Staff ReportsOnce upon a time, San Francisco was the crown jewel of the West Coast. A hundred years ago, it boasted stunning architecture, clean streets, and a thriving community of entrepreneurs eager to build their dreams in a stable environment. And then, over the decades, the city seemed to take a turn into a different kind of reality—one that the so-called progressives, who’ve long held the reins, insist is an improvement. But is it really?
Fast forward to today, and what do we see on the streets of this once-magnificent city? Well, it’s not exactly the glimmering metropolis we’d hope for. Now, passersby might encounter zombies—well, not literally, but folks so high on drugs they might as well be. Fentanyl users slouched on sidewalks, clutching at illusions while crime waits in the wings for its next act. Want to get a burger? Better watch out; there’s a chance of getting robbed at the drive-thru. Welcome to San Francisco, where even toothpaste has to be under lock and key to avoid getting swiped.
The city’s descent into this troubling state seems to be a love letter to questionable policies that seem to put criminals before community safety. Robbery in broad daylight, poop maps instead of park maps—it’s a kind of progress, but certainly not the kind you’d want to put in the family photo album. Shockingly, it’s gotten so out of hand that media folks flying in to report on crime get a taste of the very issue they intended to cover—car break-ins, talk about an appetizer of irony before the main course of headlines.
It doesn’t stop there. Even a popular fast-food chain, In-N-Out Burger, which could be described as the Disneyland of burgers for Californians, had to close its iconic location. All because customers were getting their side orders with a heaping scoop of robbery, courtesy of mischief in the drive-thru. Seems like the only thing “In” here was crime, so they decided to be “Out” of San Francisco.
This saga has sparked a dialogue between prominent voices. On one side, you have officials determined to clear the streets and bring back a semblance of sanity. On the other, there’s a wave of resistance and a stubborn belief that this urban turmoil is somehow progress. But the figures don’t lie—how has a city famed for its beauty and culture found itself needing an app to navigate… let’s call it “unpleasant surprises” on the pavement?
In the end, if someone tried to sell this version of “progress” to the folks from a hundred years ago, they’d be laughed off the block. Nobody’s signing up for a city where every corner hums with discomfort instead of opportunity. As the debate rages on, perhaps it’s time to reflect on what progress truly means and whether some cities might need to take a page from history to reclaim the shining future they once had.
