By Caleb Pershan
While some San Franciscans will recall all too clearly the Mission Yuppie Eradication Project of the late ’90s, young transplants who lack such institutional memory might be struck afresh by the historical resonance of a flier from the first tech boom/bust.
Redditors have been brushing up on the OG group, among the first to preach fire and brimstone to early Internet workers. In those halcyon days of anti-displacement protests, turn-of-the-century techies were quaintly called yuppies and Google buses were SUVs (which the Mission Yuppie Eradication Project sought to terrorize). In this last sense, we’ve come a long way. Busses, though an easy target, are environmentally friendly and violence against them is usually enacted in effigy (save the occasional broken window).
A 1999 article in the SF Chronicle cites Kevin Keating as the leader of the Mission Yuppie Eradication Project, a struggling Missionite, writer, and “anarchist-communist.” He feared that the Mission would become a “mayonnaise” of fancy stores and gentrifiers. To fight back, he and others lambasted public “enemies” like Beauty Bar and “trendoid” restaurants, where “cell phone” scum snarfed sushi.
So how does that moment compare to our own? Since I went to Beauty Bar last night and played on my phone, I probably forfeit my right to an opinion.
[via FoundSF.org; top image via Flickr user sparkle glowplug]
Got a tip for us? Email tips@thebolditalic.com.
