Good Deeds Rewarded

As you all know I've been spending a great deal of time in the TL these past months getting to know the community. Having the reputation as one of the toughest, if not the toughest neighborhood in San Francisco, I was understandably on high alert every time I would venture to the area. I'm just a long haired white boy who is obviously not from the hood, and probably just as obviously not even from San Francisco. Needless to say, I stand out like a sore thumb over there. Having a camera with me at all times and writing notes on the same corners where dope dealers make their living only gives people in the area more reason to look at me and not trust me. On top of seeing the homeless, the drug dealers and prostitutes first hand, I had to investigate the crime and statistics of the area, which only reinforced the stigma associated with the Tenderloin as a crime ridden neighborhood.

As time has gone on I've felt more and more comfortable spending time in the area. I've made a point to walk up to the scariest looking people, who I know for a fact are involved in shady activities, and talk to them. I let them know why I'm there and what I'm doing, assuring them that I'm in no way a threat to them. This has helped alleviate some of the mad-dog stares I was receiving from the head dope dealers and pimps in the area. Granted, some of them still didn't want me around or care to talk to me in the least bit, but some of them were actually quite supportive. I've been given a few pep talks about how it's great that I'm in school and how I have to stick with it so I don't end up in situations like they're in. Some guys have professed to me how they wish they had pursued school, and photography in particular in some cases, which I happen to be biased towards. So now when I walk the streets of the TL I get the head nod from some of the locals and looks of understanding opposed to the "you better get out of here before I stab you " looks.

Getting to know the locals and having the community know what I'm up to, I've felt as though the community kind of has my back to some degree. At least to the point where the people I've talked to just let me be to do what I've got to do. Unfortunately something happened a couple weeks ago that's negated a large portion of the safety I've been feeling.

One of the artists I've been covering for the Art in Storefronts project, Chor Boogie, had a run-in with some hoodlums two weeks ago. Apparently Boogie was adding to his mural painting on Market Street when four kids approached the two enormous bins filled with spray pain cans he has been using for the piece. The kids proceeded to take the spray cans and stuff them in their pockets. Boogie has been around and is no chump. He's not about to let some random kids just take his stuff. So he approached the kids and told them to stop what they were doing. Exactly what happened after that I can't say, but I do know that at the end of the conversation Boogie ended up with two stab wounds and a trip to the hospital. The incident even made the news that night. So here's a guy that has grow up in the bay area, is admittedly tougher than me, was contributing a public service by creating something beautiful in an otherwise dreary neighborhood, and ends up getting stabbed by a few locals just for trying to defend what is his. That kind of scares me.

 

Chor Boogie