HIPSTERS/GENTRIFIERS DEFEND THEIR ILLUSIONS OF “INNOCENCE” IN OAKLAND’S HOMELESS CRISIS By Kheven LaGrone

 On October 13, 2017, San Francisco Bayview posted my essay “Hipsters de-Blacken Oakland, Cause the Encampments They Abhor.”  In the essay, I argued that Oakland leaders helped displace mainly native African American Oaklanders in order to make room for the hipsters and gentrifiers.  The gentrifiers/hipster benefited directly from this displacement.  Thus, the hipsters and gentrifiers have a duty to help solve the homeless crisis.  However, several commenters to my essay showed they used ignorance or denial to defend their “innocence.” 

One commenter sarcastically wrote “I really miss all the murders that would happen around my block before the hipsters came.” He stereotyped all displaced people as murderers.  By dehumanizing and vilifying the displaced human beings—even if it’s a lie—he justified hurting them.  Oakland must not be a part of this.

Another commenter wrote: “Since when do people have the right to set up tent cities on public sidewalks?” In my essay, I explained how the people in the homeless were victims of Oakland’s gentrification.  Yet, this commenter made the homeless into brazen lawbreakers.  Thus, he justified their removal.

Another commenter laughably wrote:  “Oh your gonna blame “white” hipsters now. * Get a grip asshole.  We are all being squeezed.  Just more divide and conquer rhetoric.”  This commenter obviously did not want to hear facts that went against his beliefs.  He used name-calling to try to shut me down.  From his position of privilege, he trivialized and dismissed the situation of the people the encampment by writing “We’re all being squeezed.”

All this commenter had to do was open his eyes and he would plainly see that the fashionably dressed hipster buying expensive food and drinks at a trendy bar is not suffering like a homeless person in an encampment. 

Did he really believe that they were ever united when he didn’t even want to hear them?

Seeing so many African Americans living in encampments and white hipsters at expensive bars and restaurants, how could one not think of race?   Yet, one commenter wrote that it was lazy people, not African Americans, who had been displaced. He wrote:

It seems that all you see is race.  You know what I see?  I see people who want to live in a demanding market, with a drive to be successful in it.  And no, you don’t have to be a “white hipster” to accomplish this.  It’s supply and demand.  The job market all throughout the Bay Area (not just Oakland) demands for more jobs, so people are here to supply it, and you can be any race.”

As he read in my essay, Oakland displaced African Americans in order to create that “new” Oakland that this commenter sees now. The commenter didn’t question why so many African Americans were displaced or living in encampments.  He simply dismissed any discussion of race in order to be innocent.

This commenter may soon see how reality determines one’s fate.  East Bay Times just published a “Bay Area Hammered by Loss of 4,700 jobs” (October 20, 2017).  This was in addition to the 2,400 jobs losses reported by the EDD for August 2017. Thousands of people are losing jobs—whether or not they work hard and have the drive for success.

If Oakland is to address its homeless issue honestly, it must not allow such commenters to remain ignorant of their roles in creating those encampments. Ignorance is bliss.  It allowed these commenters to have guilt-free fun even as they passed the encampments.  But Oakland must stop coddling these commenters and privileging them to be ignorant. Oakland must not make decisions that privilege such ignorance. These commenters should not just be “listened to”; they need to be “lectured to.” Hopefully, with more reality, they will eagerly support those less privileged than they are.

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* I assume the commenter meant to write “Oh, you’re going to blame ‘white’ hipsters now.”