Witch arriving too late to save a drowning ship
The title is a play on the Zappa album, Ship arriving too late to save a drowning witch. This popped into my head upon reading about the cruise ship docked off the coast of San Francisco Bay, forced to stay where they were because 21 (at least) people were suffering from flu-like symptoms.
What does that mean for the remaining 2,383 passengers and 1,100 crew members? I know test kits were being delivered. But basically all people can do is wait. With the news changing each day, it surely must feel like the cruise ship is sinking even though it physically isn't.
Yesterday at work we were told there would be no mandatory work from home announcements. It was "use your discretion." This evening, that changed to a mandatory work from home for at least a week and then they would reassess the situation. Not only that but those workers like me who fly up every week because we live in a different city were told to cancel flights and not come up.
Fair enough. As much as I rag on Los Angeles, I believe it is in much better shape to deal with any potential major outbreaks if only because of its size. San Francisco is tiny by comparison. The city is already at a minimal but constant health risk due to the number of transients and drug addicts living on the street. To give an indication of just how bad it is in San Francisco, and just how many of the most vulnerable are at risk, the city has 8,500 more drug addicts than students enrolled in public high schools. That article is from last year. The number is most assuredly higher. The only way it could be lower would be if the number of deaths by overdose rose.
San Francisco is a city that has lost its way. Mentally, physically and spiritually. No amount of Silicon Valley wealth can prop up the dire poverty and crass attitude that enables drug addicts to live on the streets rather than get treatment. The city hands out 400,000 needles every month. This is a case of a government enabling its citizens to kill themselves slowly without any promise of relief or treatment.
Once, I was attacked by a homeless man who was to put it mildly, off his tits. Thankfully, it was over before it began and I walked away only a little shaken up. I was lucky. In the ensuing months I heard various stories from locals on how much worse they had it. Muggings, beatings and more.
There is no getting around the fact the city refuses to police itself or lock up criminals. There is no getting around the fact an ever-growing number of conventions have pulled out of San Francisco and won't be back. Now add to this the number of business or leisure tourists cancelling their hotel reservations this month (and probably into April) and the city is spiraling toward ruin, much like New York in the 1970's.
It's a shame, because it really used to be a nice city. And the hotel employers, restaurant managers and bartenders I've gotten to know have all waxed nostalgic about it and lamented what it has become. When more people are leaving then coming in, you have a problem. Even if a Nob Hill apartment that goes for 20,000 a month (that's not a typo) gets snatched up after a week of being on the market, there simply isn't enough wealth to cover the disparity. Especially when no one is trying to solve the issues.
To all the regular folks, working stiffs and brave small business owners who are still grinding it out up there, I pray you keep your health and your sanity and stay safe from invisible evils and visible ones, too.
I hope it's not too late for the city. I'm concerned that it is.