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Tech Bus Protest, 24th Street & Valencia Street, San Francisco, California
The San Francisco tech bus protests were a series of community-based activism held by residents of the San Francisco Bay Area beginning in late 2013, when the use of shuttle buses employed by local area tech companies became widely publicized. The tech buses have been referred to as "Google buses" although that term is pars pro toto, in that many other tech companies such as Apple, Facebook, Yahoo and Genentech also pay for shuttle services operated by private transportation companies. [from wikipedia] |
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The protest started when protesters piled electric scooters in front of tech buses to prevent them from passing through the intersection. Coming down 24th Street, two tech buses had been stopped. Sadly, an SFMTA MUNI bus had also been stopped. Fortunately, the
MUNI bus let off its passengers so they could walk the two blocks to 24th and Mission.
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Two tech buses had also been stopped on Valencia. In this instance, a bicycle had been laid on the ground to block the
bus's passage.
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The bus, heading uphill toward Noe Valley, had been stopped by three protesters holding a banner.
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A crowd of onlookers gathered to watch the protest.
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Eventually two police cars arrived. The were not there to break up the protest, merely to observe, and to insure a peaceful
protest.
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A total of three buses had been blocked while traveling south on Valencia Street.
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All the protesters had been wearing paint masks. The assumption was that the masks were for anonymity. In actual practice,
they were in anticipation of orange smoke.
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A short video of the protest so you can appreciate the sounds as well as the action.
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The orange smoke gave the scene an end-of-world feeling, complete with a person playing a snare drum.
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The sign read in part, "Sweep Tech Not Tents." This refers to the recent police ceasing of homeless people's tents.
The irony is that many people became homeless because of the influx of high-paid tech workers.
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The smoke cleared and the protest continued to drag on. Its sense of spontaneity gave way to a more somber wait for its
conclusion.
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