The push/pull within the Democratic Party between your more traditional, moderate Democrats and crazy-a*s, foamy-lipped, chest-thumping progressives is coming to a head, especially as more and more people flee large cities where crime and lawlessness run rampant in the name of ‘equity’ and ‘social justice’.
San Franciso may well be the worst right now, considering even Target has decided to close early due to all of the crime?
Michelle Tandler is a moderate Democrat and San Franciscan, who wrote a fairly heartfelt and brutally honest thread about what is happening to her city.
It’s definitely worth your time:
Conservative Twitter is all over this.
I highly recommend reading the quote tweets for a deeper understanding of how many in America view SF, the left, etc.
A thread 🧵 (1/x) https://t.co/0ngZ5NUqyr
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Here's one that caught my eye: https://t.co/SKUH0RdSPn
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Another one: https://t.co/l4GrbejVGK
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Cardillo doesn’t pull any punches.
Michelle continued.
There seems to be an impression among many conservatives that the left:
+ Doesn't support & protect businesses
+ Doesn't protect citizens from criminals
+ Is trying to destabilize our social order/society— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Impression?
It’s called reality. We can SEE IT happening.
This is not an impression.
On this last part – about society – the right tends to critique:
+ Branding white people as "oppressors" (e.g., critical race theory)
+ Recasting American history as rooted in evil (e.g., renaming schools)
+ Undermining meritocracies (e.g., getting rid of adv math)— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Among other nonsense …
SF has caught a lot of national attention as we are a petri dish for many progressive ideas – e.g.,
+ Harm reduction & housing first approach to addiction & homelessness
+ High taxes (state income tax, businesses)
+ Decarceration, ending bail, lax prosecution— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Lax prosecution.
That says so much.
There are early signals that politics are having a significant impact on the Bay Area:
+ 45% of businesses in SF are still closed
+ SF/CA exodus is real
+ Remote is here to stay (in many parts b/c people don't want to go downtown)— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Wow.
And yes, the exodus is very real.
I think we will start to experience a real shift in outlook if real estate prices start falling. This could occur due to:
+ Recession (we are overdue, RE usually in 10-year cycles)
+ Remote guts city of younger workers, fewer buyers
+ Crime driving out elderly, families, women— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
She gets it.
Anecdotally, every single one of my friends right now is considering leaving SF (and frankly, myself included).
The biggest driver is no longer cost of living. It's crime.
My friends are scared for their children, and their husbands are scared for their wives…
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Shameful that their leaders, their elected officials, would put them in such a position with crime where they no longer feel safe in their own city.
And it isn't about metrics.
Nobody is saying we are "X% up" in this category.
It's how they feel walking the streets. It's walking a stroller next to a tent that has a pile of bikes next to it.
It's being screamed at or chased by someone who seems mentally unstable.
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
It’s not talking points.
It’s reality.
What I'm seeing is that if there is a big enough incident, it shakes people up.
It could be seeing a robber trying to climb into your child's bedroom, being pulled off your bike, having someone chase you with a pipe…
These incidents shake people up. And their friends too.
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Ultimately, I think that the biggest responsibility of government is to protect people from one another.
It is in place to protect us from assault, theft, robbery, etc.
Right now the criminal justice system in SF is not working.
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
At all.
It is allowing people to get high on very powerful drugs and terrorize one another, neighbors, stores.
It is allowing rampant theft, burglary & car break-ins.
It is allowing mentally unstable felons to stab elderly women.
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
There is a social contract inherent in living in a city.
We are all crammed together in a small space with the expectation and understanding that we protect one another.
There is an expectation that our government will keep things functioning smoothly so we can coexist.
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
And more and more big cities are breaking those social contracts.
The San Francisco government has abdicated on that responsibility.
It is focused on equity & "justice" at the expense of fulfilling its basic duties.
Fee caps, school renaming, criminal justice experiments, public banks, red tape, corruption… the list goes on.
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
^^^
My whole life I've considered myself a proud liberal, progressive San Francisco Democrat.
Today I am ashamed of my city.
I see smug ignorance of the laws of unintended consequences.
Moral grandstanding winning over data, logic, and facts.
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Radical candidates winning elections unopposed.
Social justice warriors getting into government and wreaking havoc on neighborhoods, businesses, children.
Why have we all been asleep at the wheel? Where is our sense of civic duty? Civic pride?
Is this who we want to be?
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
No.
It’s not.
Throughout history, millions of ppl have gone to war and died for their country, their home, their sense of what is right.
What is going on in SF isn't right. We likely have the most inept, corrupt local government in the nation.
For a city of innovation, this is humiliating.
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
It is.
I tweet because my heart is breaking about what's happening in my hometown.
This is not how an American city should look and feel.
I feel like I'm on the brink of being red-pilled. How can I not, when our policies are so aligned with the radical left?
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Being red-pilled isn’t as bad as she thinks it is.
People who are red-pilled smile more, worry less, and fight harder because their goals are simple. When your focus is on liberty and freedom the rest just sort of falls in place.
San Francisco has a long history of push and pull between moderate and progressive Dems.
Currently, we are fully in the hands of the progressives.
They are in charge of our criminal justice system and our governing body, the board of supervisors.
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
And those progressives want more control in more cities.
My hope is that in the next few elections we turn this around.
We need more moderates in office. Mayor Breed will need more moderates in the BOS to get things done.
People say the word moderate isn't inspiring.
Well, it is to me.
(fin)
— Michelle Tandler 🌁 (@michelletandler) July 3, 2021
Honestly, reading this from Michelle, our hearts hurt for her. Oh sure, we could make jokes about San Fran but ultimately what is happening there is no longer anything we should be joking about. And it’s not just in San Fran … it’s happening all over.
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