Saturday, January 20, 2018

The Revolution Comes to Silicon Valley

California is the poorest state in the nation. Yet, it is chockablock with very wealthy people, many of whom work in the High Tech havens in Silicon Valley.

All of the wealthy tech workers do not live in the Valley. Many of them prefer to camp out in overpriced abodes in San Francisco. Naturally, this creates a commuting problem. Companies like Google and Apply have addressed the problem by providing luxury bus service between San Francisco and their headquarters in Mountain View and Cupertino.

As it happens, some of those less fortunate resent these spoiled brats. They are not happy that they can no longer afford to live in the city because the rich kids from the tech world have priced them out of the market. Is it surprising, Tyler Durden writes on the Zero Hedge blog, that the peasants and peons and proles are now rebelling… by shooting at the tech buses?

Could the revolution be at hand?

The last week has seen six charter buses, ferrying Google and Apple employees from Silicon Valley to San Francisco, have been attacked on the freeway, smashing windows with rocks and BB guns.

Notably, there are no signifiers on the vehicles for the average passerby to really know for what and who they are used, but CHP Officer Art Montiel, who is investigating the matter with other law enforcement officials, says “it appears that they’re going after the unmarked tech buses,” according to SFGate.

The tech giants are on the case. They are now rerouting the buses. Surely, that will work:

Due to the potential targeting, the two tech giants decided to alter the usual routes, causing “an additional 30-45 minutes of commute time in each direction,” according to an email from “The Apple Commute Team” obtained by Mashable.

Tech firms operate free shuttle services between San Francisco and their offices in the Silicon Valley. The service, which is available only to the employees, has long been seen as a symbol of division between the tech workers and everyone else.

At least, these firms support diversity… except in their own ranks.

7 comments:

trigger warning said...

This is delightful news! Luxury rolling safe spaces under attack! Pure Hollywood. Tberes a post-apocalyptic CGI blockbuster in there somewhere. Mel Gibson, call your office.

David Foster said...

I wonder about Amazon's decision to create a new location with, ultimately, up to 50,000 employees, as opposed to multiple locations with smaller numbers of people. They do get the benefit of being about to move people from one project to another, without having to move them geographically, and they also get a lot of leverage is demanding concessions from state and local governments. But with this many people in one place, there are also cultural problems, especially more groupthink, and a driving up of real estate prices, costs of living, and ultimately salaries that must be paid...plus, there are potential problems with the local population as with those now being seen in Silicon Valley.

Although I bet that whatever contract is ultimately signed with the lucky location will not *require* Amazon to put all those people there, nor will it require return of the concessions should they ultimately decide to put a good part of them somewhere else.

Jack Fisher said...

I blame gun control. If the shooters had any, there'd be fewer IT geeks.

James said...

Heh.
https://youtu.be/rsDkmVo2fg4
I've been saying this for years. The days of the "Company Store" are back with us. They build housing just for their workers, provide transport just for their workers, and give discounts of their products just to their workers. Regardless of the merits that is exactly what the old enlightened coal companies did. But in a nod to their so called intellectualism they call their work place a "campus".

Anonymous said...

Thank you Jack Fisher for the laugh.

David Foster said...

"The days of the "Company Store" are back with us."

Goes beyond that, I think...more like the model of the traditional English Squire, who monitored the behavior of his tenants and expected those of them who could vote, to vote for his preferred candidate.

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