I have my very first interview with a big name in the property biz of Santa Ana who's recently come under fire for urban renewal/land development. He and his family have been such an enriching part of Santa Ana's history since 1919 donating for years, managing property and renting to big name businesses, you name it, he's done it all in the world of real estate and property management. He and his father have been accused of racism because they in particular decided to mow down this Mexican cultural center which is a non-profit organization established to help young kids get in touch with their native side. It's easy to see why he's accused of gentrification but in my opinion I think what's more important is getting the other side of the news. People are more than willing to step in and attack a young, privileged, rich white male, especially when he's attempting to tear down a Mexican cultural center. What could be more obvious?

People don't realize that gentrification is ultimately necessary, and it happens every single day, all over the globe, and it's what literally makes the world turn. It's everywhere. Globalization is everywhere. It seems as though poorer, urban families may get the shit end of the stick and it's the landlords and slumlords who end up having it all but at the end of the day, the cultural center in Santa Ana were given a new building to move into anyway just a few streets down. Obviously it was funded and it wasn't as though the guy just simply evicted everyone and told them they were on their own. At the end of the day everything is done in the name of business, as much as we hate to admit it. Sentimental value, culture connections, and nostalgia aren't going to win over the idea of business and finance.

Either way, I'm extremely nervous for my interview. It's so intimidating...I did some research on the guy and he's extremely wealthy. He's pretty much a frigging rock star in Orange County. The guy has some serious networking. I'm not kidding. The fact that he was willing to invite me to his office to meet in person so I could interview him is so nice of him, especially since I myself work for a new, small name start-up digital/print publication magazine. He didn't even have to meet with me but he was willing to take time off from his busy as hell schedule just to give me a story. I mean I'm sure that he'd want his side of the story to be spread around since publications are doing nothing but condemning him to proverbial hell for being a "racist."

I'm driving to his office by 11AM for the interview. My company is letting me borrow their recording devices and crap. I hope I don't offend him or ask him questions in a biased angle. I wrote down a bunch of questions but I think I'm going to reword them because they sound extremely accusatory. I'm completely unbiased and if anything I feel as though what he's doing is right. At first I disliked the idea of gentrification and believed in sticking it to the man whenever people could, but at the end of the day, let's be practical, shall we? You'd do the same thing if you were in his shoes.

I'm going to shit myself.