Whither San Francisco?

I look around and I see such extremes.

Haight St., San Francisco, fall 2006.

People of all stripes, colors and creeds. Beautiful, ugly, interesting. Street people, kids, families and vibrant youth. All coexisting peacefuly. Incredible diversity, I often wonder what keeps it all together. The answer is abundance. Everybody is at least eating enough, and some people are eating too much. The concrete seems softer when you are have enough to eat.

Then I put my future visions goggles on. Everything changes, less abundance is immediately apparent. The age of cheap energy is behind us and it looks like the age of tolerance went with it. All of these differences which had seemed so interesting are now very sinister. People don't seem to behave themselves when they are hungry. Who is carrying a gun or a knife?

Is San Francisco so special? Will it be able come together when the hard times hit? The tremendous diversity, and utter vulnerability, certainly present obstacles. I hope peaceful coexistence can happen. But before then, things will have to change.