Mission to hell

My favorite phrase my mother says is “dregs of society”. Of course she only uses it when describing the customers who frequent the Millbrae Safeway, God knows why. When I think of that phrase as it applies to my life, I can come up with only one location in mind, the Mission.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Mission, a neighborhood in San Francisco, it is known for having a high Mexican-American population in some parts and a twenty-something hipster population in others. The hipsters #1 favorite activity is to hate on the Marina.

To be clear, I have never been a fan of the Mission, and I have my reasons. A few months ago as Party Kel and I were driving through the area, I was discussing my distaste of the neighborhood, how I don't like it, have never and will never. As she is trying to convince me otherwise, citing its great bars and restaurants, we turn a corner where we see five SWAT cars with police cocking shot guns about to kick down an apartment door. Enough said.

Last night, I had a Citysearch event to attend at Medjool, a pretty popular dinner and drink destination with a great roof bar. It also happens to be in the Mission. It was a hot day in San Francisco and though the venue is closer to the 24th Street BART station, I decided to get off at 16th Street and walk the few extra blocks and enjoy the sunshine. Worst. Mistake. Ever.

Hell's asshole, the 16th Street BART station

The minute I got off the subway, I swore I had accidentally taken a bullet train to Tijuana. The courtyard outside of the station smelt like it was lightly coated in pee and there was trash everywhere. There were a slew of dirty men screaming at each other in Spanish as I witnessed a drunk man get arrested right in front of me.

I quickly headed down Mission Street towards my destination where I passed endless homeless, harassing middle aged men, and junky looking thrift stores. Finally I reached Medjool alive and intact. As I repeated my story to my friends, one of them asked me, “Why would you get off at that stop? It’s not safe!” “I don’t know”, I responded, “I don’t come to the Mission, it’s the dregs of society.” And there is nothing to convince me otherwise.