My experience of San Francisco, post-election

 

On election day, I went to bed after my personal news black-out.  I awoke too early at 4:00 am, gave up trying to go back to sleep, and turned on the radio to hear about the depressing disaster.  NPR was on, and they were doing their usual multicultural report, interviewing an illegal alien or some such about how they “felt” about the election.  I was able to infer some disturbance in the narrative, but it would take a few minutes to glean what it was from NPR.  So I switched to KGO, where I heard a talk show host and pillow spokesperson named Chip in full liberal gloat and end-zone dance about how Republicans were now in the dustbin of history.  But I was soon able to determine that this was a rebroadcast from election day, prior to any vote counting.  I switched to KCBS, and immediately was informed that Trump had won, and Republicans held both the Senate And the House.  Oh My!  I was pleasantly surprised, to put it mildly.

The train ride to San Francisco was very somber, as were the downtown streets.  I took the elevator up the high-rise with my boss and two colleagues who immediately starting talking about the results.  The boss demanded that they shut up, he did not want to hear any whining. But when out of earshot, the day was full of whining and bewilderment from the lawyers I work with, with much vulgar contempt for Trump voters.  Although I am known to be more conservative than the local average, nobody assumed I was a Trump supporter and, needing to earn a living, I kept my head down and did not say much.

I went out for lunch, and was astonished to see high schoolers marching under Mexican Flags, and “Pride” Flags on Market Street.  In the actual street!  My first thought was that this is no place for children, as Market Street has many bums urinating and young ladies openly injecting drugs into their arms.  Who let them out of school?  If they are counted as absent that day, it is very costly for the school, but that depends on how they “count”.

At the end of the day, I took the elevator down with silent strangers.  There were hipsters, young people lucky enough to be employed  in the new information (advertising?) economy, the new “masters of the universe”, able to afford San Francisco and things.  At the last moment, a guy looking like Pajama Boy, but dressed for work in skin tight pants, cool shoes, untucked shirt and full brimmed hat, announced, “dark times ahead”.  Such is the wisdom of children.  I have a feeling I will never forget that day.

It has gotten worse.  My colleagues, lawyers all, informed and smart and good people almost all (I know, cue the guffaws) are reporting “massive voter suppression” in 33 states.  Massive vote tampering, etc. (Fake news might actually be a real problem).  A very handsome, elegant, black man with an impeccable British accent is reporting hostile glares and Uber discrimination on the streets of San Francisco!  An Indian women is afraid of internment camps and trying to come up with an escape plan.  The worst was a lawyer reporting to our boss that he had purchased a gun “to protect his minority friends”.  Is this acceptable workplace behavior?  Instead of firing him, the boss, a minority, advised him to “keep on his meds”.

I live in a true alternative universe.  It is starting to wear me down.

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  1. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    blood thirsty neocon:I wonder if they will be disappointed when their dystopian fantasy doesn’t come true. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that Obama was not going to come to my home and personally transform me, re-educate me, or whatever paranoid scenario I had dreamed up.

    Yes, they will be. These people live for a cause to struggle against, and when there’s nothing really that bad, they invent things.

    • #31
  2. Fred Houstan Member
    Fred Houstan
    @FredHoustan

    Kozak:

    Retail Lawyer: An Indian women is afraid of internment camps and trying to come up with an escape plan.

    Go back to India.

    You know several Facebook server blades just tanked when the mere thought of this being posted happened.

    • #32
  3. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    blood thirsty neocon:I wonder if they will be disappointed when their dystopian fantasy doesn’t come true. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that Obama was not going to come to my home and personally transform me, re-educate me, or whatever paranoid scenario I had dreamed up.

    When it does not happen it will be proof that all those “raise awareness” campaigns, Facebook likes, twitter advocacy and marches worked.  They will be giving themselves high fives on beating the ignorant citizens down and avoiding a genocide.

    • #33
  4. mezzrow Member
    mezzrow
    @mezzrow

    RightAngles:

    blood thirsty neocon:I wonder if they will be disappointed when their dystopian fantasy doesn’t come true. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that Obama was not going to come to my home and personally transform me, re-educate me, or whatever paranoid scenario I had dreamed up.

    Yes, they will be. These people live for a cause to struggle against, and when there’s nothing really that bad, they invent things.

    Do you have anything on that, Dr. Sowell?

    https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Anointed-Self-Congratulation-Social-Policy/dp/046508995X/

    • #34
  5. The Dowager Jojo Inactive
    The Dowager Jojo
    @TheDowagerJojo

    Man With the Axe:

    H. Noggin:I read these accounts with a heavy heart. The very idea that people must keep their political leanings (for a major party!) secret just kills me. We have become distressingly like the Soviet Union. Doesn’t anyone on the Left see this?

    Most probably don’t see it, but those that do like it. They like repression so long as they are doing the repressing. This is the root of “white privilege” and “mansplaining” and wanting to imprison climate “deniers” and the rest of identity politics.

    Someone posed a question once on Ricochet, and I commented that I had a theory but sadly knew Ricochet was not a place it could be openly and honestly discussed.  The person who was the reason it could not be openly and honestly discussed commented “Good.”

    They like repression so long as they are doing the repressing.

    • #35
  6. The Dowager Jojo Inactive
    The Dowager Jojo
    @TheDowagerJojo

    There were smiles all around at my office the day after the election.  A guy who never initiates conversation held the door for me and said “How bout last night!?” To which I answered “There’s still hope.” He said “Yes, there’s still hope.”

    • #36
  7. Quietpi Member
    Quietpi
    @Quietpi

    These things – internment camps, reeducation centers, etc. etc. are far left tactics, not far right.

    People have been brainwashed into seeing fascism as a “far right phenomenon.” They are totally blind to the fact that the present administration has been spectacularly successful in moving this country to the left, in that direction, and that is the very thing that “the far right” is fighting against.  

    I am not for a moment suggesting that Obama would ever dream of setting up such camps and other institutions characteristic of fascism.  But much of the same thing is being accomplished by other, frankly more insidious means.  See paragraph one above.

    • #37
  8. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Rodin:As a fellow Californian I can only say I am glad to be retired and not having to navigate within the political leanings of my former colleagues. California as a place and California as a population remind me of the joke about France: The Brits, Germans, Spanish and Italians all complained to God about His Creation: France. “Why,” they asked,”did He put so many wonderful things in France, while only putting a few good things in their own countries?” God responded that, “Yes, it is true that I put many wonderful things in France, but then I balanced it out by populating it with the French people.”

    California, the place, is extraordinary. California, the population, is becoming (politically) insufferable. With exceptions, of course.

    We’d appreciate it if you’d stop exporting the insufferable ones to Colorado. Thanks.

    • #38
  9. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Quietpi: People have been brainwashed into seeing fascism as a “far right phenomenon.”

    That’s what Wikipedia says. It must be true!

    I’m wondering if it’s correct to say that all fascists are socialists (either national or international), but not all socialists are fascists — yet.

    • #39
  10. Kim K. Inactive
    Kim K.
    @KimK

    Rodin:As a fellow Californian I can only say I am glad to be retired and not having to navigate within the political leanings of my former colleagues. California as a place and California as a population remind me of the joke about France: The Brits, Germans, Spanish and Italians all complained to God about His Creation: France. “Why,” they asked,”did He put so many wonderful things in France, while only putting a few good things in their own countries?” God responded that, “Yes, it is true that I put many wonderful things in France, but then I balanced it out by populating it with the French people.”

    California, the place, is extraordinary. California, the population, is becoming (politically) insufferable. With exceptions, of course.

    Thanks for pointing out there are exceptions. I’m originally from Iowa – flyover country. Now I live in Kern County – flyover California. I love this state, but you are right, the population on the coasts (mainly) is insufferable. Whenever I hear about secession I want to scream “nooooo.”

    • #40
  11. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Western Chauvinist: We’d appreciate it if you’d stop exporting the insufferable ones to Colorado. Thanks.

    They mostly hang out in gated communities, so as long as you keep them surrounded it should be OK. And under guard, of course.

    • #41
  12. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Kim K.: Thanks for pointing out there are exceptions. I’m originally from Iowa – flyover country. Now I live in Kern County – flyover California. I love this state, but you are right, the population on the coasts (mainly) is insufferable. Whenever I hear about secession I want to scream “nooooo.”

    Yeah, the secession movement would be OK if it were by zipcode instead of the entire state. If California ever seceded the resulting country would be something like Palestine and Israel.

    • #42
  13. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Rodin:

    Western Chauvinist: We’d appreciate it if you’d stop exporting the insufferable ones to Colorado. Thanks.

    They mostly hang out in gated communities, so as long as you keep them surrounded it should be OK. And under guard, of course.

    It’s not where they live — it’s how they vote! They’ve turned us blue.

    • #43
  14. Mike LaRoche Inactive
    Mike LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    I fully support leftist emigration from the United States.

    • #44
  15. TeamAmerica Member
    TeamAmerica
    @TeamAmerica

    H. Noggin:I read these accounts with a heavy heart. The very idea that people must keep their political leanings (for a major party!) secret just kills me. We have become distressingly like the Soviet Union. Doesn’t anyone on the Left see this?

    More reason to rejoice the result.

    As I’ve noted many times on this site, imo Dennis Prager nailed it (and explained the cause of this intolerance) when he said “In the past century, the most dynamic ‘religion’ in the Western world, more dynamic than Islam and Christianity combined, has been ‘leftism.'” I.e., lefty politics embraced as an intolerant, secular religion. Many people nowadays feel that they are good people because they are pc lefties.

    • #45
  16. TeamAmerica Member
    TeamAmerica
    @TeamAmerica

    Note that when many of these tolerant, diversity-loving lefties threaten to emigrate, they usually name a country to move to that they perceive as lily-white- Canada, Sweden, Australia etc. Ironic, isn’t it?

    • #46
  17. Evan Pokroy Inactive
    Evan Pokroy
    @EvanPokroy

    Hah! I happened to have been in the Bay Area for work election week. I was in a meeting as the East Coast returns started to come in. Shock and denial were the emotions of the day. Then followed by insulting the voters. It was delicious. The kids working at Trader Joe’s were beside themselves. They were also talking about how there’s no way it would stand. Something had to have been rigged etc. And then people b!tc#ing and moaning at an after hours work event was also fun. Talk about buying into fake news.

    Then I went to North Carolina (true, I was mostly in Chapel Hill, but still) it was nice to see diversity of bumper stickers and yard signs as well as not to hear anyone complaining about the results.

    Back in Israel everyone is pretty happy about the results.

    • #47
  18. Mike-K Member
    Mike-K
    @

    Evan Pokroy: Back in Israel everyone is pretty happy about the results.

    Except perhaps Haaretz.

    • #48
  19. Theodoric of Freiberg Inactive
    Theodoric of Freiberg
    @TheodoricofFreiberg

    Front Seat Cat: How did this day come, who started this lies and false information divide

    Answer: The MSM and the Democrat party (but, I repeat myself).

    • #49
  20. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Rodin:

    Kim K.: Thanks for pointing out there are exceptions. I’m originally from Iowa – flyover country. Now I live in Kern County – flyover California. I love this state, but you are right, the population on the coasts (mainly) is insufferable. Whenever I hear about secession I want to scream “nooooo.”

    Yeah, the secession movement would be OK if it were by zipcode instead of the entire state. If California ever seceded the resulting country would be something like Palestine and Israel.

    Exactly. No Red Brothers Left Behind.  And the Progs  will need their passport to get to the Ikea.

    • #50
  21. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Kozak:

    Rodin:

    Kim K.: Thanks for pointing out there are exceptions. I’m originally from Iowa – flyover country. Now I live in Kern County – flyover California. I love this state, but you are right, the population on the coasts (mainly) is insufferable. Whenever I hear about secession I want to scream “nooooo.”

    Yeah, the secession movement would be OK if it were by zipcode instead of the entire state. If California ever seceded the resulting country would be something like Palestine and Israel.

    Exactly. No Red Brothers Left Behind. And the Progs will need their passport to get to the Ikea.

    Can’t we hold a national referendum on California’s secession? If we’re going to divorce, I think both parties should be represented.

    • #51
  22. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    Western Chauvinist: Can’t we hold a national referendum on California’s secession? If we’re going to divorce, I think both parties should be represented.

    Texas votes aye. So long as an election is held in California and counties with less than a 50% margin in favor of California secession are allowed to remain in the United States. Call it East California in a nod to West Virginia, formed in a similar manner.

    Seawriter

    • #52
  23. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Seawriter:

    Western Chauvinist: Can’t we hold a national referendum on California’s secession? If we’re going to divorce, I think both parties should be represented.

    Texas votes aye. So long as an election is held in California and counties with less than a 50% margin in favor of California secession are allowed to remain in the United States. Call it East California in a nod to West Virginia, formed in a similar manner.

    Seawriter

    NC votes aye.  They can call it whatever they want. It will probably end up being called Aztlan or Alta Mexico.

    • #53
  24. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    Kozak:

    Seawriter:

    Western Chauvinist: Can’t we hold a national referendum on California’s secession? If we’re going to divorce, I think both parties should be represented.

    Texas votes aye. So long as an election is held in California and counties with less than a 50% margin in favor of California secession are allowed to remain in the United States. Call it East California in a nod to West Virginia, formed in a similar manner.

    Seawriter

    NC votes aye. They can call it whatever they want. It will probably end up being called Aztlan or Alta Mexico.

    East California is to be the name of the state formed from the California counties opting to remain in the US.

    Seawriter

    • #54
  25. JustmeinAZ Member
    JustmeinAZ
    @JustmeinAZ

    @retaillawyer

    Whoa! You have arrived. Linked by Instapundit.

    MY EXPERIENCE OF SAN FRANCISCO, POST-ELECTION: “I live in a true alternative universe. It is starting to wear me down.”

    • #55
  26. Quietpi Member
    Quietpi
    @Quietpi

    Western Chauvinist: I’m wondering if it’s correct to say that all fascists are socialists (either national or international), but not all socialists are fascists — yet.

    Well, close.  IIRC, Marx recognized fascism as a necessary step in the process of converting a capitalist economy to a fully socialist one.  Fascism is, in fact, pretty much half way to socialism.  The “capital,” the means of production, remains in private ownership, but the owners are essentially run by the state, through laws, mandates, etc. so the “owner” is mostly a place holder of sorts for the state.  This is why the “too big to fail” doctrine, as exercised on the automotive industry, is in fact pure fascism.  Witness the instant demise of the civilian – version HUMMV when the government – anointed leaders took over GM.

    • #56
  27. GirlFriday Inactive
    GirlFriday
    @GirlFriday

    Seawriter:Is it that hard to get registered for the bar in Texas? Relocation could be a solution to your problem.

    Alternatively, stoke the California independence movement, and then support a county by county opt-out. Move to a red county when the SF-LA corridor votes to secede. (Texas will help them go.)

    Seawriter

    If CA secedes, can TX send all the CA residents back as illegal aliens?

    • #57
  28. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Seawriter:East California is to be the name of the state formed from the California counties opting to remain in the US.

    screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-9-15-09-amHere is the results map just showing Dem and Rep Presidential vote. If you applied the a requirement (as was suggested) that a vote to leave would have to have at least a supermajority you would probably flip the 4 counties in blue preventing a complete block from the Oregon border to Bakersfield (Nevada, Alpine, Mono and Fresno). But unless you redraw the boundaries of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties that stretch to the Arizona border, East California will be completely adjacent only to Oregon and Nevada. If you think we have water wars now, just imagine if the Sierras and SF/LA are in different countries. Oh my.

     

    • #58
  29. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    Rodin: If you think we have water wars now, just imagine if the Sierras and SF/LA are in different countries. Oh my.

    A feature, not a bug.

    Seawriter

    • #59
  30. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    GirlFriday: If CA secedes, can TX send all the CA residents back as illegal aliens?

    In fairness they should be treated as refugees subject to deportation if they don’t assimilate.

    • #60
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