Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Mis Ángeles: Living On LA's Margins, There's Not Much Time To Obsess About Coronavirus

About the Mis Ángeles column: Erick Galindo is chronicling life in Los Angeles for LAist. He took on this role after serving as our immigrant communities reporter. Erick came to us last year from LA Taco, where he was the managing editor (and, yes, still he does love tacos.)
Standing inside Benny's Tacos in Westchester feels like an oasis from the constant stream of computer generated coronavirus photos in my Twitter feed. I even stopped clutching my almost-impossible-to-find bottle of precious hand sanitizer for a moment.
Are people there touching their faces? For sure. Is anyone able to work from home in the case of a regional quarantine? Hell nah. Do they have a contagion plan? Not at all.
They just have delicious tacos, burritos and a rotisserie chicken that will take your mind off the end of the world like nobody's business.
I understand that coronavirus is scary. But I get why no one here is freaking out.
I grew up in the black and brown margins of L.A. And for people, especially people of color, on the margins of society, a pandemic is just another boogie-man.
To paraphrase Mos Def, we're not afraid of the damn boogie-man.
It took a famous case to get my dad's attention.
Me: "Coronavirus is getting serious."
Dad: "It's just hype."
Me: "They suspended the NBA season."
Dad: "So they can use the time to practice."
Me: "Tax deadline got extended three months."
Dad: "They extend it all the time."
Me: "Tom Hanks has it now."
Dad: "Is he OK?"
"I don't have time to be scared of all that hype," said Larry Bradley, a Benny's customer who was waiting out back in line to the restroom. "I watch the news but it's something new every year. Why is this one more trouble than the global warming one or the terrorism thing?"
I see Larry's point.
It's just hard to worry about stuff you have very little control over when you're under constant pressure to pay the bills, avoid bad situations and overcome institutional obstacles like racism and sexism.
And the truth is people in these communities, we understand that bad things happen. People get sick and don't have the money to go to a doctor. Many immigrants came here in the first place because conditions were terrible back home: violence, access to supplies, corrupt governments.
It's not ignorance either. I mean, maybe it is a little.
But people in my community excel in a type of common sense. We'll avoid people who cough even when there isn't a pandemic because we can't financially afford to be sick. And my mom's been yelling, "lávatelas bien," to make sure we wash and soap our hands the right way, since as far back as I can remember.

In Paramount, I talked to a young couple who said their names were Liz and Jo Ramirez as we stood in line at the Super A to buy cases of water. Two older señoras were loading up three shopping carts of water.
Liz said they came to "the hood to get water because the Costco had a crazy line." Jo said they aren't worried so much about the virus but about the shortages of supplies happening right now.
But the economics of the pandemic has already hit them. Jo was laid off from his warehouse job since much of what they packed there came from China. And Liz works as a private tutor. She said she's worried that income is going away soon, too. "Hopefully we can get unemployment or something," she said.
In Inglewood, I hung out at a Home Depot for a little while and talked to some of the day laborers who mostly offered to do things for me.
"I can help you move," one offered.
"Do you need help building a shelf?" another asked.
We talked about Chicharito and theAstros cheating scandal. I tried asking them about coronavirus, about what their plan was in a down economy and they didn't want to talk about that.
Then one of the older guys asked me in Spanglish why I was so curious. So I said, "Aren't you worried something terrible is going to happen?"
And he said, "Mira. Look around, gordito. Something terrible always happens to us."
I nodded with my eyes and I gave him my only and quite possibly the last little bottle of hand sanitizer in the city.
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS:
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
-
Hexavalent chromium is the same carcinogen Erin Brockovich warned about in the 1990s, but researchers say more study is needed on the potential health effects of nanoparticles detected earlier this year. Experts will answer questions at a webinar this evening.