The break didn’t last.
In the boxing match between Elon Musk and San Francisco, the intervals between rounds were short. Barely, the round had just ended, when the bell for the next round had already sounded.
For those who have forgotten, this battle is about the future values that should prevail and rule our society in the years to come. For the billionaire businessman, San Francisco represents everything that has pushed our civilization today to its ideological breaking point.
His goal is progressive values, such as gender equality, diversity, battles against racism and anti-Semitism, the climate crisis, etc., the corollaries of which, according to him and conservatives, are intolerance, indolence, and refusal to order. All of this is grouped under the phrase “the virus of the awakened mind”. Conservatives call it “wake up.”
Reality and perception
The consequences of awakening are social division, dictatorship of thought, censorship and rising insecurity, according to the billionaire. For Musk, San Francisco is a symbol of all that is wrong with progressivism. So he and his tech brethren scrambled to make Liberal City a realistic story and depiction of the crime that is currently rampant in most major American cities.
By attacking San Francisco, which he has been hitting for several months, Musk hopes to win the new culture war. He has discovered the weak point of the tech mecca and is determined to strike until the realization becomes reality.
The current perception is that San Francisco has become a lawless city. This narrative is fueled by the rise of property crime—smashing car windshields, forcing car doors, theft, and burglary—and the apparent large numbers of homeless people on the streets, as well as the proliferation of drugs such as fentanyl.
All this creates frustration among the population. Last November, voters in the predominantly Asian American Sunset District chose a moderate white supervisor to replace the incumbent progressive Chinese American.
“I think San Franciscans are still very concerned about public safety and we still have a long way to go to make San Francisco as safe as it needs to be,” Attorney Brock Jenkins said in April. “And so, it’s not always about the data. It’s about the way our residents, business owners and even visitors feel. And that’s what drives me every day, is making sure that they’re not only safer actually. They’re also safer in terms of the way they feel when they step on outside their doors every day.”
For violent crime, San Francisco has one of the lowest rates of any major American city. Modern crime data from San Francisco Police Department It shows that homicides rose 5% from January 1 to June 4, while robberies rose 16.1%. Car thefts increased by 6% and arson by 5%
Attacks were down 1.5%, and burglaries were down about 11%. Based on the numbers, crime overall is down 6.9% year over year.
Don’t forget crime fighting too.
Musk plays on the line between crime and the perception of crime. In his new round of battle with the city that is home to his company’s Twitter headquarters, he’s called on local authorities to enforce order against crime, in the same way they’re showing their support for the LGBTQ+ community this Pride Month.
One Twitter user posted on June 8, a blunt swipe at the authorities the user appears to blame for giving in to wake-up dictates: “San Francisco Sheriff, Police and Fire salute the Pride of Progress Flag while in uniform.”
Musk joined in on the commentary and ironically asked local law enforcement to remember their primary role: security.
“Don’t forget to fight crime too!” said the billionaire.
On the same day, he endorsed the unflattering photo of San Francisco, drawn by a Twitter user with whom he exchanges regularly. It’s a depiction of a ghost town and apocalypse that Musk has actually used in the past.
The user said: “San Francisco’s suburbs and waterfront areas are beautiful. Downtown San Francisco is a filthy, miserable nightmare full of human misery and drug abuse. It feels third world and smells of urine and unwashed faces and bodies. The ridiculous number of rainbow flags and passing flags can’t hide the despair.”
Musk agreed.
Unfortunately, this is an inaccurate assessment.
The anti-woke discourse is attributing the abandonment of major city centers to crime. They sometimes forget that the biggest factor is remote work, because since the pandemic, very few employees have agreed to return to the office, causing many companies to terminate their leases. Landlords also found themselves with loans that increased their monthly payments and were unable to reduce rents. Downtown San Francisco was not spared from this reality.
Traditionally, offices mostly occupy downtown areas in major cities.
Last month, Nordstrom announced that it would close two of its downtown San Francisco stores, a decision it attributed to reduced traffic rather than crime.
“Decisions like these are never easy, and this one was a particularly difficult one,” Jimmy Nordstrom, Nordstrom’s chief store officer, wrote at the time in a note. But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, which has affected customer traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”