'Breeders' Beware: The Bay Area Is An Unfriendly Place

The San Francisco Chronicle ^ | January 5, 2004 | Jennifer Nelson

[quidnunc]

In the three years since I moved to the Bay Area, I have been astounded at the general rudeness of people in the area and, more specifically, the antichildren, antifamily attitude that prevails.

Although I grew up in the Sierra foothills, I had never lived in the Bay Area until my husband and I moved our family from Illinois to the East Bay three years ago. We settled in Oakland, trying to shorten the daily commute into San Francisco as much as possible.

I took a part-time job at a high-tech public-relations firm, which had a dog policy (no more than three dogs in the office on any given day) and corporate calling cards from a company that gave part of the proceeds to left-leaning nonprofits. At the holidays, the firm donated money on behalf of each client to a nonprofit that gives farm animals to poor families in developing countries. Not your run-of-the-mill American corporation, but very Bay Area.

But in the months and years that followed, I discovered an angry, unpleasant element to the Bay Area kookiness. My first real experience with the rude attitude prevalent in the area started when I found my way into Berkeley. A friend had recommended Berkeley Bowl as a great alternative to haunting farmer's markets.

Berkeley Bowl is a fabulous market. The parking lot and many of the patrons, however, are not. I have never seen such angry people as I saw on my first visit to Berkeley Bowl (and every visit thereafter). These are people who drive used Volvos plastered with bumper stickers that say "Wage peace," "The truly educated never graduate" and "Barbara Lee speaks for me." But many of them have no patience and don't seem to think the rules of the road apply to them. After parking and shopping next to these folks for three years, I'm starting to think that a steady diet of edamame, veggie burgers, organic greens and soy milk makes people really, really angry.

Part of my problem, I've decided, is that I'm easily tagged as a "breeder" by the many folks in the Bay Area who believe in population control or who just dislike children.

The tell-tale clues of my status are hard to miss: First, I drive a minivan with three, sometimes four, car seats. Second, I often am seen in the company of three children who call me "Mom." These traits have led people to freely let me know that they think I'm overpopulating the world. Probably the strangest experience I've had is being pregnant in the Bay Area. During my other pregnancies, I lived in Sacramento and was used to people smiling when they saw a pregnant woman. Here, no smiles — mostly scowls.

-snip-

[Snagglepuss]

I heard they got gerbil-moms on sports utility treadmills.

[Support Free Republic]

"Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our
wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions,
they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
- John Adams -

Make your statement.

[goldstategop]

Look at the bright side: the Bay Area liberals animosity towards family and children means natural mortality will do the job in the long run of shrinking their political power. This is the Noon of the Democrats apogee in California and its nothing but downhill for them from the other side downwards.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

Gay used to mean happy-go-lucky.

[Servant of the 9]

I'm starting to think that a steady diet of edamame, veggie burgers, organic greens and soy milk makes people really, really angry.

It would certainly make me homicidal.... within 24 hours.

So9

[Wheee The People]

bump for later read

[goldstategop]

It must come from being gay and pro-choice. Its a lethal mix in that place. No wonder its so screwed up.

[Cicero]

Back when we lived in Scarsdale, my wife said that people sometimes leaned out the window of their Cadillacs and Mercedes as they drove by while she was walking the kids down to the village, with one or two in the stroller and maybe another in the backpack, and scold her for having too many kids. "Shame on you!" or the like.

Personally, I'd rather have kids than a Mercedes. And shame on them.

[Banjoguy]

We need to quit using the code and always describe them as they are, i.e. homosexuals.

[ppaul]

These are people who drive used Volvos plastered with bumper stickers that say "Wage peace," "The truly educated never graduate" and "Barbara Lee speaks for me."

And, don't forget, "FREE TIBET".

BTW: Adolf Hitler was an animal loving, teetotaling, vegan.

[Darksheare]

5 minutes, tops.

[borkrules]

Isn't this the same website that runs Ms. Morford's (sp?)commentary? Maybe they should do a point-counter point piece. I'd click through to it.

[Arkie2]

This goes a long way towards explaining the Simpsons episode I saw last night. It was about child hating folks who saw children as a bar to their "lifestyle". To be honest I didn't "get" it since I've never met anyone as militant as those in the episode but this experience helps explain the story line.

[newgeezer]

Yo, Jennifer! Ignorance is no excuse. Moving to the SF Bay Area and complaining about the liberal filth is rather like moving to rural Iowa and complaining about the occasional smell of manure. (At least in rural Iowa, you could look forward to the wind changing.)

('Breeder' ping.)

[ppaul]

ping.

[Petronski]

San Francisco: the liberal bastion where bitter, selfish barrenness is a virtue.

[Spok]

Liberals are prigs.

[Billthedrill]

The author of this column represents herself as a conservative. Which she probably is by Bay area standards, but look at her bio:

Jennifer Nelson, an Oakland writer, worked in policymaking positions in the Deukmejian and Wilson administrations.

If she's a conservative to them, then the spectrum of opinion there irretrievably skewed.

[Henrietta]

"Personally, I'd rather have kids than a Mercedes. "

Hmm. I'd rather have the Mercedes. ;^)