Venice resident and activist Amy Alcon has a syndicated advice column in addition to a new book out and has agreed to allow Update to reprint one of her columns from her Advice Goddess Blog about a chap or chimp in Venice she encountered 4 February.
“The Tragedy Of The Asshole In The Commons”: Taking On The Littering Hipsturd
“The tragedy of the asshole in the commons” is a phrase from my book, “Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F*ck,” which is ultimately a book about human behavior — why we behave as we do, how we can behave less counterproductively, and how to get the rude assholes of our world to curb their rude assholishness.
This particular phrase is a play on Garrett Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons,” referring to how, when there’s a shared, public resource, selfish dickwads tend to hog it or ruin it for their own benefit.
I just experienced this.
I had to go to the corner store. As I was about to cross the street, a man smoking a cigarette tossed it, still burning, into the gutter, and strolled into the coffee bar.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. I ran in and grabbed a couple of napkins (I patronize this place — to the tune of kathousands of dollars over the years, so I’m guessing they didn’t mind).
I went back out, squashed the butt out, put it in the napkin, and went back in and gave it to the hipsturd — along with a few words on not littering up my neighborhood. (The world is not your ashtray.)
Amazingly, when I came back across the street from the store, the guy saw me, came out of the coffee place, and yelled at me to mind my own business. (And then he told me I was ugly — always the first or second line of a defense of a person who lacks an argument.)
I told him it’s my neighborhood that he’s uglying up.
Amazingly, he said it’s his neighborhood, too.
Hmmm. I wonder if he also takes a big dump in the middle of his living room rug.
What do you think?
And do you think, as I do, that maybe, just maybe, he’ll rethink his littering? Not that he’ll become the sort of person who wouldn’t litter. But maybe that he’ll think that people might be watching and might hassle him?
And yes, thanks, I had the pepper spray armed just in case. But he just looked like a short, squat hipster dickwad, not a gang member, which is why I stood up for my neighborhood and against littering instead of just walking on and seething to myself.
Sorry roxanne. I misread part of your statement, yes. Parking is a tragedy of the good. However residents who use public streets are the tragedy. Because those who do not have parking on either their private property or for their apartment buildings are sapping the resource for the greater good of visitors who are investing in our businesses. The residents without parking are not paying for parking and have the same right to use the streets than the public at large. When you don’t pay for something you have to accept the freerider way of life. Plenty of parking in Rochester if your worried about it.
Tragedy of the commons has nothing to do with what you are talking about Roxanne. Tragedy of the commons more closely relates to the transient issue at the beach. The question tragedy of the commons asks is this… “what is best for the resource- public or private ownership?” a public good (open space for example) the tragedy lies in the public usage of the resource and assume the next user of the resource will take protect or take interest in its protection. VERSUS private ownership whom have both personal interest and investment of that resource. Seems like you think all property in venice is a public resource. It is not. If it were there would be no business of any kind. Security of land ownership and property rights is the fundamental basis of our country. Somehow there has been and egotistical shift in the mind sets of the old ladies here in venice who think they can dictate and force there old lady views on the organic progression of venice. Please stop. I dont want to live on rochester new york…full of old ladies with thdir stagnant development.
Thanks Amy! We currently are experiencing TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS in Venice when it seems that almost every new development is a Mega-mansion, subdivision, or a late night restaurant bar providing no or little (valet) parking. When Mega-mansion is next to mega-mansion, 3 houses on a lot next to three houses on a lot, what will it look and feel like – no breeze, no light, only mold.
Readers can let you know how they are experiencing restaurant bars with late night hours and no or limited (valet) parking stacked all in a row.
Rudeness? How can people proclaim to be good neighbors who care about the community when they place a late night restaurant bar (with no or limited (valet) parking within 3 feet (Kim’s Market – 600 Mildred), 12 feet 6 inches (Gjelina’s Gjusta – 320 Sunset) and 14 feet 10 inches (Sauce – 259 Hampton) of residents’ childrens’ bedroom windows?
Would these owners (Alicia Searle, Fran Camaj, Richard Gottlieb) allow this near their home? I think not. This seems so rude. It’s not OK for me, but it is OK for others. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?”
The Argonaut and Beachhead newspaper stands have twice been pulled out in front of the Rose Cafe. Interesting that 600 Mildred, 259 Hampton, 320 Sunset and changes at the Rose (new owner Bill Chait) have been written about in those publications.
The tragedy of the commons applies all over Venice. What about the old-school homeowners who have converted their mandated 2-3 parking spots into alternative uses like extra rooms, workshops, etc. and then park on the street? Then they complain about a lack of street parking! Well, duh, that’s why the city legally requires on-lot parking – so you have a guarunteed spot. They have no one to blame but themeselves, but then they get pissed off at developers and try to take the moral high ground, when in reality, they are just pushing their own selfish agenda like anyone else.
I beg to differ on this one Nick. Yes a few on street spaces may be saved by people actually bringing their cars off the street into their back yards/garages, however that is NOT the major cause of the parking problem in Venice now. It is that the city allows commercial operations to encroach into residential neighborhoods and lets them cheat on their parking requirements, so as to provide none to barely adequate, parking for their patrons, and staff. For example Gjelina’s 320 Sunset Ave location (aka the Fakery) for the building size should provide in the vicinity 50 spaces for their 100+ customers. In reality they have about 8 for patrons and forbid their 30-40 staff from parking in there so they are forced to park on our streets. 259 Hampton (Sauce) going for a change of use to a fully licensed restaurant seating similar amount have ZERO parking whatsoever, not even one for disabled. So where are their 100 patrons and 30 staff going to park? On our streets! 1305 Abbot Kinney (aka the Black Beast, another blight on the neighborhood by Gjelina’s operator Camaj) – again should be providing approx 30 spaces based on the building size, yet was allowed to get away with 2 rows of triple tandom rooftop (6) spaces at such a steep incline that I cannot imagine it humanly possible to park anything safely up there in the the heavens. Where are their 40 staff going to park and their 100 patrons? 600 Mildred (aka Kims market) are planning anywhere between 50 – 80 patrons for sit down licensed restaurant, a mere 3 feet from a family’s home and in dense residential neighborhood with ZERO PARKING. So their patrons and 20/30 staff…again – same old problem – where to park??? I could go on, as these operations are popping up in our residential enclave like wild mushrooms. So what is the solution: make people use their garages, or STOP BUSINESS CHEATING on their parking requirements, and make them provide parking which is the COST OF DOING BUSINESS? I suggest the latter. They should be confined to commercial premises which can supply ACTUAL parking. IN LIEU FEES paid into an INVISIBLE fund for INVISIBLE spaces do not provide parking for REAL cars which ACTUAL humans drive.
I totally agree that in-lieu fees are too low and need to be put aside to build/enhance public parking in Venice. Venice needs parking structure(s), but the city has no money to build (or so they say), yet our in-lieu fees disappear into a black hole as you say. Venice money, including tourist dollars, need to stay in Venice since we bear the burden. That being said, in my experience, the most vocal anti-commercial people are the ones who park on the street because they either (i) have converted their parking to other uses or (ii) live in a rental that lacks parking, and thus should theoretically be cheaper because of the lack of parking. However, I also feel that the obsession with parking is very old school. Venice is increasingly walkable and bikable. Services like Uber are easy to access and unlike a cab, incrediblly convenient for short (1-2 mile) travel. As for visiters from afar, coming to trend restaurants – we need to find a way to milk them! Put in permit parking and then sell a certain number of temporary permits to valet companies at huge prices. Let the people who insist on driving everywhere pay the price. The problem is that we have the wrong economic incentives around parking. Make driving expensive, especially when there are more alternatives than ever.
The alternatives are not as readily available as you may think. I bike about 99% of the time. How many people can say that or do that? I work from a home office so biking is convenient. Uber is not a reliable alternative either. The Big Blue Bus is terribly underserving the mass transit community and where is light rail and why isn’t light rail in Venice or even LAX? You have a legacy of incompetent representation at the city level that is myopic and out-of-touch. Why doesn’t a connection exist down Venice Blvd and then along the beach to Venice? There is a void of leadership, vision and guts. Now Bonin is looking to get reelected to a five and a half year term if voters approve a phony attempt to increase voter turnout.