estellastheme
Chatty Member
Angeleno here: Arleta is not a reference anyone uses for that part of the valley. Locals would say Panorama City or Pacoima or Sylmar. I’ve truly never even heard of it until the tweet and even then in my head went “oh Pacoima”. And Pacoima/Panorama City are already known for their high Latino and immigrant demographics, to go with literally Arleta is specifically being a racist snob. You have to keep in mind that for as sprawling and incredibly diverse as LA is it is still very separated in terms of both racial demographics and socioeconomic status. If she just wanted to be a snob she could’ve named checked Sylmar (predominately white but not high income). You could even stretch for more sympathy and name check Pacoima (known for its brutal street gang) to seem really destitute and maybe not racist.I have to say, I don't think Alice was being racist or offensive when she said she would have to live in a flat "north of Arleta".
If you look at a map, Arleta is on the outskirts of LA, and it seems she was making a comment about how far away she would be from the centre of LA, and everything hip and cool. Like someone who lived in London bemoaning the fact they could only afford to buy a flat "north of Watford".
Edit to add: I’ve worked with and known people from all those above mentioned areas and they have largely been truly kind and decent people the likes of which Alice with all her airs and delusions of grandeur will never be.
Last edited: