It's Not Simply Crime We're Talking About in San Francisco

In San Francisco crime is real, but the word has also become a catch-all category for aspects of urban life that make people uncomfortable.

In the media, among the chattering classes and for many in government, the discourse around crime, particularly in San Francisco is never just, or even primarily, about crime. It is about race; it is about order and disorder; it is very frequently about feelings; it is often about budgets, usually about power and always about politics. But it is almost …