[Milsurplus] TRW Swap Meet

[KD7JYK DM09]

"I do not want to associate myself with anyone who is blaming 
disagreeable things on Hispanics."

Whatever, my comment wasn't a generalization, it was specific, they were 
Hispanic.  I'd call them of African, or Asian descent, but they weren't, 
and if I did, I would be a liar.  Disassociate yourself if you like, but 
it was thoroughly noted who caused what problems, when, how, of what 
national, and racial origin they were, where else they sold (PCC, 
Tarzana, San Dimas, et cetera), and what.

Myself and two friends, Oscar, and Phil, happened to be at the space of 
one when the seller got busted, and my girlfriend of Mexican 
nationality, and Native Central American (Indian) decent, translated 
much of the conversation between the swap meet volunteers and the 
seller, as best she could, as she was Mexican, and they were "Hispanic", 
of some sort, before law enforcement arrived.  From what I overheard 
from the police, the seller was well known for how he obtained items.

That particular day, there were three Hispanic sellers of similar 
equipment, in the last, and second to last row, put there, because as 
one official put it, "we keep them away from the real sellers, and 
people will run out of money by the time they get to them, minimizing 
the risk of purchasing stolen equipment before we can identify, or 
report it".  One got busted for precisely what we expected him to.  We 
could blame the disagreeable activity on any random non-Hispanic, except 
it wasn't committed by one.  The other Hispanics, it was determined by 
swap meet volunteers and law enforcement, were of no concern, and 
permitted to remain. Interestingly, one cop decided he liked a 
particular piece of equipment, took it for himself, said, "I'd better 
check this out", and chuckled as he walked away.  A real prick.

"The stolen equipment situation was largely in the era of the Big 
Citizen's Band craze."

In the time frame I mentioned, it was car radios, stereos, and other 
electrical and electronic devices, power tools, et cetera, items OTHER 
than Amateur Radio, and closely related items.  Yes, there were some 
CB's in there, and perhaps there was another round that involved them 
earlier, before I came along.

"At any swap meet, there always seems to be one or two officials who 
take on the air of self-appointed cops."

In this instance, it was about eight exceptionally arrogant people, not 
just one or two.  So many, that the few good ones were afraid to do 
things right, and when asked directly, and on the side, the response was 
along the lines of they were afraid of retaliation from the others.

"My attitude is: "Never Argue with Volunteer Labor."  Just go along with 
them and don't sweat the small stuff."

My attitude is to not put up with anyone's bullshit, no matter who they 
think they are.

Some were so outrageous in their behavior, they argued with, and 
inspected so many of the loads that came in, and in some rare instances, 
required insurance beyond that, "due to liability issues", which was 
later found out to mean they just didn't want that particular seller to 
be there, usually due to a personal issue, or competition with a friend, 
as well as the inspections of individual equipment that you also 
mentioned, sometimes when entering, buggering up the works for dozens of 
others and causing delays of an hour or more, resulting in sales being 
made in the "overflow" parking lot before the "official" start time 
(when they were ready), which of course got the seller banned from 
further selling in paid spaces at a later date.  When pointed out that 
that was counterproductive, as they would lose money from further space 
rental, the response was, "Our swap meet, our rules, play by them, or 
leave", and, "we can have them removed from the overflow, as well".

"Most officials are as fair and friendly as they can be, given the 
occasional rudeness of some swap meet attendees."

They also held them at bay, refusing to let them in until the exact 
second the swap meet opened, in one instance, one using WWV as a time 
reference, and others scouting the perimeter to prevent people from 
entering in through non-designated areas, and holding up further entry 
into the swap meet until offenders were removed, whether buyers, or 
sellers.  One went so far as to announce, "I can shut this whole thing 
down" in reference to people sneaking in even minutes early to see what 
was being offered by sellers.

I bought and sold at TRW from the mid-80's, to mid-90's, I could go on, 
and on, and on, but, if you've been there often, and most importantly, 
paid attention, you already know.

Kurt