Let them be. Los Angeles city jail is the largest mental institution in the world and inmates cost taxpayers $60,000+ a year to incarcerate. All while providing zero mental health functions. Slab City probably saves the state a few dozen millions of dollars a year. Either way, let them be. They do not infringe upon the rights of anyone.
Absolutely. Live and let live. Places like this are a very reasonable (and essentially free) way of managing homelessness in an aggressively capitalistic society like ours.
They're hurting themselves and the environment. If they were in society some of them could actually get services. Just because the state sucks does not mean we should allow this are you aware that there's Ben child molesters and rapists and murderers caught out there
@@Bearintheweeds- Sadly, there are rapists and child molesters everywhere. I would hope that Slab City residents would police thst kind of behavior and deal with it.
I think a lot of people get overwhelmed with regular western life. most people have chronic stress from work, bills and responsibilities. I think some people get fed up or just dont see the point of it and move here. it seems really peaceful and relaxed. and like one guy said, its a community and the loneliness factor of homelessness isnt there as much. not to mention that communities help each other out. it looks like a very special place and Id hate to see it go away, people should start more places like it.
I have watched a lot of videos about Slab City and I dont think it is safe at all, especially for women unless she would have a tough man with her. I have read stories about rapes, Rigs being burned while you are away, stealing from people in the middle of the night, packs of dogs attacking other dogs, and I even read they found a dead person there. Of course, it would be nice if people could police themselves but I dont think it is happening at Slab City, just brutes being bully's to others and that is not a way to live. A lot of nomads go there but they go in groups. Not a good place at all.
@@gbmarie836 funny because everything you just described happens in every city in every state in the U.S. So I would say that its not less safe than any other city in America!
Are you kidding me? The crime ratio per person in cities cannot compare to the crime rate in the very, very, tinyl population of Slab City. @@TheMSLADY73
How many of you have actually been to Slab City? I have but I don't stay because it like moving. They seem to police themselves just fine when I was there.
I don’t recall stating anything adverse to living off grid. However , the Slabs is very hot in the summer. Other downfalls Of Slab Living is Water ; Insects ; FLIES . I’ve camped for many years. My first thought when going to Slabs was David you don’t know how good you got it. I was staying at Coyote Howls East in Arizona in 2007. A annual fee of 450.00 a year was required for a lot . Water was provided with a real faucet. DUMP SITES provided.4 shower houses : free computers to use with internet ; community bldg in park with coffee. Community breakfast for 1.25 . Community Bldg jam sessions 3 times a week. Exercise classes , weekly movies . Then I rode to Slabs on my Harley in 2007 . My first thought was where are their dump sites . Where is their shower house ? Who does garbage pick up ? In Coyote Howls East garbage dumpsters are provided and they haul off the garbage. If I was going to live off the grid I would think of BLM Land in Arizona where dump sites are provided. And dumpsters are provided for garbage. Just Saying
Slabs has been hosting snowbirds going on 70 yrs.. ppl USED to pack out trash.. it used to be so clean.. Ive seen vintage footage from the 70s 80s it was AlOT like Coyote Howls
@@lorriecrow7872 Back in the late 70s to late 80s when I use to partially winter it was great. We had as you mentioned pack out our refuse, emptied our black water at an approved dumping station. On Monday a clean up crew would be organized to pick up the trash of weekenders. There was a public health nurse every two weeks and a bookmobile weekly. Nobody had to worry about being robbed or burned out if they left their domicile unlike todays breed of Slabber. Oh, and there was no begging. Many snowbirds were not affluent but they paid their way all through life. More than I can say about todays squatters.
Everybody is homeless, they just don't know it yet. One bad illness, one bad choice with a law, one bad boss, one bad corporate decision and its over and your out thinking what the hell just happened, "Happiness is but the penciling of a shadow"
panxerox01 even if people own their house right away they still can be homeless if they owe few hundred in property tax for few years without paying for it!
Precisely. As you've essentially already stated, most of us are literally one medical bill or single misfortune away from bankruptcy and homelessness. Yet we always find a bone to pick with the impoverished, blaming them for literally everything, accusing them of laziness or simply not working hard enough. As well as thinking more highly of ourselves (generally speaking), and being led to believe that if we truly work hard enough, we'll be successful and fortunate. People fail to realize - more often than not - that the only bone to pick is with the government and the corporations. Corporate welfare and money in politics is something that's often overlook by the unaware public, because the government likes to keep us looking the other way, by pitting us against one another and giving us someone else to blame (the homeless, the poor, the ethnic communities, the left/right, etc). This is precisely why I plan on going about things via the van life movement, keeping myself as mobile and off the grid as possible, until I can find a decent area with lackadaisical building codes and regulations. Then building affordable and alternative style home, most likely a cob or strawbale style. It's not feasible for everyone, but I'll be damned if I continue living the next 50 or so years of my life in the way the government wants. Fuuuck that.
Yeah she seemed so unrelatable the only reason she came was for views and I bet the whole time she can't even comprehend why people would choose to live free
I notice comments like, "There's rapists and murderers there". Having spent time in prison myself, there is a basic code of conduct that inmates must follow and is enforced by other inmates, independent of corrections officers. And it's very similar to the one at Slab City. It's based on respect, there is no court trial to convict and a suitable force of fellow residents crushes any violators no matter how violent, powerful, or insane they may appear to be. In other words, in an organized (controlled) 'free' society, a person can hurt people and maybe get away with it. Not so in prison. Not so in Slab City. I Imagine any rapists, murderers or child molesters wind up either being run out of Slab City or simply...disappearing!
@@capt.jackoffgrid Hey Jack can I get an update on the Slab City counsel shenanigans.. I pray that no one inside of Slab City was evicted from their spots.. Did you get to keep your Slab pad my dude?
Nothing like romanticizing Slab city...it's bleak, acre after acre of dirt and scrub brush for as far as the eye can see...full of people who have one thing in common: they are nomads, for one reason or another. It's their life, and the life they've chosen or not...but there's nothing desirable about it to a realist.
@ThinkAboutWhatYoureSaying 1. I didn't say or imply the reporter romanticized Slab city. . Why would YOU say I did when it's not true? 2.. I didn't say I don't like scrub brush or nomads. Why would YOU say I said that? I said it's bleak as far as the eye can see: because it is bleak: (lacking vegetation and exposed to the elements, which is one definition of bleak: look it up) 3.I didn't speak for every realist on the planet: I spoke for myself. Why would YOU imply that I was speaking for every realist on the planet? 4.Yes, a realist would make the comment I did, b/c I AM a realist and my comment expresses my opinion. I don't need evidence or logic or rationale to speak my opinon. And I don't need your permission nor your approval to make a comment and give MY opinion. Nor do I need to prove my opinion. My opinions are based on MY personal observations of which you know nothing. And opinons are judgments, unlike Truth which can be supported by evidence and facts. It is however a FACT that people do romanticize Slab City: (make something seem better or more appealing than it really is, which is one defintion of romanticize: look it up). I've heard them do it with my own ears multiple times and not just in this video. I think YOU are the one who needs to think about whay they are saying. You might want to think twice b/4 you reply to a comment, b/c it helps if you actually understand what is said and the given context. You took my whole comment out of context, spun your own narrative and that is a pre-text. You are like the fake news, misrepresent what someone says so you can bash them.
Without romanticizing this place at all it still seems many of these people are far better off living in this little cobbled together community rather than they would be on the streets of major US cities. At the very least they can build themselves reasonably appropriate shelter. This seems a lot better than some of the heartbreaking stuff one routinely sees in inner cities.
What I find striking is that many of these people are quite articulate and intelligent. Some end up in slab city due to economic circumstances but I think part of it is choice as well.
LA Times Lisa - things have changed in Slab City. you should definitely do an update feature. you will be surprised by how things are now, and it needs to be shown without any sugar coating.
Still can't get by without money, 5 miles to niland for water at the community center, cheapest place to get food is walmart on the other side of Brawley, need a vehicle and gas, also for the wind storms that can last up to 3 days, impossible to deal with if you don't have solid structure.
HA! No matter how free you think you are, when people settle in the same place they end up with leaders, rules and everything that comes with society. It won't be long before there are taxes.
Are ppl safe here? If there's no one "running" this place it would seem to me there'd be a lot of crime going on? I've heard of women being beaten and raped in Slab City, is that true?
Women are beaten and raped in wealthy suburbs by their husbands. Or do you not keep up with the news? If you're a woman and want to be safe, buy a gun and never get married. Husbands and ex husbands are the most dangerous people in a woman's life.
Hater!? That's exactly what I got on live chat good to hear it. What ive noticed that no matter how hostile things get their there's always some backing them up with a vengeance. Remember now, she's a nice gal so don't punch her
I visited during the winter and everything was gone except for a few tweekers, weird. I am too disabled now to live off grid by myself, or I would do it in a heartbeat.
Where's the rest of this report? Where's the point of view of the council members? and all others referenced in this video. That's biased reporting no matter who I may agree with I like to hear both sides so my opinion is better informed.
That "Sticks" guy at 1:30 is filthy dirty. He has to go get drinking water so he ought to at least wash his hands. Must be nice to live downwind from dog shit.
@@sallydermont7284 I remember with carolyne was there she was spitting on everybody telling us that she wished we were dead I cried all the time while she was there
This place is making these people happy they are in their own community of course different bad situations may arise but look at all the crime going on in the inner cities all the homeless should just come here actually. This is not as bad as Kensington pa a bus 🚍 should come and take some from Kensington pa willing to come out here it's a better life for homelessness than Kensington pa. Sending prayers to the 💔 brokenhearted .
I'm not convinced there is really such a thing as some idealistic unlimited freedom,no matter what scenario you are in you still have to have shelter, clean clothing, food, clean water, the right nutrition, and deal with many of the conditions you have in the city or suburbs,plus some additional problems.
The freedom I want is from other people, and it doesn't really exist. No matter what, if you don't conform in one way or another, people can punish you for it.
They got a Channel of water somewhere but they said that it might have chemical runoff from the military I would avoid it and they talk about not taking the water anyway I don't know what that's all about I'd be all for hauling in large barrels of water but all you got to do is get a water from Air machine and you're set
American tend to judge people by what they own and equate worth in $$. you see this everywhere in American media on how so in so is worth this, or gets paid this. America is now a soulless society whose values now have taken a paradigm shift toward material wealth. it can be quite intimidating.
If I have money I will build a reservoir and hundred of bathroom so all the homeless in California could come here to live with a decency and dignity of a human being !
That is a great sentiment. I love your comment. One thing many people can do is make a composting toilet (it's relatively cheap) and a compost pile. I thought you had to have a liquid sewage system but then I started watching videos about van dwelling and off-gridding. There's so much stuff we don't know because it was kept from us.
I have a home it’s a pain like ball and chain. Nobody comes I am alone with the care taking of the place, I’m 58 single female I’m close to selling become a nomad .
That's the nature of the free space... When it's not anymore, you gotta move. Accepting that is part of the deal. If you try to hold on, it's not free.
I don't really know much about this place; I've seen a few videos on it. I'm sure they don't give the entire experience, either positive or negative. I have so many questions though! If it's truly a "free place and no one owns it," how is it that a group was trying to buy a part of it? To whom are they paying the money and how do they have any authority to kick out an individual who's been in that spot for four years? Where do these people throw their trash and old food? I can only imagine. Even basics like women who are menstruating...where does their trash go? Is all the trash burned in a certain place? Yet doesn't California prohibit that sort of thing? Air pollution or some such squawking? Certain areas of this "city" must be overrun with the rank scents of discarded food, dirty diapers, personal trash such as used toilet paper, dirty dogs, unwashed people.....I wonder if there's a problem with flies? Are people responsible to pick up after their dogs or do they just leave piles of dog poo everywhere? Do people really have control of all the dogs? Do abandoned dogs form wild packs? Do people there bathe/shower regularly? Where do they throw out dirty/used water? There's no running water so how often are dishes washed and bodies and clothes washed? Several of the people in the video had very dirty hands. What happens if there's a fire in someone's trailer and it spreads quickly in that dry environment of shacks and scraps? There's no fire station. How quickly can an ambulance arrive to take away a seriously hurt person? How are the more vulnerable inhabitants protected from predatory inhabitants such as child abusers, women abusers, thieves, gang activity, or drunkards having fights? What is one's recourse if someone steals a majority of your belongings? There are no authorities to protect anyone or to impose "justice" on a criminal. How do these people receive mail? There's no such thing as an earthly utopia because every community has a common entity: humans. And humans are flawed and selfish. Yes, fun-loving and helpful and generous and kind....but not one of us is perfect. So, you get a bunch of people together in a place with "no rules" and a place which bills itself as "the last free place in America" and you get trouble. If people think they're free to do whatever they want (despite some sort of unspoken code of treating everyone "nicely"), then they are absoLUTEly going to freely do whatever they want. This place seems perilous: unsafe for lone women and children, unhygienic, a possible haven for druggies, and scorchingly hot. Yet, if people want to live this way then I think they should. It's their choice. I suppose one has to count the cost of what sacrifices would have to be made in order to live here. I'm not wiling to compromise my physical safety, to compromise on hygiene/cleanliness, or compromise on the stability of keeping my belongings. Perhaps in this environment you just have to "take your chances" in exchange for living as you want. To each his own.
129diggsdrive the whole place is a garbage dump. There's no garbage collection it just piles up. As for single women and children, why would there be single children unaccompanied in Slab City? Single women have to take their chances. Many of the residents are addicted to various drugs, methamphetamine in particular. It's not a safe place. If somebody doesn't like you, they'll burn your place down. It's not an unusual occurrence. As for flies, they're not such a problem because of the heat. In the summertime it can get to be a hundred and ten degrees to 120 degrees. In the summertime, the population of Slab City is about one-tenth it is in the winter time. Some of the people who come to the Slab City live in very nice Arby's, a huge number of them are just bums who cannot get along in society because of drug problems or mental problems. Some of them just like the lifestyle, not having to work and take responsibility for themselves or anyone else. I would not recommend Slap City as a place to meet your future husband
an update?? and WHY was he forced to leave? and it doesn't sound like they had the authority to boot him out?? lots of unanswered questions in this video. not that informative.
He said they were going to buy the land he's on. I don't understand how that works (buy from California? From whom?) but that's what I understood from it. I kind of checked out for awhile though haha
thanks for that info! it just seemed like they were in discussions about buying the land. and even if they voted to buy the land, that process hasn't even started. so i am confused by his reaction.
yeah, works fine, especially if they had freedom from the state to advance further. Additionally, I admit the desert maybe isn't the best place to start a society, or at least not the easiest.
works fine, especially if they had freedom from the state to advance further. Additionally, I admit the desert maybe isn't the best place to start a society, or at least not the easiest. Not exactly my ideal system, but at least I'm not referring to an isolated example to attempt to prove that anarchy doesn't work. I want you to look up revolutionary catalonia, the Ukrainian free territory, Fejuve, and Rojava (although rojava is just super libertarian, you also displayed a distaste of libertarianism).
Dan Law Anarchy in a good way. A way that people govern themselves. Like the guy said, it’s about people respecting and helping one another. It’s very simple.
Great video !!!!! come back again !!!! I'm from Chicago planning on moving to Slab City !!! to create my huge masterpieces !!!!! Land of Oz ...... I'll definitely keep you posted...... Namaste !!! Oz
Thanks, The sea was wonderful with fresh water in the beginning and was a boomtown in the 50s. The farm runoff brought pesticides which is heavier than water and a sunk to the bottom Yes, if the lake dries out they'll be dust storms containing that chemical or what's left of it. The runoff also carried salt from the surrounding ground which has nowhere to go but concentrate in that water. So originally the water was fresh and wonderful and was a boomtown in the 50s. But as it got saltier the boomtown started going away. The fish die-offs are from algae blooms in summer which strip oxygen out of the water and that's why the fish die off. There are people there today that fish and eat the fish. I wouldn't do it. I've always proposed a canal system from the gulf of Mexico that helps keep the Salton Sea at the appropriate level. The Mexicans should have no problem with allowing this because of the migratory birds that both countries depend on. It should be a money maker also. The water would be flowing downhill about 140 feet which could generate electricity. It could also possibly be a money maker in that the gulf of Mexico would provide better water that might increase the quality of the Salton Sea, making it a tourist attraction again where people want to play and live.
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose !
Let them be. Los Angeles city jail is the largest mental institution in the world and inmates cost taxpayers $60,000+ a year to incarcerate. All while providing zero mental health functions. Slab City probably saves the state a few dozen millions of dollars a year. Either way, let them be. They do not infringe upon the rights of anyone.
Thank you!!
Absolutely. Live and let live. Places like this are a very reasonable (and essentially free) way of managing homelessness in an aggressively capitalistic society like ours.
They rape and murder without consequence. The child molesters out there hardly get arrested.
They're hurting themselves and the environment. If they were in society some of them could actually get services. Just because the state sucks does not mean we should allow this are you aware that there's Ben child molesters and rapists and murderers caught out there
@@Bearintheweeds- Sadly, there are rapists and child molesters everywhere. I would hope that Slab City residents would police thst kind of behavior and deal with it.
Well done by the reporter with heart and respect for the residents of Slabcity.
I think a lot of people get overwhelmed with regular western life. most people have chronic stress from work, bills and responsibilities. I think some people get fed up or just dont see the point of it and move here. it seems really peaceful and relaxed. and like one guy said, its a community and the loneliness factor of homelessness isnt there as much. not to mention that communities help each other out. it looks like a very special place and Id hate to see it go away, people should start more places like it.
Its full of people running from the law.
I have watched a lot of videos about Slab City and I dont think it is safe at all, especially for women unless she would have a tough man with her. I have read stories about rapes, Rigs being burned while you are away, stealing from people in the middle of the night, packs of dogs attacking other dogs, and I even read they found a dead person there. Of course, it would be nice if people could police themselves but I dont think it is happening at Slab City, just brutes being bully's to others and that is not a way to live. A lot of nomads go there but they go in groups. Not a good place at all.
@@gbmarie836 funny because everything you just described happens in every city in every state in the U.S. So I would say that its not less safe than any other city in America!
Are you kidding me? The crime ratio per person in cities cannot compare to the crime rate in the very, very, tinyl population of Slab City. @@TheMSLADY73
How many of you have actually been to Slab City? I have but I don't stay because it like moving. They seem to police themselves just fine when I was there.
I don’t recall stating anything adverse to living off grid. However , the Slabs is very hot in the summer. Other downfalls Of Slab Living is Water ; Insects ; FLIES . I’ve camped for many years. My first thought when going to Slabs was David you don’t know how good you got it. I was staying at Coyote Howls East in Arizona in 2007. A annual fee of 450.00 a year was required for a lot . Water was provided with a real faucet. DUMP SITES provided.4 shower houses : free computers to use with internet ; community bldg in park with coffee. Community breakfast for 1.25 . Community Bldg jam sessions 3 times a week. Exercise classes , weekly movies . Then I rode to Slabs on my Harley in 2007 . My first thought was where are their dump sites . Where is their shower house ? Who does garbage pick up ? In Coyote Howls East garbage dumpsters are provided and they haul off the garbage. If I was going to live off the grid I would think of BLM Land in Arizona where dump sites are provided. And dumpsters are provided for garbage. Just Saying
Slabs has been hosting snowbirds going on 70 yrs.. ppl USED to pack out trash.. it used to be so clean.. Ive seen vintage footage from the 70s 80s it was AlOT like Coyote Howls
The trash is HORRENDOUS
@@lorriecrow7872 Back in the late 70s to late 80s when I use to partially winter it was great. We had as you mentioned pack out our refuse, emptied our black water at an approved dumping station. On Monday a clean up crew would be organized to pick up the trash of weekenders. There was a public health nurse every two weeks and a bookmobile weekly. Nobody had to worry about being robbed or burned out if they left their domicile unlike todays breed of Slabber. Oh, and there was no begging. Many snowbirds were not affluent but they paid their way all through life. More than I can say about todays squatters.
@@mikebrown9781 Cool
No snakes spiders??
Everybody is homeless, they just don't know it yet. One bad illness, one bad choice with a law, one bad boss, one bad corporate decision and its over and your out thinking what the hell just happened, "Happiness is but the penciling of a shadow"
panxerox01 even if people own their house right away they still can be homeless if they owe few hundred in property tax for few years without paying for it!
Precisely. As you've essentially already stated, most of us are literally one medical bill or single misfortune away from bankruptcy and homelessness. Yet we always find a bone to pick with the impoverished, blaming them for literally everything, accusing them of laziness or simply not working hard enough.
As well as thinking more highly of ourselves (generally speaking), and being led to believe that if we truly work hard enough, we'll be successful and fortunate. People fail to realize - more often than not - that the only bone to pick is with the government and the corporations. Corporate welfare and money in politics is something that's often overlook by the unaware public, because the government likes to keep us looking the other way, by pitting us against one another and giving us someone else to blame (the homeless, the poor, the ethnic communities, the left/right, etc).
This is precisely why I plan on going about things via the van life movement, keeping myself as mobile and off the grid as possible, until I can find a decent area with lackadaisical building codes and regulations. Then building affordable and alternative style home, most likely a cob or strawbale style. It's not feasible for everyone, but I'll be damned if I continue living the next 50 or so years of my life in the way the government wants. Fuuuck that.
Sir spot on point. Thank you.
i know a guy named Fred who isn't homeless.
My family and I live in a camper
I bet she is gone before it gets dark.
I'm sure her camera guy is carrying.
A. Citizen Not in California people are too pussified out there when it comes to guns!
@@jonmacdonald5345 LOL
If she was smart she will be
Yeah she seemed so unrelatable the only reason she came was for views and I bet the whole time she can't even comprehend why people would choose to live free
I find it refreshing that Lisa went into her trip with as few preconceived ideas as she could.
Jimmy Fischbeck I feel the same way.
I notice comments like, "There's rapists and murderers there". Having spent time in prison myself, there is a basic code of conduct that inmates must follow and is enforced by other inmates, independent of corrections officers. And it's very similar to the one at Slab City. It's based on respect, there is no court trial to convict and a suitable force of fellow residents crushes any violators no matter how violent, powerful, or insane they may appear to be. In other words, in an organized (controlled) 'free' society, a person can hurt people and maybe get away with it. Not so in prison. Not so in Slab City. I Imagine any rapists, murderers or child molesters wind up either being run out of Slab City or simply...disappearing!
Oh please there's plenty of gotten away with a lot down there there's no way in hell you would get me down there
Looks like a great location for a barbershop
Do these people not understand once the land is sold to private owners it falls under state law which means all kinds of laws.
They understand that very well. That's why they don't like it.
Who is gonna buy that shit
It can't be sold to a private party, only a 501c non profit
@@capt.jackoffgrid Hey Jack can I get an update on the Slab City counsel shenanigans.. I pray that no one inside of Slab City was evicted from their spots.. Did you get to keep your Slab pad my dude?
Nothing like romanticizing Slab city...it's bleak, acre after acre of dirt and scrub brush for as far as the eye can see...full of people who have one thing in common: they are nomads, for one reason or another. It's their life, and the life they've chosen or not...but there's nothing desirable about it to a realist.
Preach brother!!!
@ThinkAboutWhatYoureSaying 1. I didn't say or imply the reporter romanticized Slab city. . Why would YOU say I did when it's not true?
2.. I didn't say I don't like scrub brush or nomads. Why would YOU say I said that? I said it's bleak as far as the eye can see: because it is bleak: (lacking vegetation and exposed to the elements, which is one definition of bleak: look it up)
3.I didn't speak for every realist on the planet: I spoke for myself. Why would YOU imply that I was speaking for every realist on the planet?
4.Yes, a realist would make the comment I did, b/c I AM a realist and my comment expresses my opinion. I don't need evidence or logic or rationale to speak my opinon.
And I don't need your permission nor your approval to make a comment and give MY opinion. Nor do I need to prove my opinion. My opinions are based on MY personal observations of which you know nothing. And opinons are judgments, unlike Truth which can be supported by evidence and facts.
It is however a FACT that people do romanticize Slab City: (make something seem better or more appealing than it really is, which is one defintion of romanticize: look it up). I've heard them do it with my own ears multiple times and not just in this video.
I think YOU are the one who needs to think about whay they are saying. You might want to think twice b/4 you reply to a comment, b/c it helps if you actually understand what is said and the given context. You took my whole comment out of context, spun your own narrative and that is a pre-text. You are like the fake news, misrepresent what someone says so you can bash them.
@Doctorshockstudios I think it looks very well cared for.
They have porta luas & conpost toilets.
Trump Supporter I presume???
@@punaticlavalover854 My comment is an opinion. It doesn't square with yours so it has to be b/c of Trump. RIDICULOUS...that's what you are.
Without romanticizing this place at all it still seems many of these people are far better off living in this little cobbled together community rather than they would be on the streets of major US cities. At the very least they can build themselves reasonably appropriate shelter. This seems a lot better than some of the heartbreaking stuff one routinely sees in inner cities.
What I find striking is that many of these people are quite articulate and intelligent. Some end up in slab city due to economic circumstances but I think part of it is choice as well.
+feriwarlock i go there 100% by choice. it is a great experience and a taste of true freedom. i am grateful for the times i spent there.
feriwarlock most artists don't know the value of money.
feriwarlock n
feriwarlock I work in IT and can barely afford a 1br in California
feriwarlock The first guy in the video playing music is my cousin. He’s there completely by choice.
Jack Two Horses seems like a cool brother
hes hilarious. I trimmed weed with this guy and never laughed so hard.
I don't ever want to see slab city lose it's freedom. Slab city is my dream home. I hope the freedom doesn't die, but spreads like wildfire.
Don't get outside much do you?
It will spread. It has grown a lot in recent years. Why haven't you gone yet?
Aim high, lol
the freedom of slab city under threat
Slab city beats skidrow
LA Times Lisa - things have changed in Slab City. you should definitely do an update feature. you will be surprised by how things are now, and it needs to be shown without any sugar coating.
10 years ago I spent the winter on a cot under a tree at low and beal rd. a tarp to keep the rain off...good winter
Still can't get by without money, 5 miles to niland for water at the community center, cheapest place to get food is walmart on the other side of Brawley, need a vehicle and gas, also for the wind storms that can last up to 3 days, impossible to deal with if you don't have solid structure.
you can no longer get water at the community center,the chamber got a high ass bill,so the water source was cut off
IS there any follow up on this? I would like to see how that fella got on, and did he have to move, etc.
..seeing that Slab City was a former US Military Installation..has anyone ever tested the land for Radiation or for any buried Toxic Chemicals ?
I doubt that they have. I bet if they can build on it, they would have and drove everyone out.
just looking at them..., they must have brain damage from that radon already
Hey Phil wish you all the best from South Carolina Homeboy!!!!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯💯
As a single woman I don’t think I would feel safe at slab city! I live in a Fifthwheel tiny home!
Soap and water are scarce too.
That "council" in Slab City is an abomination.
HA! No matter how free you think you are, when people settle in the same place they end up with leaders, rules and everything that comes with society. It won't be long before there are taxes.
I heard the air smells pretty bad out their.
Apparently people get used to it eventually.
Are ppl safe here? If there's no one "running" this place it would seem to me there'd be a lot of crime going on? I've heard of women being beaten and raped in Slab City, is that true?
Women are beaten and raped in wealthy suburbs by their husbands. Or do you not keep up with the news? If you're a woman and want to be safe, buy a gun and never get married. Husbands and ex husbands are the most dangerous people in a woman's life.
With no active police department you would need a pit bull and as pet.
The Welsh dude at the end ✌ class!
This is an old Marine Corps Base which is now located 39 Palms
Just found this and super disappointed in the B.S. that has happened.
Slab City: No longer the "free-ist place".
Never has been.
People keep saying their free in Slab City but they're only as free as the government lets them to be. It could all come tumbling down in an instant.
"Nobody owns it"??? Are they really that naive???
State of California owns it they just dont want the responsibility of the major clean up.
They are slowly becoming what they left behind. Damn shame.
I’m going to be evicted off the land I am squatting on. Brilliant
Hater
Hater!? That's exactly what I got on live chat good to hear it. What ive noticed that no matter how hostile things get their there's always some backing them up with a vengeance. Remember now, she's a nice gal so don't punch her
🤣 you liked that eh?🇺🇸✌️😎☀️🌵
I visited during the winter and everything was gone except for a few tweekers, weird. I am too disabled now to live off grid by myself, or I would do it in a heartbeat.
In the winter of 2013...
Sure sure
Democrats are centrist right-wingers. You are thinking of the wrong people
where do food and supplies come from???
There is a town called Niland nearby where you can get food, water alcohol. You actually pass through there on the way to the Slabs.
Tax payers
She broke the code and figured out why it's called Slab City. LOL
Technically it's a shelter if you think about it homeless Americans just decided to try and build their own community mad props
houseless not homeless
Thats george carlins line! lol
Home Free!!☮️♻️🍁🎶
no.
Where's the rest of this report? Where's the point of view of the council members? and all others referenced in this video. That's biased reporting no matter who I may agree with I like to hear both sides so my opinion is better informed.
I’m not sure there is “both sides”. Maybe just infinite sides
"Lawless & Free" but has it's own version of a homeowners association. lol?
This is what I think the near future will be in ALL of America. Eventually. I am ok with that.
Marcus Aurelius
MAGA!
Better gun up then.
I never understood American's need to have authority figures, like Trump, to save them. It never works out.
@@elgatofelix8917 MAGA = Maggots Are Governing America...looks like they voted for and still support the #FAKEpresident...too.
@@elgatofelix8917 antisemitic asshole
That "Sticks" guy at 1:30 is filthy dirty. He has to go get drinking water so he ought to at least wash his hands. Must be nice to live downwind from dog shit.
I did a few videos on slab city when I was there. I thought it was pretty cool.
That's because you're an idiot. There's nothing "cool" about that squatting desert slum.
I seen your Videos. ‘’Cool Videos’’
@@sallydermont7284 I remember with carolyne was there she was spitting on everybody telling us that she wished we were dead I cried all the time while she was there
@@sallydermont7284 Omg Sally.
This place is making these people happy they are in their own community of course different bad situations may arise but look at all the crime going on in the inner cities all the homeless should just come here actually. This is not as bad as Kensington pa a bus 🚍 should come and take some from Kensington pa willing to come out here it's a better life for homelessness than Kensington pa. Sending prayers to the 💔 brokenhearted .
I'm not convinced there is really such a thing as some idealistic unlimited freedom,no matter what scenario you are in you still have to have shelter, clean clothing, food, clean water, the right nutrition, and deal with many of the conditions you have in the city or suburbs,plus some additional problems.
The freedom I want is from other people, and it doesn't really exist. No matter what, if you don't conform in one way or another, people can punish you for it.
It doesn't matter how far away you get.
4:11 is this a joke? People Running for President now😂😂🤣🤣
Since Kayne is going to anyone can. Lol
Where do they go in the summer?
They can buy all they want. but bottom line, if the teachers union or the feds, state come in. Game Over.
Any water access?
They got a Channel of water somewhere but they said that it might have chemical runoff from the military I would avoid it and they talk about not taking the water anyway I don't know what that's all about I'd be all for hauling in large barrels of water but all you got to do is get a water from Air machine and you're set
i'd like to have a beer with that last guy
He's a Welshman and will drink you under the table.
Zach Davis I would like to have a beer with the reporter!!!
He’s a Welshman, he’ll want proper beer, real ale............none of that weak piss that’s brewed in the USA
I get the impression that when they say "You can do whatever you want" they mean drugs.
Or have sex w a dog perhaps. Poor dogs
Lots of meth in Slab City.
@@lastnamefirst4035 did you ask them
@@douglaconti7113 ask if i could have sex w their dogs? No. None of the dogs were my type. They were all a bunch a bitches
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😎✌️☀️🌵🇺🇸🤔
there's probably thousands like slab city,you just got to find em
Pascal and locus in Hamilton Ohio. Not nearly as big but hidden right in the middle of town.
Homeless camps, not a place you want to be.
American tend to judge people by what they own and equate worth in $$. you see this everywhere in American media on how so in so is worth this, or gets paid this. America is now a soulless society whose values now have taken a paradigm shift toward material wealth. it can be quite intimidating.
I been saying this
You bring relief to my craziness
Now these people need to find an nice forgotten ghost town, if they have to leave.
So much for freedom in the Slabs
Be prepared to defend yourself. If you can do that, you will be ok.
08:08... U have squatter rights... So u have time from when they legally notify u. He needs to contact ACLU
Who the F promotes squatting.....
Is no Marine Corps Base would you now located at 39 Palms
Cool vid, thanx.
It looks like a toxic waste dump there.!
If I have money I will build a reservoir and hundred of bathroom so all the homeless in California could come here to live with a decency and dignity of a human being !
That is a great sentiment. I love your comment.
One thing many people can do is make a composting toilet (it's relatively cheap) and a compost pile. I thought you had to have a liquid sewage system but then I started watching videos about van dwelling and off-gridding. There's so much stuff we don't know because it was kept from us.
Sure Jan.
I have a home it’s a pain like ball and chain. Nobody comes I am alone with the care taking of the place, I’m 58 single female I’m close to selling become a nomad .
Then you will have a whole different set of problems.
Where ever you go, there you are.
Go for it,plan it well and enjoy the voyage
I really liked this
Why is it that so many people in places like this have that stuck together, never knew a comb, nasty kind of hair?
Dreeds usually don't look to appealing on caucasoid people
ITS called not taking a bath or shower
This was 2016.....I wonder if anyone bought the 36 acres?
I did
Omar Zaragoza let’s see 36 acres at or near Slab City. That would run about $72, man I hope you had enough left for lunch.
@@johng4250 i got a 30 year mortgage on it
Being evicted from slab city how much worse could it get??
I think this is awesome.
Thanks 🙂
How do they get electricity without paying for it? Lack of water, no shower would be awful, but I love the desert, especially at night.
these use generators @ How do they get electricity
That's the nature of the free space... When it's not anymore, you gotta move. Accepting that is part of the deal. If you try to hold on, it's not free.
"WAIT !! - You mean it's called Slab City because all these slabs are here ?!?!"
Oy Vey.
I like that; no homeless in Slab City. It's so true; here I don't feel homeless.
that reporter is quite beautiful
Civilization and order will eventually germinate no matter how lawless an area seems.
They don't reproduce so no worries.
Someone is always in charge
If those dogs could talk you would have a lot of ATF and FBI swarming that place.
Great Work Girl ...
this is great for homeless people
once the entity gets hold of it.
that's it! its over.
You don't have to move .. Hold your ground!
Whatever you can take & hold.. you can keep✌
Homesteading law?
@@mspat8195
The law of men..
The law of nature..
Once a settler, always a settler.
I don't really know much about this place; I've seen a few videos on it. I'm sure they don't give the entire experience, either positive or negative. I have so many questions though! If it's truly a "free place and no one owns it," how is it that a group was trying to buy a part of it? To whom are they paying the money and how do they have any authority to kick out an individual who's been in that spot for four years? Where do these people throw their trash and old food? I can only imagine. Even basics like women who are menstruating...where does their trash go? Is all the trash burned in a certain place? Yet doesn't California prohibit that sort of thing? Air pollution or some such squawking? Certain areas of this "city" must be overrun with the rank scents of discarded food, dirty diapers, personal trash such as used toilet paper, dirty dogs, unwashed people.....I wonder if there's a problem with flies? Are people responsible to pick up after their dogs or do they just leave piles of dog poo everywhere? Do people really have control of all the dogs? Do abandoned dogs form wild packs? Do people there bathe/shower regularly? Where do they throw out dirty/used water? There's no running water so how often are dishes washed and bodies and clothes washed? Several of the people in the video had very dirty hands. What happens if there's a fire in someone's trailer and it spreads quickly in that dry environment of shacks and scraps? There's no fire station. How quickly can an ambulance arrive to take away a seriously hurt person? How are the more vulnerable inhabitants protected from predatory inhabitants such as child abusers, women abusers, thieves, gang activity, or drunkards having fights? What is one's recourse if someone steals a majority of your belongings? There are no authorities to protect anyone or to impose "justice" on a criminal. How do these people receive mail? There's no such thing as an earthly utopia because every community has a common entity: humans. And humans are flawed and selfish. Yes, fun-loving and helpful and generous and kind....but not one of us is perfect. So, you get a bunch of people together in a place with "no rules" and a place which bills itself as "the last free place in America" and you get trouble. If people think they're free to do whatever they want (despite some sort of unspoken code of treating everyone "nicely"), then they are absoLUTEly going to freely do whatever they want. This place seems perilous: unsafe for lone women and children, unhygienic, a possible haven for druggies, and scorchingly hot. Yet, if people want to live this way then I think they should. It's their choice. I suppose one has to count the cost of what sacrifices would have to be made in order to live here. I'm not wiling to compromise my physical safety, to compromise on hygiene/cleanliness, or compromise on the stability of keeping my belongings. Perhaps in this environment you just have to "take your chances" in exchange for living as you want. To each his own.
129diggsdrive the whole place is a garbage dump. There's no garbage collection it just piles up. As for single women and children, why would there be single children unaccompanied in Slab City? Single women have to take their chances. Many of the residents are addicted to various drugs, methamphetamine in particular. It's not a safe place. If somebody doesn't like you, they'll burn your place down. It's not an unusual occurrence. As for flies, they're not such a problem because of the heat. In the summertime it can get to be a hundred and ten degrees to 120 degrees. In the summertime, the population of Slab City is about one-tenth it is in the winter time. Some of the people who come to the Slab City live in very nice Arby's, a huge number of them are just bums who cannot get along in society because of drug problems or mental problems. Some of them just like the lifestyle, not having to work and take responsibility for themselves or anyone else. I would not recommend Slap City as a place to meet your future husband
You make your rules as you go.
@@robertmatthews2009 All courtesy of your tax dollars.
@@kinniwright1642 Tax dollars? What tax dollars are going to Slab City other than social security for some of the older residents?
Questions we all want answered
They have a small place like this in Tennessee it's called hippie hill
Jason Demmons really? I’m not too far away....tell me more! :)
@@JenDoe1 they have Facebook page cool people
No
an update?? and WHY was he forced to leave? and it doesn't sound like they had the authority to boot him out?? lots of unanswered questions in this video. not that informative.
He said they were going to buy the land he's on. I don't understand how that works (buy from California? From whom?) but that's what I understood from it. I kind of checked out for awhile though haha
thanks for that info! it just seemed like they were in discussions about buying the land. and even if they voted to buy the land, that process hasn't even started. so i am confused by his reaction.
This part in not slab city and the Jesus people are trying to purchase the land.
If you put a bunch of garbage in a circle then that is considered your land.....huh???
Im traveling in my truck, but i like this place better. Im moving there!
Wow pot is so great ....look how successful all these pot heads are & great citizens
how many acres is slab city
MORE POWER TO YALL
I tried to live there but a bunch of them ran me off, 'they didn't want my kind around
Did someone say Shithole.....
Slob city!
Where do they go for bath and drop there manure.:-)
Anarchy in action.
A perfect example of why things like Anarchy or libertarianism don't work
yeah, works fine, especially if they had freedom from the state to advance further. Additionally, I admit the desert maybe isn't the best place to start a society, or at least not the easiest.
works fine, especially if they had freedom from the state to advance further. Additionally, I admit the desert maybe isn't the best place to start a society, or at least not the easiest. Not exactly my ideal system, but at least I'm not referring to an isolated example to attempt to prove that anarchy doesn't work. I want you to look up revolutionary catalonia, the Ukrainian free territory, Fejuve, and Rojava (although rojava is just super libertarian, you also displayed a distaste of libertarianism).
Dan Law
Anarchy in a good way. A way that people govern themselves. Like the guy said, it’s about people respecting and helping one another. It’s very simple.
Phil💜fun chillin with ya
I often wonder is this where the idea for trailer park boys came from
Great video !!!!! come back again !!!! I'm from Chicago planning on moving to Slab City !!! to create my huge masterpieces !!!!! Land of Oz ...... I'll definitely keep you posted...... Namaste !!! Oz
Oscar Zepeda Well Oscar where are you now? :)
Oscar Zepeda It's been two years and no update on your slabs/ masterpiece project.
He was slabbed
Thanks,
The sea was wonderful with fresh water in the beginning and was a boomtown in the 50s.
The farm runoff brought pesticides which is heavier than water and a sunk to the bottom
Yes, if the lake dries out they'll be dust storms containing that chemical or what's left of it.
The runoff also carried salt from the surrounding ground which has nowhere to go but concentrate in that water.
So originally the water was fresh and wonderful and was a boomtown in the 50s. But as it got saltier the boomtown started going away.
The fish die-offs are from algae blooms in summer which strip oxygen out of the water and that's why the fish die off.
There are people there today that fish and eat the fish. I wouldn't do it.
I've always proposed a canal system from the gulf of Mexico that helps keep the Salton Sea at the appropriate level.
The Mexicans should have no problem with allowing this because of the migratory birds that both countries depend on.
It should be a money maker also. The water would be flowing downhill about 140 feet which could generate electricity.
It could also possibly be a money maker in that the gulf of Mexico would provide better water that might increase the quality of the Salton Sea, making it a tourist attraction again where people want to play and live.
Was there two weeks ago at West Satan (Jack's camp), he hasn't moved yet and says he has squatters rights.
Do you think he is being railroaded by Jesus freaks because of something as petty as the camp name?
Thats the way i want to live
Lisa Biagiotti is adorable
Did they tell you its 120 degrees in summer!