I was born in Valencia and primarily raised in Palmdale, California. The city has had both its benefits and its downfalls. In Palmdale, ironically, there are no palm trees; that is, unless someone planted them in their own backyard or the city plated them for decoration. There are however, a lot of cacti. Fortunately, my families backyard has lots of palm trees, and serves as a tropical escape of sorts. It is a great escape from the surrounding city. Although there has been continuous city development throughout the years, it is still rather bare relative to developed near-by cities such as Los Angeles, the “city of angels.”

In one way or another, Palmdale reminds me of Afghanistan, but without the combat-war aspect. Although individuals are not dying in the same way as the brave soldiers fighting abroad for our country, I feel that Palmdale is fighting its own “war;” a psychological and cultural war of sorts. Generally speaking, different ethnicities bring about different cultural traditions, attitudes, ideas values and financial status’ to whichever city they live in. People who are racially similar also tend to stick together. Generally speaking, from what I have observed, cultures tend to stick together and live in the same areas as one another: almost like a tribe! Where I grew up, individuals are primarily struggling or financially “ok.” Very few families are actually doing financially well. As a result of such ethnic and economic diversity, the type of people found in Palmdale vary significantly; in ways it is a blessing and in other ways a curse.

As previously mentioned, ethnicities bring diversity where they thrive. For example, national statistics state that people from the African American and Hispanic cultures typically vote in favor of democratic political candidates on a local, state and national level. Those same statistics also state that a larger percentage of African American and Hispanic individuals receive one, or more, forms of government financial-assistance. This is far different from those statistics of people from other races. A persons racial identification, and association, serves as a huge influence to what political stances and what degree of government intervention they find “acceptable.” Your culture will highly impact the viewpoint you take on this issue amongst countess others.

I am not writing this particular blog to argue one side over another. I am presenting and idea on how different sides of every city will teach different and valuable life-lessons; their ideas, values, finances status’ and cultural traditions influence the way different people think within the same city. In relation to Palmdale, the “East Side” has a demographic that is primarily African American and Hispanic. On the “West Side,” Asians, Middle Easterns, Europeans and Whites are more prevalent. Those on the “West Side” have different, and often conflicting, view points from those individuals living on the “East Side” of the city. It is evident that the East Side of Palmdale is financially less “well-off” than the West Side and more often than not, the demographics follow in accordance with the national statistics previously mentioned.

Growing up, I was raised on the West Side, and naturally, I found that my values differed greatly from the individuals residing on the East Side. I’d like to state that I am observant rather than biased; I form reservations about people, places, things, and ideas according to my observations rather than pre-conceived notions on why things should or should not be the way they are. Over the years, I have found that I have made both friends in West and East Palmdale. I have also found their to be both “good” and “bad” people in both sides of the city. Please note that your perception about who is a “good” or “bad” person is relative to how you grew up, and those values and morals that have been engrained into you. It will differ for every person.

East Palmdale has a similar reputation to East Los Angeles. There’s even a song entitled “Palmdale,” created by Afro-man, which basically trash-talks the whole city. It is a poor area gang violence, crime and it is noticeably more “ghetto” than other areas of the city. Needless to say, prior to my move to San Diego, it was rare for my parents to let me drive on the East side while stars were out. Given I did make a few friends from that side of town, I have found that East Palmdale has taught me to be aware of my surroundings, yet not generalize people because of their surrounding area. In other words, I have learned not to stereotype an individual simply because of where they live. It is important for us to judge a persons actions, rather than their words, to differentiate the “good” from the “bad” people, and we should choose our associations accordingly. 

The West Side of Palmdale has taught me that not every individual is in the financial situation that they claim to be in. In other words, a number of people in West Palmdale are not necessarily doing as financially-well as they appear to be. Often times, people would abuse the system, wear name brand items (which were more-often-than-not fake) and drive around range rover, which were silently funded through foster-care checks and so-called government “assistance.” They would purposefully show off their expensive watches, jewelry and shoes in order to promote their self-proclaimed bad-assery to those around them. Ethnic background, which goes hand in hand and with culture, has a significant influence on ideas, values, and economic prosperity, or disparity. This leads to city-wide diversity, demographic conflict, and a lack of acceptance for those who don’t share the same socioeconomic status’ as themselves.

Palmdale is in battle against itself. I believe the “war” it is facing is regarding acceptance. People in West Palmdale generally don’t interact as often with people from East Palmdale, and vise versa. They don’t accept each others racial, economic, social, religious, political stances…etc. and instead, they judge others due to stereotype of where they live. We can end this psychological “war” between cultures (or “parts” of the city in regards to Palmdale) by encouraging integration of traditions, ideas, and values, despite racial and economical differences. We are all diverse and have varying backgrounds; “good” people are abundant…everywhere, and so are “bad” people.

Society as a whole turns its back to accepting and befriending those who are different than themselves. No one says anything, and we all contribute to the growing problem of non-acceptance; this problem is present in all cities nation-wide. East Palmdale taught me to not stereotype an individual simply because of where they live. Every individual puts on the face that they are successful, despite whether or not they actually are, because success, or the appearance of success, earns people the respect they desire. West Palmdale taught me that every person wants to feel important, successful and respected. Without having the experience of making friends in both sides of this city, I would not have learned these valuable lessons. There is something to learn about every city and about all people within them. There are friends to be made, along with people to avoid everywhere. We should judge others by their actions, but not by the words they say or the city (or part of the city) they live in. What lessons can you learn from your city?