Read on Twitter
sf tech bros: exodus
me: i c both sides like chanel
me: i c both sides like chanel
it’s pretty hard to argue that the city hasn’t become disgusting, rampant with vagrancy, and just flat out dangerous
i really think the fundamental argument is why? everyone is looking for someone to blame
politicians: if we only had more tax dollars
natives: big tech caused this by driving up prices
wealthy ipo darlings and vcs: this is the fault of the city’s management
natives: big tech caused this by driving up prices
wealthy ipo darlings and vcs: this is the fault of the city’s management
i hate to say it, but they’re all right, as is usually the case with these things. and so the question more becomes: are you going to be part of the problem or the solution?
leaving is part of the solution too. go to mi*mi or wherever. sf healing isn’t just about tax dollars from the ultra wealthy tech elites
i think simply leaving and refusing to acknowledge the pestilence of your role in the ecosystem is fairly lazy, but it’s absolutely your right
blaming these people without action is also counterproductive and lazy, though
i left sf to be in ohio/travel for the past 2ish years and going back became less and less appealing as i compared the rent prices, crime rates, cleanliness, and general attitudes of the people living in other places
but of course there are some things in sf that i consider irreplaceable like the ability to walk through the palace of fine arts, or sit in dolores, or hang in the square by de Young or even the wonder of stumbling upon a company’s headquarters
all systems find balance through a combination of effort and happenstance. eventually sf will be restored in some sense, but whether folks will be a catalyst or a cancer are playing out right here on twitter and i presume clubhouse
i complained about rent to an uber drive once and he said “you’re the one raising it.” he lived in sacramento and drove to sf on friday night, slept nervously in various parking lots, drove through the week, and then back home to his family on wednesday
he said the hardest thing was finding places to use the bathroom. he got a gym membership to shower. sometimes he’d drive back to sacramento and just do the full commute, but the gas made it not worth it most of the time
you don’t get to blame that on homeless people or crime. that’s the impact of big tech and ruthless capitalism in the city. that’s the result of politicians who cave to NIMBYism and won’t acknowledge the extreme disparity in incomes vs rent prices
but it most certainly is not the fault of the victims
personally, by not going back and paying exorbitant rent, i’m hopeful that i’m helping the city to heal in a passive way, but it will obviously take the actions of people far more invested than i am to get the city back on track
i just don’t want to be in the middle of tech vs politicians swordfighting with their blindfolds on
