fwiw, there are two SF-is-a-hellhole narratives, and this turn of events reflects differently through the prism of each:
- narrative A (looking "up"): where the upper-class technologists are the reason for the social precarity-based hellscape experienced by the lower-class residents
- narrative B (looking "down"): where the crime of the lower-class is the cause of the fearful crime-based hellscape experienced by the upper-class technologists
The reality is probably a little bit of both. But in typing this, I'm realizing that I should probably try to avoid sensationalizing the topic with references to "hell" (though I realize you were using that phrase to dismantle the sensationalism, not escalate it)
Everyone is a victim of this stuff, not just the upper class. Poor people getting to work having their car windows smashed multiple times is a serious issue. But the constant drumbeat of property crime, dirtiness, and leud acts in public it gets downplayed because the murder rate is less than it was during some prior horrible time in the city's history and people feel some need to defend their own city (and the particular sort of politics it's famous for).
Yep, people haven't been complaining about murders. It's almost entire the property crime and general lawlessness. This murder just gave people the opportunity to whine about the plight.
A lot of it is about the unique culture of this city, which has been both gleaming boomtown and garbage-strewn opium den since, oh 1848. It's always been a place where you do your own thing on the street and no one bothers you, which is why thousands die of overdoses while people walk around them without getting their Allbirds dirty. We need to take better care of each other.
- narrative A (looking "up"): where the upper-class technologists are the reason for the social precarity-based hellscape experienced by the lower-class residents
- narrative B (looking "down"): where the crime of the lower-class is the cause of the fearful crime-based hellscape experienced by the upper-class technologists
The reality is probably a little bit of both. But in typing this, I'm realizing that I should probably try to avoid sensationalizing the topic with references to "hell" (though I realize you were using that phrase to dismantle the sensationalism, not escalate it)