Last month during all the tree-sitting hoopla and confrontations over the clearing of the Woodlands near the Highlands residential area of Arcadia, that a seemingly likely looming protest against from a group that reportedly opposes gay marriage be handled differently than the tree protesters.
I suggested a more civil and less confrontational protest outside the annual Mayor’s Breakfast. That’s exactly what happened, with about 90 protesters showing up and making themselves very visible to attendees and the media with placards and chants.
I think the protest, which was not even the slightest bit confrontational, was just as effective in generating attention to their concerns. Like the Woodlands situation, the end result was not impacted at all, but no one got upset and people expressed their opposing views in a respectful manner. Kudos to the protesters.
Speaking of the Woodlands, I’m curious to know why those people who were so upset about the oak trees cleared in an area closed to the public have not made any similar noises about the City of Arcadia removing dozens of beautiful Stone Pine trees a few blocks away, this time along the streets in front of homes. The trees are apparently annoying to the homeowners when their roots create cracks in their driveways and damage their yard sprinklers, as well as sidewalks, curbs, gutters and water mains.
Is there something ecologically different about these pines that make them OK to remove as opposed to what some of the residents in this area insisted was irreparable damage to our environment due to the removal of the oaks?
I hope so, because otherwise the Highlands residents who complained so loudly about the Woodlands would seem a little like the executives at Warner Bros. and CBS who tolerated and defended Charlie Sheen for years regarding his drug abuse and continual run-ins with the law relative to his alleged mistreatment of women and his wives, among other things. It wasn’t until Sheen recently lashed out at the executives personally that they decided his behavior was hitting too close to home and fired him from his popular Two and a Half Men TV series.
I hope those Highlands homeowners aren’t similarly showing an intolerance for trees only now that these particular trees have caused aggravation too close to their homes.
Read more by Scott Hettrick at ArcadiasBest.com.
