My wife and I stayed in Malibu during the week of Oct. 11 at the Malibu Beach Inn. We were celebrating my completion of a 13-month cancer treatment taken at Compassionate Oncology in Los Angeles. We are from Pennsylvania and this trip was special, staying in Malibu to enjoy the beautiful scenery and weather. On Tuesday, by sheer chance, we happened on the Malibu Country Mart where we walked into the courtyard to look around. Upon entering, we passed a younger couple (late 20s), obviously local, who commented to us as we passed that, “It used to be that you saw rednecks in Beverly Hills but now we have them here!”
I was very angry for a few minutes but said nothing. We left right away and never went back. This “redneck” in real life is the kind of person Gibson and Stallone portray in movies. I fought in Vietnam, worked hard at a blue collar job, raised four kids (several years by myself), active in church and community, stood up for the underdog, and battled cancer and lung problems at the same time and overcame them by God’s grace. I am the person who would risk his life to help that woman who slandered me if I saw her in trouble.
Men like me shed their blood in war and pay their taxes in peace so some prejudiced person can look at my clothes and call me a redneck. My wife and I sought no one’s house to gawk at and left a couple of celebrities we saw alone. We were just walking. We found many local people very gracious and helpful especially the people at the Adamson House and Malibu Beach Inn. I trust that this woman’s attitude does not reflect the overall mindset of Malibu. It is too beautiful a place to show such ignorance and prejudice.
Kenneth Ross