{"id":26561,"date":"2023-05-18T12:56:04","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T19:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=26561"},"modified":"2023-05-18T12:56:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T19:56:05","slug":"san-franciscos-faulty-doom-loop-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/05\/18\/san-franciscos-faulty-doom-loop-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO\u2019S FAULTY DOOM LOOP DEBATE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by\u00a0Randy Shaw<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0May 16, 2023 (BeyondChron.org)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nordstrom closure reignited SF’s Doom Loop Debate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Censoring City Problems is Wrong<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s my two big takes from the avalanche of social media posts about San Francisco\u2019s potentially \u201cdoomed\u201d future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, many commenters know little about San Francisco\u2019s recent history. The city faced tough economic times from 1986-1995 but many of today\u2019s activists are unaware of this period. Many of the \u201cstructural\u201d challenges being debated now were also argued about then. Today\u2019s challenges seem greater but San Francisco  successfully overcame longterm economic stagnation decades ago and can reposition itself again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, many believe that the city\u2019s thriving neighborhoods are the true if not exclusive measurement of San Francisco\u2019s status. They claim the media is too focused on a handful of problem blocks near City Hall while ignoring the Marina, Noe Valley and other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find this analysis insulting and wrongheaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media focuses on San Francisco\u2019s drug markets because they are the most openly displayed in the industrial world. Many cities have neighborhoods with thriving cafes and restaurants but San Francisco\u2019s open drug scene is unique. That\u2019s why it keeps getting coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A city is not defined by ignoring what occurs only blocks from City Hall. Residents of thriving neighborhoods do not live in a vacuum. These are the voters who recalled the former DA and who are mad as hell about the city\u2019s lack of public safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who favors a San Francisco that ignores its extreme drug crisis so to avoid contributing to a  \u201cdoom loop\u201d? The whole concept of the \u201cdoom loop\u201d assumes the city can\u2019t solve its problems\u2014yet when it comes to closing open air drug markets it certainly can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thank all those media and social media activists who refuse to sugercoat what it happening in San Francisco. The primary victims of this drug crisis are low-income renters who progressives claim to support. City Hall must support these tenants by closing these open drug markets. City Hall must ensure that the working-class Tenderloin is as free of sidewalk drug dealers as is the case in most city neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to avoid a doom loop? Join those demanding the closure of open air drug markets now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randy Shaw<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco\u2019s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s latest book is Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. He is the author of four prior books on activism, including The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. He is also the author of The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Randy Shaw\u00a0on\u00a0May 16, 2023 (BeyondChron.org) Nordstrom closure reignited SF’s Doom Loop Debate Censoring City Problems is Wrong Here\u2019s my two big takes from the avalanche of social media posts about San Francisco\u2019s potentially \u201cdoomed\u201d future. First, many commenters know little about San Francisco\u2019s recent history. The city faced tough economic… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26561"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26562,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26561\/revisions\/26562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}