I live in the Bay and follow this news closely, particularly the narratives as they are formed and whom they are constructed to serve.
There was a lot of vitriol directed at Chesa Boudin using questionably skewed interpretations of city statistics. The consensus among those in the know is that it was largely motivated by commercial real estate and other reactionary interests reacting to the perceived influences of his advocacy (note that DAs don't enjoy the privilege of "policies" despite what the loudmouths would have you believe) on real estate prices, when in reality we were living through a pandemic that kept people at home on Zoom and made tech offices largely redundant.
Many retail giants also pulled out of SF because foot traffic was way down and profits dwindled (again an effect primarily of the pandemic), but the way it was framed in the news was as purely-anecdotal (i.e. no hard data provided because none is collected) anonymously-sourced claims about "shoplifting epidemics".
Those with too much time on their hands -- especially techies who enjoy the free time during their workdays to rile themselves up doomscrolling local news websites -- ranted about it on Twitter and, if especially incensed, at their councilmembers, and the shadowy big money local behemoths rode that wave of narrative and perception to wage war on progressive efforts all across the city.
No one I know who left SF and comes back to visit say anything like what you suggest, but then again they've always repped SF and left for reasons that were in conflict with their evergreen love of the city and what it stands for in our cultural consciousness.
I had to leave during COVID due to a layoff in 2020. I still defend SF (and California) because all of what you said. It makes it impossible to work on the ground to make any changes. I remember a particular NIMBY resistance against a safe use site in 2019 that brought out a number of them with all the shadowy work you describe. It's so frustrating.
Funny to see the lengths some people will go to spin the news their way. It's just a flesh wound! I've had much worse.
"questionably skewed interpretations of city statistics" -- LOL. Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?
"It was all the pandemic!" Right, right. LOL again.
Boudin lost by 60-40. Face it: it wasn't propaganda from big money; people just hated him. The DA does, indeed, have the "privilege" of deciding who to charge; what bail to demand, if any; and what plea deals to make; and that's why George Soros poured so much money into DA races all over the country. If the DAs were just automatons no one would bother.
You can add me to that list. I lived in SF from 2006-2011, when I left for NYC. I went back in 2022 for the first time in a decade, fearful that the city I loved had been ruined. I spent twelve hours one day walking the city, and I was pleased to see that she’s still there, and it’s not as bad as the internet said. I did the edge of the tenderloin, but didn’t venture in, and I can see that there are some real problems that need to be addressed, but it’s not a hellscape just yet.
There was a lot of vitriol directed at Chesa Boudin using questionably skewed interpretations of city statistics. The consensus among those in the know is that it was largely motivated by commercial real estate and other reactionary interests reacting to the perceived influences of his advocacy (note that DAs don't enjoy the privilege of "policies" despite what the loudmouths would have you believe) on real estate prices, when in reality we were living through a pandemic that kept people at home on Zoom and made tech offices largely redundant.
Many retail giants also pulled out of SF because foot traffic was way down and profits dwindled (again an effect primarily of the pandemic), but the way it was framed in the news was as purely-anecdotal (i.e. no hard data provided because none is collected) anonymously-sourced claims about "shoplifting epidemics".
Those with too much time on their hands -- especially techies who enjoy the free time during their workdays to rile themselves up doomscrolling local news websites -- ranted about it on Twitter and, if especially incensed, at their councilmembers, and the shadowy big money local behemoths rode that wave of narrative and perception to wage war on progressive efforts all across the city.
No one I know who left SF and comes back to visit say anything like what you suggest, but then again they've always repped SF and left for reasons that were in conflict with their evergreen love of the city and what it stands for in our cultural consciousness.