We stumbled upon quite the SF neighborhood debate fueled by last week's "Fashion Mashup: Mission Meets Marina" and the ever-persistent instigator 'liquidkernel', a feud so heated (and perhaps narrow-minded) that we felt compelled to share some of the more controversial comments below. Add your thoughts to the neighborhood debate here.
liquidkernel: "Can you actually compare the Mission to the Marina? One has beautiful houses, clean streets with lots of quality stores and restaurants. Affluent people who just want to enjoy life. The other has useless street thugs, shit all over the sidewalk, run down buildings and hipsters trying to conform to the non-conformist life-style. My take? bulldoze the Mission and build condos."
guest #5: "Are San Franciscans so small-minded that they not only hate every town beyond their own borders but even hate places just two miles apart? Of course, I know the answer to that."
liquidkernel: "Well, in San Francisco we have different neighborhoods filled with extremely varying demographics and sociographics. One set of these is hard working, clean and are overall nice people. The other is generally filthy, conniving and contributes little to society. In one neighborhood you can leave your car unlocked at night and nothing will happen. In the other you'd be surprised to find your car still intact the next morning. In one neighborhood you can freely walk around the streets at night counting money (if you wish to do so) and no one will flinch. In the other, your wallet will be gone before you even leave the door. The Mission, Bay View, HP, Tenderloin and similar neighborhoods belong outside of the borders of San Francisco.. perhaps Richmond."
guest #11: "Holy shit liquidkernel, did you ever consider other people may have other values, other likes and dislikes than you do? Please stop touting how inferior everywhere else is in comparison to your little corner of the world."
liquidkernel: "Very much so. Which astounds me why everyone who loves the Mission seems to hate the Marina. Unless you want to be a hypocrite, then I have every right to talk shit about the Mission. Although objectively speaking, the Mission is massively inferior... you stick so many people of a single demographic in one area and you're bound to get a shithole... look at Hunters Points for example."
guest #7/15: "Guest 7 here - actually, I am an up by the boot straps corporate attorney with a slightly lazy afternoon and a tremendous view of the bay from office.
While I am not a tremendous fan of hipsters, I also not a fan of someone with your level of what may colloquially be be called douchitude. I do not live in either neighborhood, but I certainly find myself spending more time and money in the mission than I do in the marina. That said, I spend more time and money in almost every neighborhood of this fair city than I do in the Marina. Why? Because, quite frankly, the Marina strikes me as the perfect backdrop for a reboot of American Psycho. Inauthentic, self-focused, money-centered, and shallow. And so self righteous. So inwardly superior. I can respect the trust fund kid getting involved in a shitty neighborhood, drinking PBR, and riding around on a fixie so much easier than I can you rolling around in you Rav 4 or 3-series while trying to figure out which copy of a copy of a copy of a neighborhood bar you'll go to for a Stella or perhaps a vodka soda. Grey Goose. A Lime. At least the former is more environmentally friendly and supports our job deprived Midwestern countrymen.
Is this overbroad? Yes. But honestly, your comments, especially that you would so causally send the bulldozers to the corner of 14th and Delores and not let them stop until they hit Chavez and Portrero merely reinforces the stereotype.
Last, have you've been studying your right wing talk radio? The way you expertly turn the argument (see, you attacked the Mission, not the other way around), make the characterizing ad hominem attack, and make the absurdist argument (why is it a crime) reminds me so much of Michael Savage that I cannot fathom you possibly do anything which requires actual analytical thought to create actual economic value in society.
In sum, I guess I just hoped you were being satirical. Because if you were, it was beautiful. But if not, I am sad for you"
doc: ""Bulldoze the Mission and build condos"? er, they tried that in the Fillmore and today it's worse than it was before...you know, when it had a culture to speak of. (Yoshi's aint gonna turn it around)."
guest #58: "Mission|Marina|Matrix (i.e. point of harmonic convergence)
Bike|SUV|Prius
Lesbian|Spinster@30|Yoga
Douche|Douche|Medjool
Daly|Newsom|Miserable Wife
Co-op|Whole Foods|Trader Joe's
Selfedge|Marc Jacobs|Cigarettes Cheaper
non profit|for profit|unemployed
Mission F*gs|f*g hags|Lime Tea Dance
resident|employee|Mexican
Activists|Rich ex-hippies|Code Pink
Guardian|Weekly|Curbed"
guest #58/61: "Sorry, for the repeat. Trying to contend with key word filters. Lordy. But wait, there's more:
Gap Shirt Folder|Gap Founder|Gap Payroll
South Van Ness|Van Ness|Market Street
Carnival|Bay to Breakers|Beer
Pot Clubs|Chocolate Boutiques|Brownies
Progressive Grounds|Starbucks|230% Gross Margins
Crap. This could take all night."
guest #67: ""For the the two neighborhoods, locked in a duel of stereotypes for as long as anyone can remember, reconciliation may be at hand". No not really. I am 33. I recall both before the quake and at that time they related to each other about the same way the Excelsior relates to Laurel Heights today, i.e. not at all. You suburban interlopers in both places created this dumb shit in both to be honest. Seriously most kids in the Mission and the Marina are two sides of the same boring coin."
foxi: "+1 for liquidkernel = douche. The Marina really would be a nice place. Problem is, you're there."