The San Francisco Standard’s objectively homophobic piece of pro-police propaganda drew laudable amounts of criticism from the internet, spanning all manner of creativity.
ICYMI: Through a matter of serenity, we’ve been on a small side-quest this week to showcase the depravity (and billionaire nature) of The San Francisco Standard. As the universe would have it, a recent headline published by the publication after Pride weekend sparked comment and criticism from basically all corners of the internet.
Highlighting the recent shenanigans at a decades-old San Francisco Pride party, The Standard chose to title its report something that serves as perfect Fox News fodder: “Illegal Pride party turns into vandalism orgy of graffiti, damaged homes.”
Social media footage procured by The Standard shows the annual “Stud Alley” block party mature into a queer act of resilence against corporate america and billionaires, while ascertaining Palestinian support. Buildings on Grace Street, per the billionaire-founded online outlet, saw an “orgy of vandalism.” Images of the party’s aftermath show buildings with bumper sticker-worthy messages including “queer joy = dead cops,” “outlaw heterosexuality,” “kill Peter Thiel,” and “EAT ASS.” Footage shared by The Standard also shows “Free Palestine” was plastered on a rooftop.
Mind you, the “Stud Alley” happening is, in fact, not a larger mixed-venue sex party, but rather a queer dance party, one with a thick history of objection to political opresion, hosted during San Francisco Pride weekend; The Standard opted to dollop a sizeable dose of homophobia — a headline that reduced queerness to hypersexualism for the sake of clicks — onto a news story the day after SF Pride, all while cherry picking interviewed dialogue to skew the story toward moderatism. Case in point: Tomoki Chien, a news reporter for The Standard, concluded the fear-mongered piece with a pull-quote from nurse practitioner Elizbath Wayne who compared queer radicalism with “renegade-ism” and “being assholes.”
The report does little more than act as a hollow piece of pro-police propaganda; Michale Moritz, the billionaire founder of The San Francisco Standard, has a lengthy history in funding San Francisco big money PACs that advocate for increased policing.
Thankfully, the internet was quick to viralize the story … not for its content and quality (or lack thereof), but for its controversial headline and, frankly, relatable rage.
“San Francisco has been trashed by the ultra wealthy, not the people who show up to this alley every Pride going back decades,” reads one comment left on an Instagram post from The Standard about the piece. “Let’s stay focused on where the real harm to society is coming from. Cliff notes are in the graffiti.”
That quippy bit of criticism was not alone — in fact, hundreds of comments left on Facebook and Instagram alone carried a similar tone.
Among the more poignant remarks is also one of the most liked, with well over 600 likes as of publishing: “The most vulnerable are losing Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP benefits just so the rich can hoard more wealth. But sure, let’s all rage over graffiti and broken glass. Get a clue. The real theft and destruction isn’t happening on the streets, it’s happening at the top.”
Amid all the woe and dystopianism and misinformation and homophobia running rampant (online and offline), suffice it to say we’re elated that the comment sections about this absurdity published by The San Francisco Standard do, indeed, pass the collective vibe check.
Feature image and body images: Screenshots from Instagram
