes with sexual violence. They should see the father pulling his young daughter away as a man with his genitalia exposed approaches them.

In the decade I have lived in Los Angeles without a car, I have witnessed every one of these scenes.

Before raising objections from afar, those who argue against policies such as CARE Court should witness these conditions themselves—the inhumane living environments and the danger that untreated mental illness can pose both to those suffering from it and to the people around them.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass once framed the issue in a way that struck me as honest. Not every homeless person becomes homeless because of mental illness, and not every homeless person suffers from mental illness. Yet she also acknowledged something simple and human: living on the streets would break almost anyone.

Imagine the mental narratives one must construct simply to survive a night on the sidewalk. Imagine digging through trash for food or relieving yourself in public. Imagine the fear, anxiety, anger, and humiliation one must suppress day after day just to endure.

To believe that the trauma of living this way—layered on top of an existing psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia—would not impair someone’s ability to make medical decisions in their own best interest is naïve at best and negligent at worst.

Because we do not live in a perfect world.

And in an imperfect world, pretending that suffering does not exist is not compassion.

_____

More essays:

Breaking of Invisible Minorities

I'll Pass on Forgiveness

Lost in Gender Identification & Sexuality

Culpability in Mr. Jordan Neely's Death

Why Are We Not Fighting the Right Battles When It Comes to Women’s Rights?

ESSAYS | RECIPES | STYLES | IG

Articles sélectionnés

I earn commission on qualified purchases.

Comments

Who Investigated the Alleged Cornell Gang Rape?

This morning, my mind froze as I read about an alleged gang rape involving eight Cornell University students that occurred nearly two years ago, in 2024. Most of us learned the details only after Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit on September 14, 2026, in New York State Supreme Court, New York County, against Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar, alleging that the seven men raped her while they were students at Cornell University. The alleged assault occurred during the night of October 19 into the morning of October 20, 2024. Jane Doe later reported the incident to Cornell University Police. Cornell separately conducted its own disciplinary investigation, followed by hearings under its Title IX process, while Cornell University Police conducted the criminal investigation that was referred to the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office. at LACMA No criminal charges followed. The District Attorney’s Office did n...

Is Feminism Destroying Us?

Are you bothered by the question? More than two decades ago, a dear friend, Andrea, ten years my senior, confided that she believed feminists had destroyed our lives. Back then, work-life balance did not exist. Back then, I was asked to terminate an employee simply because she was pregnant. at Laguna Art Museum I didn't. I also didn't exactly refuse. I told the company that it was more than welcome to terminate her, but as her direct manager, I saw no performance-related reason to end her employment and therefore would not sign her separation papers. If executive management wanted to terminate her, I would accept its decision. I simply would not lend my name to it. She was not terminated. I didn't refuse to sign because I was advocating for her rights. I refused because there was no reason to terminate her. I had terminated other employees for poor performance; pregnancy was not poor performance. And the order hadn't come from a man. It came from my boss, who was a woma...

What If I Told You Tolerance Is Insane

A few years ago, I worked as a Project Manager for a marketing agency. What most people did not know was that I wasn’t simply managing marketing projects. Part of my job was to conduct root-cause analysis and privately address what I found with the VP of Operations. The agency was losing clients, and part of my assignment was to conduct root-cause analysis within the PMO. No one ever told me the two were connected, but I wondered whether leadership believed they might be. Ganna Walska Lotusland I worked alongside another Project Manager, a smart guy with a project management certification whose vertical happened to be one of the problematic ones. He didn’t know that evaluating his project pipeline was part of my assignment. His failure to follow project management best practices had already been escalated. He also had reluctance to escalate problems early enough to keep them from affecting clients. One Client Success Manager was a recurring problem. She routinely failed to turn in ...

Curated: The Seduction of Gloves

There is something inherently sexy about gloves, perhaps because they understand what fashion occasionally forgets: concealment can be far more provocative than exposure. For centuries, gloves signaled propriety, status, and restraint, placing a thin barrier between the hand and everyone it might touch. The irony is exquisite. Cover something ordinarily left bare and suddenly its unveiling becomes intimate. Hollywood certainly understood the assignment. An opera glove beside a bare shoulder did not temper the seduction; it sharpened it, turning the slow removal of something as innocuous as a glove into theater. Photo by Hans on Unsplash That delicious tension between restraint and revelation is what makes gloves such compelling style makers. Satin whispers old-Hollywood glamour. Supple leather carries a certain authority. A flash of color beneath an otherwise serious coat can do more for an outfit than another strategically purchased handbag ever will. And when Autumn finally begins i...

Korean Gal's Guatemalan Red Beans with Pork Spare Ribs

Full transparency. I am afraid of pressure cookers. It is a fear instilled in me by my mom, a quiet but effective deterrent meant to keep me at a safe distance—especially when the pressure is being released. Reasonable? Perhaps. I would consider a therapist, but it has been years since I have needed one. Ceramic bowl was wheel-thrown and glazed by me. When I saw the Pressure Cooker Guatemalan Red Beans with Beef Short Ribs recipe in The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope , I knew I had to make a version of my own—one that did not require a pressure cooker. I also wanted the ingredients to feel simpler, more accessible. More importantly, I wanted the dish to center the red beans, rather than have them overshadowed by the richness of beef short ribs. This is not a bean stew, but a slow braise—one that relies on the gradual release of moisture from the ingredients themselves. So, changes were made—and thus, the name: Korean Gal’s Guatemalan Red Beans with P...

Lime et Elephant Garlic Flower Shrimp

One of my favorite Sunday rituals is a slow walk through the Hollywood Farmers Market. It’s one of the largest in the area, expansive without feeling overwhelming, and a reliable place to stumble onto ingredients you didn’t know you were looking for. On a recent visit, I stopped at a garlic and onion farmer’s stand and found myself drawn to a bundle of elephant garlic flowers—tall, architectural, and unexpectedly delicate. Ceramic bowl was wheel-thrown and glazed by me. I brought them home partly to live on the kitchen counter for a few days, and partly to see what they could do in a pan. Garlic, after all, has always had an easy affinity with shrimp. Lime followed naturally. The result is this dish: quick, aromatic, and bright, with just enough heat to keep things alert. INGREDIENTS [serves 3 to 4 as a main course] one pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined two limes two tablespoons of brown sugar one stem of elephant garlic flower, petals only two garlic cloves, sliced a half tea...

No Rice, No Deal Stir-Fry Bowl

For a while, I restrained myself from using salt and pepper in my cooking, partly because I had come to think of them as the two most overused seasonings, capable of keeping a dish from becoming more interesting than the obvious. At one point, I even wondered whether I had developed a sensitivity to salt; the slightest over-seasoning began tasting bitter to me. Salty filets at Michael Mina at Bellagio and Delilah at Wynn Las Vegas last year did little to repair the relationship. Trust me, an overly salted filet at an upscale restaurant is its own particular trauma, quite different from realizing the horrible flavor of McDonald’s new limited-edition Spicy Chicken McNuggets. I never abandoned salt entirely. I continued using it to enhance other spices and ingredients, but deliberately salty flavors, even those built around soy sauce, became increasingly rare in my kitchen. Ceramic bowl was wheel-thrown and glazed by me. Until recently. No Rice, No Deal Stir-Fry Bowl is deliberately veg...

Homemade Balsamic Glaze

There are ingredients that demand complexity, and then there are ingredients that reward quiet. Balsamic glaze belongs firmly in the latter category. At its core, it is nothing more than vinegar reduced with a touch of sugar. No emulsions. No elaborate technique. Just heat transforming sharpness into depth. As the vinegar simmers, it thickens into something darker, glossier, and quietly dramatic. A proper balsamic reduction carries contrast. It is sweet, but not cloying. Acidic, but softened. It pools against burrata, streaks across roasted vegetables, finishes a steak, and cuts through the richness of duck with precision. It does not overwhelm. It punctuates. And unlike many bottled versions, which can taste flat or syrupy, a homemade glaze retains the complexity of the vinegar itself. The flavor concentrates. The texture becomes silkier. The control is yours. INGREDIENTS a half cup of balsamic vinegar one and a half teaspoons of sugar In a small saucepan, combine the balsamic...

Seafood Jajang Deopbap

Jajang, born from Chinese zhajiangmian and transformed in Korea into the rich, dark sauce made with chunjang, has become woven into the fabric of Korean everyday life. What began as an adapted working-class meal of black bean sauce (jajang) over noodles (myeon) in port cities has evolved into a national comfort food, synonymous with quick delivery, moving days, and casual family meals. Jajangmyeon was the pizza and burgers of my childhood. End-of-school semesters and good test scores were acknowledged with jajangmyeon. My grandparents always had it delivered when I stayed with them during school breaks, a proper opening to days of my grandmother’s home-cooked meals to come. Ceramic bowls were wheel-thrown and glazed by me. Its presence is as cultural as it is culinary: from shared bowls among students and office workers to its symbolic role on Black Day, when singles gather to eat jajangmyeon together. It is the unofficially official meal on moving day. More than just a sauce, jajang r...

Pyrus Pyrifolia Tuna Salad Sandwich

Better known as Asian pear, Pyrus Pyrifolia is my secret weapon for elevating an ordinary tuna salad sandwich to an unforgettable delight. There are various Asian pears with subtle differences, but I use Korean pear for its more apple-like characteristics—especially its crispness and subtle floral sweetness. Ceramic plate was wheel-thrown and glazed by me. INGREDIENTS six ounces of canned tuna, drained zest from one small lemon four tablespoons of Kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise) two tablespoons of finely chopped Asian pear one tablespoon of finely chopped onion four cornichons , thinly sliced one eighth teaspoon of smoked paprika Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Depending on how generous I feel, the recipe yields one or two sandwiches. The best sliced bread for me has always been milk bread—toasted, of course. This post contains affiliate links. _____ More recipes: Langostino Gnocchi Tsuyu Konjac Bowl Penne Rigate All'Olio In Stile Rustico Afrutada, A Cocktail Recipe Miso Dressing ...

Exhaling Life

Search This Blog