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Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

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Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#171

Post by bilbo0s »

Crito wrote: post #105
gohrt wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So... we need to organize a working class resistence against the... pretend working class resistance? Not even joking. If the imposter protestors make it acceptable for "civilized" folk to have a reactionary attitude against equality concerns, they will become a (perhaps unwitting) tool of oppression of the poor, who do have valid (if unvoiced) concerns.

It's a good point. These protesters, far from helping the 'locals', are giving them a worse reputation. Among it's other problems, Oakland is now "the city that smashes buses" , even if the people who did it really have nothing to do with Oakland. The residents of Oakland have every right to be angry with these protesters.

They have the right...

but they're not angry. In fact... it's a pretty good bet that the average "traditional" resident of that area is not even aware of the fight. The original poster was right, the "traditional" residents in Oakland are just struggling to make ends meet. They're not going to look up from their grind because some upper-middle class kids want to fight each other.

Those who are aware... probably think about it in the same light as the Samuel L Jackson character "Zeus" in the Die Hard movie... "THAT'S A WHITE MAN!!! WITH WHITE PROBLEMS!!!" And just like "Zeus", that's how they will perceive it, since they feel it doesn't affect them. (And they are probably right... they won't get anything out of that fight anyway. I mean, we say they will get a worse reputation... but the reality is... the law abiding "traditional" residents don't care about reputation... you can't pay rent with it.)

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#172

Post by etjossem »

Crito wrote: post #152
etjossem wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think baddox is necessarily suggesting corporate housing, just housing that doesn't involve an hour-plus commute each way. Living closer to your workplace gives you a few extra hours each week - it's your choice whether to spend them at work or home.

He is advocating more restrictions (not enforced by law or company policy, admittedly, but driven by community violence) on housing options for Google employees. Whether the remaining options are owned by Google, or a limited set of independent corporations and landlords is of little consequence. The result is that the employee is forced to live closer to work instead of where they please, serving as a constant remin…

> Why not live closer to work?

If you ask those aboard the Google bus, you'll get various answers, like "I don't mind the commute" or "I love SF, there's so much to do here."

> Why not live in San Francisco?

Tech workers in Mountain View will give you "I'd rather spend time with my family than on the road" or "I don't really want to live in a large city" or any number of totally individual, valid, human reasons.

I don't see any dehumanization here.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#173

Post by kenrikm »

greenyoda wrote: post #156
null_ptr wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't tech employees pay the same income and sales taxes as anybody else? Every age has its booming industry, technology is our generation's. You can either accept reality and try to acquire relevant skills that are in demand, or act hurt and expect to get handed what others have to work for.

Actually, they pay more taxes than the average resident. Higher-income people have higher income tax rates, buy more stuff (hence more sales tax) and live in more expensive real estate (higher property tax). If not for high-income people, the cities they live in would not be able to offer the services they do to low-income people.

Nail Meet Head. It's convenient to ignore this fact.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#175

Post by r00fus »

yarou wrote: post #80
null_ptr wrote: post #58

Gotta love “TECHIES: Your World Is Not Welcome Here” I find it hard to sympathize with a bunch of lazy thugs who do nothing to improve their situation. Engineering and white collar jobs in general have always paid well. Industries who are in demand even more so, and for just reason. Did similar protests happen in Detroit 50 years ago during the auto boom? Did unskilled rubes that do nothing all day put up banners say…

These kids never worked a day in their life, though. Their parents provided them with all the tools to succeed, but they still managed to fuck it up. They have no desire to improve themselves, they simply want to continue to leech off of whatever person will tolerate them the longest. Sickening.

Nice broad sweeping generalizations. Do you have proof all these protestors are trust-fund babies?

Otherwise, your comment is out of line. Provide light, not heat.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#176

Post by dllthomas »

api wrote: post #132
wavesounds wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've gotten into some 'debates' with friends on facebook who are are in the 'anarchist/burner/hipster' persuasion. And It's mostly scape-goating programmers for rents going up. But I do think the Startup community in particular could do a better job interacting with the communities we live in. Especially as more and more people jump on the startup bandwagon and don't really understand the hacker/nerd ethos of protect…

I think the rent issue is definitely real, but isn't the fault of techies. It's the fault of several interacting factors: (1) Anti-development mentality on the part of city councils, zoning boards, etc. (2) Geographic containment of the area. (3) Shitty public transit and overcrowded roads. (4) Foreign investors driving up the price of RE. ... in roughly that order. #1 is largely the fault of this same stereotypical…

#1 is also the fault of conservative property owners, because building new housing lowers the prices of existing houses.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#177

Post by thomasz »

ye wrote: post #106
thisiswrong wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That describes a huge fraction of today's protestors and activists, which is why despite many things in the world sucking I rarely take today's "activism" very seriously. It's mostly activism-as-entertainment for trustafarians. The irony is that your comment only emphasizes the severe disconnect between relatively wealthy & employable 'techies' versus the rest of the struggling recession-hit population. It's hard t…

The irony of your comment only emphasizes how little you understand that NONE of it is techies' fault. Is it their fault they thought about the future and picked tough but useful majors? Is it their fault that hipsters chose art, history, women studies and other (financially) useless stuff, just because that's what they liked to do? Is it their fault that hipsters feel entitled to a high paying job?

Not everybody can be part of the glorious STEM master race!

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#178

Post by ddebernardy »

nknighthb wrote: post #146
ddebernardy wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly, top-earners have been saying the same for decades when confronted with tax increases, all while having enjoyed an ever increasing share of the wealth pie. Food for thought.

This "top earner" wants more tax increases. I'm not alone. What I do not want is to be subject to violent attacks for getting up and going to work in the morning, nor to be compared to Glenn Beck for having no sympathy for the violent criminals doing so.

And I feel the same. But here's more food for thought: when you've nothing to lose, you basically lose it. And that, sadly, is where a lot of Americans have been heading since late 2007.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#179

Post by [deleted] »

nknighthb wrote: post #168
manicbovine wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope that you include a link to your hacker news profile on your resume in order to help employers like me to avoid hiring you.

Please tell me your company's name, so I can avoid ever patronizing it, and be ready to dial 911 should any of your employees ever approach me. Edit: Nevermind, I found you. I wouldn't be caught dead in Arizona, and I'm not an educator, so we're both quite safe.

[deleted]

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#180

Post by jack-r-abbit »

manicbovine wrote: post #78
jessedhillon wrote: post #48

West Oakland is a traditionally black neighborhood that surrounds the Port of Oakland. It has been heavily gentrified, developed, and restructured over the past three decades. Now there is an upper class enclave that has been established near the West Oakland BART station, in Jack London, and in the city of Emeryville. Oh fuck you and your dreadlocks. There are only two photos on that page, so I don't definitively kn…

It's as if you are auditioning for the Glenn Beck show. That's probably where you belong edit: Since when is political vitriol acceptable for HN? If I wanted to hear bullshit political rants with gems like "traditional blacks" or "fuck you and your dreadlocks", then I'd turn on Fox News or MSNBC. Seriously, traditional blacks with weasely scare quotes? That comment could not be less informative, disingenuous, or fals…

I believe the OP only put quotes around "traditional" because, in the very quote he lifted from the article, West Oakland is referred to as a traditionally black neighborhood. It is typical behavior to use quotes around words that relate directly back to the original source.
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