California is as diverse as all get out.

[Vektor]

Prepare to hear the obvious.

California is truly a melting pot.

California is not all "rich and white."

Our "million dollar homes" look no different than yours as far as size, amenities, and number of bedrooms. The land is grossly overpriced out here, and those of us who own property here work our asses off to maintain it, bought it a long time ago when it was still affordable, or inherited it from dead parents. We live here because our families and friends do, because we were born here, brought here as kids, or moved here seeking mild weather, jobs, education - a good life.

California is a blue state, with 55 electoral votes that almost always go to Democrats.

(Ok, our Governor is a putz...I'll give ya that.)

San Diego county voted red only by a small margin. 47% of the county did vote for Kerry.

http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/politicalInfo.php?locIndex=10812

When your home is burning, and your pets are missing, and everything you call home is being destroyed, it really doesn't matter who you voted for. You're fucked, and it's awful, and nobody who isn't experiencing it can imagine how it feels.

Please, can we stop the class warfare, the arguing, and the stereotyping? California is not filled with "rich white movie stars" - it's filled with human beings of all stripes, none of whom deserve to have this happen to them.

Regardless of the geographic location of a disaster, the socio-economic status or ethnicity of the victims, or the political affiliation of those affected, we all know that a disaster is a disaster, and nobody "deserves" to burn, drown, be swept away or die a horrible death and/or lose their entire life's work in one fell swoop.

Don't we? Please say we do.

[rufus dog]

1. Hey! I live in CA and I am rich and white!

Well O.K., I'm white. Haven't seen anything here bagging on Californians, might have missed it. I do come across a lot of misconceptions about us, rich surfers hanging out at at the beach all day. I don't think people realize how we are a very much like people everywhere else. We just have bigger mortgages.

[Vektor]

2. There was a little bit of it going on...

Not sure why. There were many that jumped to the aid of Californians and smacked down the stereotypes.

Some of the nasties may have been trolls.

I just wanted to clear up any misconceptions. :-)