There was nothing like growing up in San Francisco. As someone who spent half his childhood in the Western Addition and the other half in the Mission District, I was a witness to a kind of magic. Some of my best days were as a kid running up and down York and 24th, where my group of buddies and I freestyle-rapped, played tag in the streets and admired the collection of old school muscle cars owned by my friend Canek's father. I can't forget Hayes Street either, where I spent my earliest years. The end of the street once mildly flooded after a long rainstorm. My sister and I changed into our bathing suits and went swimming in the muddy water until our mother found out what we were doing and hauled us inside. We were young, we were budding members of the Green Party, we knew no excitement greater than when Barry Bonds stepped to the plate and we were proud of our city and everything that it stood for.
Things have changed.
The city I once knew is gone. Sure, York and Hayes streets are still there, and I'm sure the next generation of kids growing up in the city will be able to have just as much fun as I did. But they'll grow up in a different place. The tech industry has brought an ugly wave of gentrification to our neighborhoods. You won't see lowriders, mariachi bands or elote stands in the streets of the Mission anymore. For that matter, you can't walk through any part of the city and still feel a great sense of community. Our city's politics, once held up as a shining example of inclusiveness, have fallen to the wayside to make room for moneyed interests. It's a whole different city, one that I'm not really proud to be from anymore.
1. The views
Man, there's nothing more enchanting than a stroll through the city streets is there? Would you just look at the bright colors on San Francisco's unique architecture! San Francisco had the largest population of homeless people per capita in the United States in 2007. Nine years later, things are looking worse than ever before. After Gavin Newsom's vow to reverse the situation during his days as mayor went unfulfilled, and with current Mayor Ed Lee's interests lying elsewhere, there's really no solution in sight. Thank god one of the most affluent cities on the globe knows how to take care of its poor and suffering.
2. The diversity
Ah, San Francisco. Is there any other city more known for its open-mindedness? As a sanctuary city both politically and culturally, its diverse population includes whites, a large Chinese community and . . . well, more whites. Black San Franciscans make up less than six percent of the population and that number is quickly dropping. Keep in mind, that's down from 13.4 percent of the city in 1970. Don't worry, though. If you visit us and find yourself wondering where we keep our black people, just mosey on down to our county jail, where 56 percent of the inmates are African-American. You can say what you want about the lack of multiculturalism in our general population, but no one can deny that San Francisco knows how to diversify its criminal justice system.
3. The liberal politics
Remember when the mayor of San Francisco was marrying gay couples in 2004? Remember the pride you felt as a native of a city that was willing to stand up to ingrained and backward societal prejudices? Well, things have only advanced from there. Our current mayor, Ed Lee, has contributed to the soul of our city with such progressive actions as tax breaks for Twitter and other major tech companies. This has resulted in a cancerous chasm of income inequality, which is accelerating at a rate unrivaled by other major U.S. cities and disproportionately affects African-Americans. Way to go, Lee! Among Lee's other achievements are a flourishing eviction rate, a 4-percent increase in homelessness and an underground gladiator ring run by members of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department under Lee's watch. These upstanding policemen forced inmates to fight each other à la "Django Unchained." It's really no wonder San Francisco is held up as a pinnacle of equality and progression.
4. The Mexican food
Boy, New Yorkers and Angelenos just don't know what they're missing when it comes to burritos, am I right? If you're in the city and find yourself craving Mexican cuisine, head on over to the once-Hispanic Mission District, where you can watch entitled white techies being served tacos by Latinos who can no longer afford to live in their own neighborhood. But hey, if they can't afford the reasonable $3,620 per month rent for a one-bedroom apartment, they shouldn't be living in the city in the first place. It's the free market, ya know? And besides, there's nothing better than being able to experience the distinct cultural characteristics of a neighborhood populated by minorities without having to actually be around a lot of brown people.
5. The Telegraph Hill parrots
At least these guys are still here. Writing this article depressed me a little bit, so I thought I'd end the piece on a happy note. I'd like to see the tech transplant or city policy that can displace San Francisco's flying green friends (please, Mayor Lee, don't take that as a challenge).
I'd like to hope that there's a possibility I'll look back at this article in 10 or 20 years and smile at how naively afraid I was of the changing face of my city. "Boy," I imagine myself saying, "thank god rich and poor San Franciscans of all colors rose up in revolution against Ed Lee and took their city back for the people, eventually making San Francisco the first U.S. city to legalize all drugs and institutionalize universal healthcare and college education. I can't believe I was actually worried for a second there." I'm joking of course (don't have a stroke, right-wingers), but I know even a realistic reversal of what's happening now is unlikely. Decades from now San Francisco will have fallen even further behind other parts of the country who know how to treat their citizens and preserve their culture. If I ever have children, I won't be taking them to see their father's childhood home. Not because I won't want to, but because the city where I'm from won't exist anymore. I know that sounds glum, but the truth is I don't have much hope. I've never wanted to be more wrong about anything in my life. Here's to you, San Francisco, I hope you're still with us in the future.
