San Francisco - a city loved by millions, but it sure could use some cleaning up.
We have met and talked to a lot of people over the years who have visited San Francisco. Many have told us how much they loved their visit here.
San Francisco has been, and still is, a great place to visit. There are so many things for tourists to do and see (locals too, of course) that every day can be a fun filled adventure.
San Francisco also still has some great old buildings - not just towers of glass shining in the sun - but of course, there are plenty of those too. Walking around, looking at the architecture of homes and office buildings, many of which are well over 100 years old, is always a treat.
Unfortunately, San Francisco has a very dirty side too.
We spend more months in Tokyo than we do in San Francisco, and while it is certainly possible to find trash in the streets in Tokyo, and the bushes lining some of the streets in Tokyo, it's nothing compared to the carpet of litter that seems to be what San Francisco could well become know for. Of course, the trash has to contend for first place with the number of homeless and beggars that seem to be every 10-20 feet apart as one walks along many of the streets. And, if you're not walking, you'll see the same people (same meaning they have their spots) at many traffic lights, just waiting for the light to stop traffic so they can do their begging walk. I actually saw two of these people do a shift change. One took his sign out of the bushes, the other put his sign in the bushes, they had a few seconds of conversation, shook hands, and one headed "home" while the other took over the corner.
We also travel a lot. In fact, we just finished a one-month tour of Europe, staying in five countries, and other than Barcelona, where cigarette butts carpet the streets, the cities are clean. I mean, trash is not all over the place, no human feces on the sidewalks, and no overflowing trash bins on the streets. People in Europe are proud of their cities and homes. Tbey keep things clean, just like the Japanese who actually sweep the area in front of their homes daily rather than waiting for the city to do the clean up.
San Francisco - San Franciscans - have you no pride at all? Really? No Pride?
City leaders (Mr. Ed Lee, Mayor of San Francisco, are you and your employees so incompetent or so blase that you don't give a damn? Or are you all too busy figuring out more ways to screw more money out of the citizens and businesses so you can bloat the city employee figures and salaries some more?); citizens of San Francisco, beggars and homeless of San Francisco (although I doubt any of them will read this) - WTF is wrong with you people. San Francisco is such a great city yet you allow it to be befouled. You allow homeless from all over the nation to make SF their base camp (literally, camp). You allow drug needles and human shit to be on the streets. You don't clean up after your dogs.... I could go on and on, but hey, if you people don't care, then why are you living here? Move. Leave. Just don't go to some place where the people still respect each other and still know how to keep their city's streets clean.
Oh, and speaking of crime (somebody always is), what's up with the lack of policing in San Francisco? Leave your car in a space for more than the two hour limit and those little vehicles that drive around constantly will issue you a ticket faster than you can say "hey!".
But, have a crazy guy, or a homeless person, or just a common thief walking along the streets pulling on car door handles, or smashing car windows, or wandering onto someone's property, or breaking and entering, or even running around the street naked shouting who knows what, and guess what - there's nary a cop in sight. Maybe the donut shops are too alluring? Or maybe the mayor, #EDLEE doesn't know how to appoint a police chief that knows how to get the police to actually work?
Okay, yeah, this is a rant, but I think it's a rant you can - and do - hear from many in San Francisco. Just not all of them are willing to write about it.
Come on San Francisco, you can do a hell of a lot better! You can, can't you?
