Why Is There So Much Poop In San Francisco?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but San Francisco’s political elite aren’t going to solve the housing crisis. The region is going to get worse. Even during the pandemic, when rents were falling, the situation on the street was escalating.
I know there are people that associate dry turds on the road as an aspect of urban living. I’m here to tell you that it’s not. It’s a quality of life issue that affects all of us, and could easily be classified as a human rights violation for our unhoused population.
As things get shittier, so do our streets and it shouldn’t be accepted. I know there are people that associate dry turds on the road as an aspect of urban living. I’m here to tell you that it’s not. It’s a quality of life issue that affects all of us, and could easily be classified as a human rights violation for our unhoused population. And there are only two solutions to this problem: house the homeless or at least provide the homeless with adequate access to bathrooms.
As of right now, San Francisco, oh so progressive San Francisco, is failing to do either and it’s turning public sidewalks into poop-splattered minefields. I know there are going to be people who are critical of adding more public toilets. They’re going to say, “addicts are going to do drugs in them!” And they’re right, they probably will. Who cares? Drug addicts are going to do drugs. That isn’t necessarily groundbreaking information. I can’t name a single individual in the history of addiction who has thought to themselves, “ya’ know, I was clean and sober, but look at all these fucking bathrooms. Let’s shoot some heroin.”
San Francisco has become so synonymous with public defecation that in 2019 someone made an interactive poop map.
Others will likely use the same argument, but with sex work. To that I say never in the history of sex work has a person been like, “You know what, I was going to go to work today, but look at all these public poop closets. I’m quitting my job at Twitter to suck dick in a toilet on Turk St.”
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Drug addicts and sex workers are going to exist no matter what. Placing barriers in front of people that inhibit their ability to take a shit in a semi-hygienic way isn’t going to clean up the streets or deter anything. It will literally make them dirtier. San Francisco has become so synonymous with public defecation that in 2019 someone made an interactive poop map. You can’t make this shit up.
When Stuart ran for mayor he actually made a viral video about SF’s poop problem and how we can fix it. Check it out:
This isn’t entitlement. This isn’t someone just bitching about San Francisco to bitch. This is disgusting.
I honestly wish this was an article that didn’t have to be written, but this situation isn’t fair to anyone. It’s not fair to our unhoused population and it’s not fair to anyone who lives in or visits San Francisco. We’ve covered how to fix this problem before, but not much has changed.
If London Breed has the money to go to Europe in an attempt to lure tourists to San Francisco, she can utilize some of the City’s budget to increase the presence of public toilets in areas known to have a poop problem. This isn’t entitlement. This isn’t someone just bitching about San Francisco to bitch. This is disgusting.
Back in 2018, the United Nations sent inspectors to report on homelessness in the Bay Area, and they literally called it a human rights violation. The shit on the street is a symptom of this, and since the pandemic, homelessness has gotten worse in the region.
I know San Francisco loves performative wokeness, but for once, can we actually give a shit?
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Howdy! My name is Katy Atchison and I'm an Associate Editor for Broke-Ass Stuart.
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