As the dot-com revolution swallows up San Francisco, long-time residents
get evicted to make room for SUV-driving stock-optioned yuppies and the
city's character and culture are clear-felled, protestors are
taking
extreme measures:
25 protesters were arrested in August after they seized the offices of a
dot-com company that had recently displaced a popular neighborhood dance
studio. Forty police officers called in by the company staged a predawn
raid to make the arrests after the protesters had occupied the site for
two days.
Thrusting a notice into their faces, the 34-year-old painter
matter-of-factly explained how the Internet company they work for has been
snatching up property throughout the Mission District, displacing not only
artists like him, but also countless nonprofits and struggling families.
Now, he said, he's turning the tables. "I'm sorry, but I'm evicting you.
If you wouldn't mind getting up, I'm going to occupy your space," he
informed the dumbfounded dot-com pair