Hundreds of unsheltered people living in tent encampments in the blocks surrounding the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco have been forced to leave by city outreach workers and police as part of an attempted “clean up the house” ahead of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s annual free trade conference.
The action, which housing advocates allege violated a court injunction, was celebrated by right-wing figures and the tech crowd, who have long been convinced that the city is in terminal decline because of an increase in encampments in the downtown area.
The X account End Wokness wrote that the displacement was proof the “government can easily fix our cities overnight. It just doesn’t want to” (the post received 77,000 likes). “Queer Eye but it’s just Xi visiting troubled US cities then they get a makeover,” joked Packy McCormick, the founder of Not Boring Capital and advisor to Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto VC team. The New York Post celebrated the action, saying that residents had “miraculously disappeared.”
What bullshit. Many, many homeless people have jobs. Jobs pay dick these days and rent is ridiculous, so they can’t afford to live anywhere except maybe their car if they have one.
You’re right, flying squid, it IS bullshit. That was my intent on making those horrible comments in the first place. I was couching my anger in the very language people (in my state) use to justify hurting the homeless and not helping them. I couldn’t agree more about the frustration of rising rent prices, etc. Please go back and read my posting again - and you’ll see the acid fairly dripping off of my comments.