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Jerry Rubin as far back as his 1970 book "Do It!" criticized the capitalists co-opting his image of the counterculture (a "revolution" in toilet paper!). I do t
by loggedinmyphone 8y ago
Jerry Rubin as far back as his 1970 book "Do It!" criticized the capitalists co-opting his image of the counterculture (a "revolution" in toilet paper!). I do think there was another wave of interesting people in the 90's with the Cacophony Society and original Burners, and there are still radical "scenes" happening today, most of which I'm probably too old to know about. The main structural impediment is just that it's too expensive for the kind of casual under-employment that enables these scenes to thrive.
- paulcole 8y agoSo to recap: It's always worse than it was but people think it was still good when they got there but got much worse shortly thereafter.
- loggedinmyphone 8y agoNo. Culture moves in waves. You hit the right part of the wave and it's a great ride. Time it just wrong and you wash out, but you might still have fun, especially if it's your first time out and you don't know what a good wave feels like. I don't agree with the sentiment that every time and place is equivalent to every other time and place, and that comparing them is a meaningless exercise in nostalgia, if that's what you're implying.
- paulcole 8y agoWhat year(s) did you live in SF or spend significant time there?
- loggedinmyphone 8y agoI'm curious if you want to make a substantive point, please go ahead and do so without waiting for my complete biographical details.
- paulcole 8y agoThe timeline you've laid out: Pre 2005 - "general impression it was very Bohemian with a strong underground scene" 2005-2010 - "the city had a very positive vibe" Post 2010 - "overcrowded, overvalued and overcapitalized" "a capitalist parody of this former self" My guess is that you likely moved to SF around 2005 and the city fortunately managed to maintain its "very positive vibe." Yet someone who moved there in the mid 80s would likely have a very different opinion of the same era. Similarly some tech bro who moved there in 2010 would likely have a more rose-colored take on the 2010-2018 era. I guess my substantive point is that people like to think they were there when it was good no matter when they were there.
- loggedinmyphone 8y agoI got that from your previous comment. I don't think it means the city is the same in 2018 as it was in 2005 or 1985. I'm talking about specific structural differences that don't have anything to do with when I got here (e.g rent).
- paulcole 8y agoNo but it calls into question your assessment of the city.
- loggedinmyphone 8y agoI'm well aware of potential cognitive biases based on the arc of personal experience and I think I've accounted for that above. Meanwhile you've addressed zero of my objective points. You're a troll.
- paulcole 8y agoI have no idea what your objective points are. All you’ve said is, “the city used to be good now it isn’t.”