Veritas… by Whitney Farmer – Un Pop Culture | @MDWorld

July 4, 2012 Whitney Farmer 11 Comments

Whitney runs a rock music venue on the beach in L.A.. She has an MBA, and has nothing else to say.

There are things outside the Internal Affairs proceedings that have to be safe territory to discuss, right? That the cop was the perpetrator was already established by the outcome of the criminal proceedings and that’s a matter of public record.

Three of us gave testimony today, and our day began with carpooling at an inhumane hour. We talked about no part of what happened behind the closed door, but we enjoyed our lunch break as we walked out of the Bradbury building into the warm sun.  I thought that I was going to give them a tour of the area because I had studied about the architectural history. But it turns out that Bone knew someone who had gotten married at a quickie wedding chapel nearby and Big John used to go to the Grand Central Market with his grandmother each week when she would shop for whatever had been freshly harvested, beautiful but heavy to carry home on the bus. I was tempted to buy a flat of cherries for $0.65 a pound, but I thought I might look like a looney if I brought them into the hearing room to be sworn in.

Bone had had a chance to take a brief nap in the stiff chair in the waiting area, but we all needed replenishing fast. They both ordered burritos that were so big that Big John finally settled on holding it in one hand while using a fork because it was too big to bite into without risking poor manners. Bone remarked that – when you think about it – a good burrito is basically a full meal on a plate and then you just fold up the plate around the entire thing, but the plate is a tortilla. I bought a plate of gringo(a?) breakfast which the cook held safe for me as I raced back to the Bradbury to retrieve my cell phone, forgotten behind because of low blood sugar.  Both he and the elevator operator who had helped me re-trace my steps smiled when I reported that happy endings are possible when I returned with what had been lost.

After lunch when we returned to the Bradbury, we all were drinking something healthy. Bone and I had mango smoothies, and Big John had green tea that would have made his grandma proud.  At the theater across the street, “Los Tres Mosqueteros” was on the marquee. All for one and one for all, we finished a few more slurps and all walked back into hell together.

Now, there is a possibility that we have all completed our testimony in the LAPD Internal Affairs situation. And there is a possibility that it didn’t do any good. This didn’t occur to me until tonight, and I don’t know whether I should think about it or not. Maybe it’s because I am tired from spending four hours in the car, avoiding danger that makes you frightened and then angry. It puts your head in a bad place.

Was it naïve to think that I would say what I remember and that was all that I needed to do? Because irrefutable evidence is the goal, that means that evidence can be refuted.  Truth doesn’t always win. That might be the most common reason why people go to war.

I’ve never been involved in anything like this before. I underestimated what it would be like to sit before cross examiners who are paid to say things that aren’t true, and to cloud the truth of what is said.  Maybe the only word that seems to fit to describe it is ‘sordid’. Maybe ‘unwholesome’ would work, too. It’s a tough crowd, and the officers who work in the midst of it and try to rescue truth are impossibly heroic. I was asked not to discuss the proceedings. I won’t, because I was asked. But was it a request, or was it actually a demand with authority to back it up? Not sure. Should I care or comply if a union is trying to protect one of its dues-paying members, and are they in the business of rationing reality? The panel was charged with deciding whether the officer should be fired.  Considering what events transpired, people who have regular jobs might ask what exactly does it take.

What is the difference between someone who is naïve and an idiot?

And which one am I?

—
Quote of the Blog, from Ed, Dude of Light and Fog, regularly and in many different situations: “That’s very glamorous”

Image of Bone drinking a mango smoothie, courtesy of my cell phone.