3 ms·

What really boggles my mind (I 100% agree with GP and left SF in part because of the actual bad neighbors) is that activists in SF harp on trump and call tech "

by sershe 6y ago

What really boggles my mind (I 100% agree with GP and left SF in part because of the actual bad neighbors) is that activists in SF harp on trump and call tech "invaders" or not welcome or whatever and don't see the irony. The easiest way to shut up an SF-based activist or NIMBY ranting against tech invasion is to say smth like "it sounds like you are saying you want to keep them out, perhaps build that wall?" :D

carapace 6y ago
It's an imperfect metaphor. In SF it would be like the "invaders" are bringing the wealth with them but not sharing it; while in the larger context the "invaders" are coming in from an effectively failed state in order to take advantage of the wealth in the "invaded" state. But yeah, in general, by the time you're a capital-A "Activist" you're not well able to see your own foibles and ironies. The mote in your neighbor's eye occludes the plank in your own, eh?
- triceratops 6y ago
  > In SF it would be like the "invaders" are bringing the wealth with them but not sharing it How would they share it though? The entire Bay Area is utterly resistant to anything that might change "neighborhood character" or "harm property prices". Prop 13 has caused housing development to ossify, causing widespread homelessness and misery, but residents find it convenient to blame a tiny fraction of the workforce for all their problems.
  - carapace 6y ago
    I don't think there's a realistic way for the tech wealth to be shared, I'm just explaining where the resentment comes from. Most of the really cool folk in the city have already bounced (to the East Bay of further afield) so you're left with the desperate, the deeply committed, etc.
Nasrudith 6y ago
Really I have come to the conclusion that "localism" is essentially the socially acceptable outlet for left leaning xenophobic personalities. Racism, sexism, and homophobia are a path to be a pariah but outsiders to "the local community" are fair game as an outgroup and a place their anxieties and anger on an other outgroup.

by sershe 6y ago

carapace 6y ago

It's an imperfect metaphor. In SF it would be like the "invaders" are bringing the wealth with them but not sharing it; while in the larger context the "invaders" are coming in from an effectively failed state in order to take advantage of the wealth in the "invaded" state. But yeah, in general, by the time you're a capital-A "Activist" you're not well able to see your own foibles and ironies. The mote in your neighbor's eye occludes the plank in your own, eh?

triceratops 6y ago
> In SF it would be like the "invaders" are bringing the wealth with them but not sharing it How would they share it though? The entire Bay Area is utterly resistant to anything that might change "neighborhood character" or "harm property prices". Prop 13 has caused housing development to ossify, causing widespread homelessness and misery, but residents find it convenient to blame a tiny fraction of the workforce for all their problems.
- carapace 6y ago
  I don't think there's a realistic way for the tech wealth to be shared, I'm just explaining where the resentment comes from. Most of the really cool folk in the city have already bounced (to the East Bay of further afield) so you're left with the desperate, the deeply committed, etc.

Nasrudith 6y ago

Really I have come to the conclusion that "localism" is essentially the socially acceptable outlet for left leaning xenophobic personalities. Racism, sexism, and homophobia are a path to be a pariah but outsiders to "the local community" are fair game as an outgroup and a place their anxieties and anger on an other outgroup.