Re: Nancy Pelosi Represented San Francisco, an Unsafe City Portrait of the Failure of Liberalism

Inferior Rightists Cult <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]: 

> Nancy Pelosi shirked her responsibilities and failed to carry out her
> basic duties to her constituents. 

The city of San Francisco, in the state of California, USA, has suddenly 
become the focus of the world's attention. The Moscone Center, a large 
convention and exhibition center in the city, will be the venue for the 
APEC Economic Cooperation Forum Summit in 2023, from November 15th to 
17th. As a result, San Francisco has been scrutinized and referred to as 
one of the symbols of America's economic success. However, at the same 
time, the city is also revealed as a portrait of the failure of 
liberalism.

This city is perceived as unsafe for its own citizens. A Gallup poll in 
August 2023 stated that San Francisco is unsafe. Robbery is one of the 
issues. The CEO of the real estate giant Prologis Inc, Hamid Moghadam, was 
robbed at gunpoint outside his home last year.

Also read: Stories from San Francisco

Moghadam had to wait for 10 minutes until the 911 operator answered his 
call. In his letter to city officials, he criticized the decreasing level 
of public safety. Moghadam said that if he had to do the same thing, he 
would think twice about establishing the headquarters of the 95 billion US 
dollars company in San Francisco. He also co-founded Prologis Inc four 
decades ago (Bloomberg, November 10th, 2023).

The robbery has caused shop owners in downtown San Francisco to shut down 
their businesses. According to The Associated Press on July 16, many shops 
have closed down. Those who have left include AT&T, Gap, Macy's, Old Navy, 
H&M, Uniqlo, the Chinese restaurant named Michelin Star, Microsoft store, 
and many others.

A row of empty buildings is becoming a dominant feature in the heart of 
San Francisco. Changes in shopping habits have caused malls and gaming 
locations to close. The decrease in visitors, including Asian tourists, 
has also contributed to business closures.

Social dualism
The homeless problem also muddies the picture of San Francisco. As many as 
70 percent of San Francisco residents said that homelessness was the top 
three problem, as quoted from the article "The ongoing crisis of 
homelessness in the Bay Area: What's working, what's not" (McKinsey, 23 
March 2023 ). There are 38,000 homeless people in the Bay Area.

There has been a growing trend in drug transactions among citizens, which 
includes involvement with homeless individuals. It is not uncommon to see 
homeless individuals injecting narcotics in the streets of downtown San 
Francisco as school children come and go. According to Bloomberg, San 
Francisco is filled with homelessness, filth, and drug abuse.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, which is headquartered in Palo Alto south of San 
Francisco, said the city felt like ”post-apocalyptic”.

San Francisco is undoubtedly a city filled with acute dualities. It is no 
longer just about the Italian heritage aesthetics that are often showcased 
in Washington Square Park, nor is it just about the Asian heritage such as 
Chinatown located near the Moscone Center. San Francisco is also not just 
about the prowess of the beloved basketball team, the Golden State 
Warriors, with their stadium located at Chase Center.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, which is headquartered in Palo Alto south of San 
Francisco, said the city felt like ”post-apocalyptic”. This refers to the 
chaotic situation in the end times. CNN journalists covering the city were 
shocked by the tents of homeless people in the city center.

San Francisco is no longer about the location that is surrounded by 
glowing homes at night in the surrounding mountains. San Francisco is also 
no longer about Golden Gate, one of the city's icons sought after by 
tourists worldwide. San Francisco is a city of social and economic 
dualism.

Tight security
However, San Francisco, where the meeting of leaders from 21 member 
countries of APEC will take place, will be safe. Matt Murray, an official 
from the US Department of Foreign Affairs responsible for APEC 2023 
events, promised that the US will be a good host on Sunday (11/12/2023).

Security for the meeting is guaranteed 100 percent. Homeless people around 
the meeting have been expelled and promised a new location. Pedestrians 
who are not involved were advised not to approach Moscone Center (SFGate, 
November 7, 2023).

Only those with official identification are allowed to enter the meeting 
area. Strict baggage checks will also be conducted. "There will be extra 
surveillance carried out by security forces, military personnel, and San 
Francisco public security personnel for this event," said Assistant 
Special Agent from the Secret Service, Jeremy Brown, as quoted by ABC7News 
on November 13th.

Also read: Biden-Xi Agree to Meet in San Francisco, First After Bali

Security is supported by 1,000 California police officers. Security is not 
only to overcome local criminal threats and homelessness. ABC News, on 
November 8th, quoted Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle who said that 
wars in some corners of the world increased security risks for attending 
leaders.

Several protest plans ahead of the APEC summit have been anticipated. 
However, this will be avoided, including through cooperation with the FBI 
and security officers from various institutions. They will coordinate for 
the security of land, sea, and air transportation.

Attracting Asian interest
The organization of APEC 2023 aims to make this meeting epic. There is 
hope that San Francisco will rise again and become a vibrant city. One of 
the Co-Chairs of APEC 2023 Host Committee, Kevin Xu, told CGTN on November 
13th, that he hopes Asian tourists will return.

Kevin reminds us that San Francisco is the first Chinatown in the United 
States and now the second largest Chinatown in the US after New York. Of 
course, San Francisco is also one of the main Asian gateways to the US.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Asian tourist visits have not returned to 
2019 levels. This is believed to be a contributing factor to San 
Francisco's economic downturn, as the largest shopping tourists, who come 
from Asia, are not yet back to normal. This situation is further 
exacerbated by negative sentiment towards the Asian ethnicity, which had 
previously increased in the US.

Also read: Preparing the Biden-Xi Jinping Meeting is More Complicated than 
Holding the APEC Summit

Therefore, one of the missions of APEC 2023 is to make San Francisco shine 
again and hopefully attract Asian tourists to come back. The question is, 
can that be achieved?

Of course, San Francisco will not fade away. The city is located in a high 
growth area in the US. Around San Francisco, there is Palo Alto, the 
headquarters of Silicon Valley, the renowned Stanford University campus, 
as well as Meta, Google, and world-renowned technology companies. San 
Francisco is also not far from Berkeley, the location of the University of 
California. San Francisco is one of the major port cities in the US.

However, the main issue for the US currently is the fading economy, 
worsened by the long-term relocation of businesses to Asia. According to 
McKinsey, the social and economic dualism of San Francisco and its 
surrounding areas is due to policy fragmentation, including a racist tone. 
The dominance of asset ownership by white people is not a new phenomenon, 
but has been occurring for a long time. This is one of the reasons behind 
the inequality that has resulted in dualism.

The reference to Bloomberg is relatively relevant, as the scene in San 
Francisco is a failure of the liberal system. This refers to free market 
policies, accompanied by policies with racist tones and indifference 
towards minorities.

Of course, all of this is also a resultante of Republican anti-tax 
policies (The Washington Post, August 7, 2023). Taxes are one tool for 
equality, but the US, especially Republicans, has always believed that 
taxes will spoil to the point of harm. (AFP/AP/REUTERS)

https://www.kompas.id/baca/english/2023/11/14/en-san-francisco-kota-tak-
aman-potret-kegagalan-liberalisme