Vermont & 8th

In 2023, someone died from gun violence every eleven minutes in the U.S., according to data from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Center for Gun Violence Solutions. That’s roughly 128 deaths per day — about 46,720 lives lost each year by guns. 

My sincere condolences go out to Charlie Kirk’s family and friends, but the news of his assassination passed over me with indifference. I felt nothing.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

It wasn’t because I despised his politics, though we held starkly different views. Kirk was a prominent figure among those pushing for Mr. Trump’s return to the White House. I, on the other hand, made small contributions to the Biden-Harris campaign and Planned Parenthood Action Fund after President Biden’s devastating debate performance. Later, I donated to and voted for the Harris-Walz ticket — not because I believed they were qualified, but because the thought of Trump returning to power frightened me. 

Still, my indifference toward Charlie Kirk’s death had nothing to do with ideology. The truth is, he was a stranger to me. I don’t know anyone connected to him, so why would I feel anything but detachment?

My indifference isn't reserved for the Conservatives of this nation. When I read about former President Biden struggling to book speaking engagements or raise funds for his presidential library, I didn’t feel anything. Apparently, his $413,000 annual government pension isn’t enough to maintain the lifestyle he and his family — including adult children — are used to. Really?

Then there’s Vermont & 8th in Koreatown. For some, it's home to the best fried chicken and fries street vendor. For others, it’s one of the dirtiest intersections in the area, with nearby residential streets lined with abandoned furniture, broken appliances, and overflowing trash. With bus stops on every corner and storefront signs in Korean and Spanish, it bustles with people — and garbage.

It's easy to jump to the conclusion that immigrants are to blame for the mess. Booming megaphones and commercial-grade speakers blast Spanish-language sermons for hours — sometimes all day — disturbing the peace of nearby residents. LAPD officers admit they’re powerless to stop it, explaining that once they leave, the noise just resumes. Without legal consequences, the area with affordable housing has become a kind of noise-terror zone.

If you live in Los Angeles, you know how rare "affordable" and "housing" are in the same sentence. And in this neighborhood — with its homelessness, noise, and visible decay — Vermont & 8th is the perfect postcard for Conservative campaigns about what's wrong with America.

All of this makes me reflect on what it means to be an immigrant in this country. I carry a U.S. Passport Card in my phone case as proof of citizenship, just in case I get detained by ICE. It’s not a burden — it’s the same size as my California ID and fits neatly with it.

Is it inconvenient? Not really. Do I feel diminished as a person for carrying it? No. But if I were ever detained after showing it — a document issued by a federal agency to U.S. citizens — I would be outraged.

I now use my Passport Card whenever I’m asked for ID. I've thought a lot about this. We should all carry proof of our legal status — whether we’re citizens, permanent residents, or temporary visa holders because it isn't about carrying the proof. 

It’s about equality in being asked for it. As long as the white person standing next to me is also asked to show their legal status, I’m perfectly fine showing mine.

Would that help someone here without legal status? No. Because the legal consequence of illegal immigration is — and always has been — deportation, even before Trump entered the White House.

Would we be where we are today — with ignorance hardened by hate and frustration — if previous administrations had actively enforced immigration laws with due process, rather than passively? Would Trump’s immigration agenda have ever gained so much traction?

I keep coming back to Vermont & 8th. Can we do better? As a neighborhood where Korean and Latino immigrants intersect, can we do better — so we are not the perfect postcard for a Conservative narrative that blames immigrants for everything wrong with this country?