The dystopian reality of San Francisco bites hard after Berlin

Uncategorized 1 Minute

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 12.12.2023

After nearly a month in Berlin and Frankfurt, where discordant street life is not part of the mosaic, the reality of San Francisco hits home immediately.

It’s hard to put into words the difference between San Francisco and Berlin when it comes to daily life. In Berlin the people seem to be enjoying themselves. In the cafes, the shopping districts and the museums. The edgy tension which is pervasive in San Francisco. Crime. Violence. The unhoused. It is something generally missing in Berlin.

The following photos were taken in the days after our return to America.

These are not the type scenes we witnessed in Germany.

Bowed and bending over
An SFMTA minder in conversation with a rider
A San Francisco street person examines one of his possessions.
Sitting in the sun on a winter morning
A street person lays prone on the street as a citizen stands over him
A couple, their family dog and possessions
Nowhere to go
Waiting disconsolately in a medical clinic
A busted out storefront after a vehicle smashed the entryway to steal an ATM machine
One peaceful scene. A Muni rider and her dog

Top photo: One of San Francisco’s thousands of unhoused finds shelter wherever he can.

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Published by leeheidhues

I am a Green Party member, legal worker, walker, cyclist who follows politics, world events, 🌎 the literary world and 🎥 film

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