So I have this dumb habit of watching vlogs on YouTube by people I have no interest in when I'm bored, and one day I watched one that I just knew would rub me the wrong way.
In it, this YouTuber (who shall go unnamed) announced that they were moving out of LA and listed the reasons that prompted their move. One of them was, "Everyone in Los Angeles is so fake."
Umm...k.
They were a transplant (as many people here are), and they were FED UP. Now, this isn't to say that their experience wasn't valid. I'm sure the people they did encounter were fake, egotistical, narcissists, etc. But what I take issue with is making a sweeping generalization about a whole city, when, in reality, the only people who were fake were the people they surrounded themselves with.
Just say your friends sucked, bb.
Now, this YouTuber wasn't the first person to say this, and they won't be the last. It's a popular stereotype at this point that's got a chokehold on the city, and they simply fed into it. But in a city that holds nearly 4 million people, saying "everyone" is one type of way is just lazy. Do you know all 4 million?
These sort of sweeping statements come up a lot on TikTok as of late too, where people like to highlight different LA neighborhoods but somehow focus on all the same ones. Sure, sometimes the jokes are good, and parts of them are accurate (like the ones about traffic), but people have a funny way of selectively erasing an entire population of people who live here when they talk about LA as a whole — and, more importantly, people who've lived here for decades, way before any of us arrived.
It's always "Santa Monica this" or "Silverlake that," but never a mention of places like Boyle Heights, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, South LA, etc. Wonder what all those places have in common?
They're content with painting an 8x10-inch picture of LA based on the 5-mile radius they've jogged, when this place is so much more than that. When you haven't experienced the entirety of the city and the people who make it what it is, who are you to define it?
In the case of the YouTuber in question, they, like many here, work in entertainment. After all, LA is the entertainment capital of the world. And as someone who works tangentially in the field, I can confirm that — like with many other industries — the business can attract some vultures with bloated egos.
But guess what? The act of being fake isn't exclusive to entertainers. The "biz" is tough, so it brings out the worst in some. But as someone whose world was once way out of entertainment (and LA as a whole), I can confirm that "being fake" isn't a quality that was birthed here.
Hell, the first fake person I encountered at a job was when I waited tables at a retirement home in the middle of nowhere. You know who you are.
The industry is very much tied to LA, but LA is not just the industry. People here are also doctors, cooks, housekeepers, and factory workers. They're truck drivers, students, scientists, and gardeners. Not everyone here is after you or your clout; nor do they care — I promise you that.
People who feel like the city is out to get them need to begin looking at the people they've allowed into their lives to begin with. Pop that bubble you've created for yourself and take a peek outside of it for a minute or two. I promise you, the view is so much nicer.
Much of what makes one's experience in this city great is seeing it through the eyes of people who are unlike you in many ways. There is so much cultural diversity to celebrate, people to learn and grow from, and genuine people who aren't ready to sell you out.
Don't let any show, movie, or single person influence what you think LA is. Surround yourself with people you vibe well with, and make the experience work for you.
That's the beautiful thing about Los Angeles. We are a mixed bag of personalities and ideologies. Some of us suck, and some of us are great. Some like green juice, yoga, Instagram likes, and looking hot at the grocery store. Others like eating at taco trucks, drinking at hole-in-the-wall dive bars, and watching vlogs on Saturday afternoons that prompt them to write posts like this one.
It comes with the territory. But as with any city, there is nuance within it. There are plenty of things that define Los Angeles, but being fake isn't one of them. That is all.
