The other night at 4am we came across someone violently hacking away at a grassy area on my block with a shovel. He was stealing the grass, scooping up the contents into grocery bags.
As he saw me he scurried away with his bags of grass. The area is now a hole of dirt.
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Many days I park and walk past people dancing on the hill next to my home.
If you see a man in his 30s dancing erratically near your home, what do you do?
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In these moments the first thing I think is "meth."
Then I start planning my safety. Should we turn and walk the other way? Is Ori going to bark?
Should we pretend like nothing is happening? Should I start carrying mace?
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Constantly living in fear takes a toll, albeit a small one.
The thing is, it's small and consistent. Every time you feel scared your body releases cortisol and adrenaline.
Needless to say it took me some time to fall back asleep -- as often happens after these encounters.
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For the ultra wealthy in San Francisco life is generally free of these moments.
Super rich people in SF live on hills because "crimb don't climb."
Or, they live far out west, protected by a lack of public transportation. (Which, by the way, is by design).
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At this point the number of encounters I have had in San Francisco that made me feel uncomfortable or scared numbers in the thousands.
It's a daily occurrence. Often multiple times per day.
Am I a wimp? A "Karen"?
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People say I should leave or move...
Not an unreasonable response. But what about the fact that this is my home? A city I love with all my heart?
When not feeling scared of mentally ill addicts I generally love living here.
With views like these, how could you not?
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I try to remind myself "this is just the reality of living in a big city."
I tell myself to stop worrying so much.
"Just park the goddamned car and get out and don't worry and walk down the street and smile.
Wait... is that a needle? What is that glass...? Ori leave it!"
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The "just leave" comments are frankly quite annoying.
So are the "you vote Democrat so just stay there and get what you deserve!"
Since when do grown men so universally believe the right thing to do is run away...?
Does nobody believe in fighting for what you believe in?
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Yesterday I was in a group chat talking with tech execs about the Bob Lee murder.
All of them agreed they would not have helped had he approached their car showing his stab wounds.
What...?! Seriously? A bleeding man approaches your car and you do... Nothing?
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Our society seems to have become seriously complacent.
100 years ago in SF people were publicly hung for their crimes. Often by vigilante groups that wanted to send a message.
The hangings worked. Crime would plummet after a few of them. Often for many months at a time.
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A few questions on my mind this morning:
+ What changed that the men of San Francisco went from creating vigilante groups to being afraid to even tweet about crime?
+ What would happen if a few meth dealers were publicly hung?
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+ Theoretically, if publicly hanging say, 5 fentanyl dealers led to saving the lives of hundreds, is it morally reasonable?
+ Why would most San Francisco residents view my question above as horrifying and immoral?
+ What do other countries do with their fentanyl dealers?
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+ Why aren't the men of San Francisco rallying together to protect our city's women and elderly from drug-induced violence?
+ Why is everybody so afraid to talk or write on these issues?
+ Why are people apparently okay living amidst this level of chaos?
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+ What does it look like to be a "brave" citizen? What about a cowardly one?
+ Are the citizens of San Francisco brave for living amidst so much drug-induced violence and crime? Or are they cowardly?
All these and more running through my mind. I'm going to go ask Chat GPT.
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*Update* - For those who are confused, I am not advocating for public hangings.
I've been reading The Barbary Coast (a book about crime in SF after the Gold Rush) so it was top of mind.
With that said, I *do* believe that fentanyl & meth dealers should serve time in jail.
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And - a response to those of you trying to skew my words --
A lot of countries are still *actually* hanging people.
Perhaps you should direct your activism accordingly...?
With all due respect, I'm trying to get a conversation going about the overdose epidemic in SF.
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Our education system drills it into our young heads that the government is there to take care of you. There is no "stand on your own and be free" anymore.
That is a major origin of complacency.
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It’s been so long, we’ve forgotten it’s “hanged.” People are hanged; pictures are hung.
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