Political Gumbo: House Update and the Genocide

I’ll start with a quick update on the house, The living room wall has been knocked down to make the lot safe so debris removal can continue.

A lot of it has been completed. A pile of large burned out items still have to be removed. Plans are wending their way through the county, and yes wending is a word.

It’s crazy looking at some of the burned out parts and trying to figure out what it used to be.

The back door lock assembly ended up in my neighbors yard.

The keys are still in the lock. Saving that for the trophy case, along with a tile from the roof and a stone from the foyer.

Keep some of the old stuff, the memories are worth it.

Progress.

Respect to Supervisor Kathryn Barger for continuing to streamline the process.

Altadena Matters, along with all of its sons and daughters.

One hundred days after the fire, the cameras are gone along with many of the out of towners, read preachers, politicians, activists and rain makers.

I’m not surprised, once the cameras go away so do the performers.

And since the chicken thieves are gone, it feels much better when I go home. Yes, it’s still home even if it’s just an empty lot.

Always will be.

Life in Fontucky continues.

On an aside, or maybe the main point, take a break this week to remember the Great Crime.

On April 24, 1915 the Armenian Genocide began under the Ottoman Empire and resulted in the systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians through various means.

Although the Turkish government has long denied that the Genocide occurred it happened, just like slavery, Jim Crow and the Holocaust.

See it’s easy to say it. Sadly for decades, both Democratic and Republican administrations in the United States declined to officially recognize it, including President Barack Obama, who, despite promising to do so as a presidential candidate in 2008, passed up the chance to recognize the Genocide during his tenure, even on its centennial in 2015.

Biden did recognize it.

Pasadena’s Armenian community, which began forming in the early 20th century, has been shaped by the legacy of the Genocide. Pashgian Brothers Rug company was established here in 1889. By 1923, an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 Armenians were living in the city, some of whom were survivors of the atrocities.

The community has since grown and made significant contributions to Pasadena and Altadena.

Respect to former Mayor William Paparian and former Police Chief Bernard Melekian. Paparian and I have had several talks about the Genocide and Jim Crow.

Brotherhood.

The Armenian Genocide Memorial in Pasadena’s Memorial Park, unveiled in 2015 on the centennial of the genocide, serves as a focal point for remembrance and education. Designed by Catherine Menard, the memorial features a stone basin with water dripping every 21 seconds, each drop symbolizing 10,000 lives lost in the genocide.

We’ve all endured genocides, the Jim Crow Genocide that led to the lynching of thousands of Black people was still happening when I was born.

And yet despite all our families have endured, we know that the  evil that men do is never far off.

When do we learn?