My point was exactly that you keep repeating this notion of my “constant sobbing,” but you only read my first comment a few days ago, and I haven’t chimed in on but one or two topics. Please explain how this is constant sobbing, using real definitions of words like “constant” and “sobbing.”

kthx

anyway…you’re the one that got personal, buddy.

i’m just reacting to your constant sobbing.

Wait, bullshit. Cite evidence of this, please do not parrot gavin Newsom or willie brown.

I ain’t yer buddy, you don’t know me.

“don’t judge – or make any sort of assumptions about – an individual when you have no idea to whom you’re speaking, how they spend their days, or what they may or may not be doing to make positive change.”

“also, i have to comment, your resistance to inevitable change, your constant sobbing over the past, your consistent and typical passive aggressive bullshit holier-than-thou faux progressive attitude is tiresome.”

OIC!

…but i think your last paragraph is perhaps the most cogent thing said in this entire subject.

add to that a strong dose of reality, a proactive desire for education, a commitment to living in the present, and i think you’ve nailed it right on the head. this is EXACTLY what we need in Our Mission.

great thinking.

everyone want to come over for a taco?

1. Hipsters
2. Yuppies
3. Families and cool people trying to affect change for the better
4. All other non-whites

Outside of the Mission, two distinct groups exist:
1. Those forced to the hinterlands by the hand of The Man
2. Those who puke and poo in the neighborhood on the weekends

In a city renowned for its “tolerance,” the level of shit-talking about each group here is incredible. The fact is, with the possible exception of those born/raised, etc, in the Mission, every one here moved into the neighborhood with all of the above four categories of people firmly in place.

Implicit in this conversation is that the real issue is people with guns, not people who aren’t just like you. Want a livable community? Go outside, talk to everyone – not just the people who fall into your carefully defined categories. Quit trying to wall it off. Be civil, not judgmental. Then maybe you’ll be able to accomplish something.

what i can get behind is a blind adherence to snake oil political dogma, and self satisfied babies who are content to be uneducated.

i just want the folks who do live here to care about the neighborhood. and i want the hood to be cleaner and safer. why is that so difficult to understand? who the fuck would argue with that?

so i agree, join an organization, get educated, and vote. that said, the existing “community groups” that have been working on it for 30+ years, are looking at the past, not considering and planning for the future. they’re irrelevant relics.

also, i have to comment, your resistance to inevitable change, your constant sobbing over the past, your consistent and typical passive aggressive bullshit holier-than-thou faux progressive attitude is tiresome.

you want to make a judgment about “hipsters” or “progressives” or “yuppies” in general, go ahead. i certainly do. they’re usually accurate. and it’s fun to do…

but don’t judge – or make any sort of assumptions about – an individual when you have no idea to whom you’re speaking, how they spend their days, or what they may or may not be doing to make positive change.

You can repeat the mistakes of history, and you will if you don’t learn the lessons it has to offer. Did you know there are community groups out there who have been working on this for thirty+ years? Join one. Join the community, don;t displace it.

uh….yes we do. we do live here now.

your creation of judgmental territories “us & we”, “you & me” is unfortunate. i wont go into me being “you” and you being “we”, but it’s not ringing true for me (being “me”).

the “us” – my view – is folks in the Mission now. doesn’t matter who. i don’t care if they live in a shiny new condo or in a rent controlled apartment since 1962. question is: what can we do to preserve the unique beauty in the neighborhood? we can’t fight change as a concept. it’s stupid to try. everything changes. but we can open our eyes, stop being lazy babies, get educated about what effects our hood, and we can vote.

“where are those families now? The people are still alive, but the were forced to find a new home.”

Josh, i gotta tell ya….there’s nothing but families on my block of Capp, mine included. there’s families ALL OVER the Mission. i walk through the hood every day, and i see lots & lots of kids. Latino & white. Rich & poor. All kinds of people. Our Mission is plenty diverse my man. Walk though Noe Valley. Walk through the Marina. then tell me the Mission isnt diverse.

Diversity never left. Maybe it just no longer ascribes to your preferred definition of diversity.

“As soon as we made a dent in the crime and remotely increased the quality of life, we were Ellis-Acted and you moved in. Is it our fault if you haven’t taken care of the place since?”

saying that inevitable gentrification is the reason that the hood is disorganized and covered in human feces…that i just don’t understand.

sorry i can’t accept some weepy lament for times past, and the inevitable self-congratulatory blame-shift that goes along with it.

all i want to do is fix & preserve what i have now. Our Mission is worth it. We live here.

Not anymore. It was our Mission, but we don’t live there anymore.

“you PREFER human feces all over the street? you PREFER crackwhores, and open air heroin markets?”

Not at all, which is why we worked so hard to rid our neighborhood of these things. As soon as we made a dent in the crime and remotely increased the quality of life, we were Ellis-Acted and you moved in. Is it our fault if you haven’t taken care of the place since?

“unless some of this crap is taken under control, ALL of the Mission will become the “yuppie” part, because the city will sell the neighborhood to real estate developers”

As perverse as it may be, this kind of tragedy is the only thing keeping the developers out. My observation, having grown up in the Mission, is that housing law is set up in such a way to make displacement an unavoidable fact of gentrification. I hate to break it to you, but all of the Mission WILL be the yuppie part. There’s nothing you or I or even these shooters can do to stop it.

“do something to preserve the beauty, diversity and special qualities of the hood we have. because if you dont, well, you’ll be living in West Oak.”

I’d argue the first step is to recognize that the beauty and diversity that were here even ten years ago have already moved to West Oakland (or more accurately, Daly city, Portola, Excelsior or even farther). The apartment you rent for a “bargain” used to house a family. More likely than not it doesn’t anymore. Leaving aside arguments about whether neighborhoods are healthier when they contain families, where are those families now? The people are still alive, but the were forced to find a new home.

We all hate crime and especially gun violence. And I celebrate any real steps you or anyone else are taking to organize the community. But recognize, too, that this community was organized before and that organization was decimated by the demographic shifts you touch upon.