The Dock of the Bay
Released shortly after the incomparable Otis Redding died, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” was co-written by Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. The STAX song talks about relaxing across the SF bay in Sausalito and doing nothing but watching the waves roll in and the waves roll out.
According to Cropper, Otis got the idea for the song after staying at a San Francisco boathouse.
“Dock of the Bay”, according to Rolling Stone magazine, is one of the essential LPs for Redding fans.”
“It is an excellent collection, obviously put together with both love and respect for what Otis Redding did and who he was. In many ways, this is the history of Otis Redding.”
The Weapon of Choice: A Garden Hose?
Collier Gwin is a resident of San Francisco. Since 1984, Mr. Gwin has cleaned the sidewalk in front of his art gallery. In January this year a homeless woman made an “unsanitary mess” in front of Gwin’s art gallery. It wasn’t the first time, Gwin adds.
When she refused to move so I could clean it up, I lost my temper and sprayed her with water (from a garden hose).
A passerby caught the incident on video, and the 14-second clip went viral. Blowback against Gwin was swift: Gwin was arrested, charged with misdemeanor battery, and ordered to stay away from the homeless person.
What the video doesn’t show is the context—namely the frustration and helplessness of my neighbors and me. For weeks we had done the right thing. We called the police and social services 50 times over 25 days—exactly as instructed by Mayor London Breed. Everyone who showed up told us they couldn’t move the woman, no matter what she was doing to herself and the community.
No Respect in San Francisco
Gwin writes in the WSJ of his frustration, Although not excusing himself for what he did, does anyone realize how dire the situation is in San Francisco? People have attacked Gwin on social media, threatened his life, and flooded his phone with profane calls.
I’ve struggled to maintain my business and personal health. Yet, within the confines of our city, I’ve received overwhelming understanding because people are equally frustrated at what our San Francisco has become.
Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin told the San Francisco Chronicle that the homeless woman wasn’t “disruptive or unpleasant,’’ which, according to Gin, fueled the public’s wrath against him.
But in the police report of the incident, local merchants described her as “severely mentally ill” and noted that she often “steals food from restaurants, defecates openly in front of their businesses, performs sex acts upon herself publicly, screams at merchants and passersby and spits on people when they get close to her.’’
It was only because of media attention that she was quietly picked up and taken to the hospital. I hear she’s now back on the street.
Jail is not the place for a mentally ill homeless person, but neither are the streets of San Fran. Gwin admits to not knowing how to restore the vibrancy of his beloved city. It has taught him that most of the efforts of the police and social services —not to mention the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on homelessness—are wasted.
Ordinary people aren’t equipped to deal with these types of problems, argues Gwin.
According to Mr. Gwin’s attorney, “Collier has paid a high price, with physical damage to his property and immense reputational damage from the video of the event. Sadly, there is no video – but there are many records – of his and his neighbors’ numerous attempts to assist the woman prior to this incident.”