Gentrification the Killer in Oakland Fire

It’s usually hard to distinguish a victim of gentrification. Many people have a story of getting priced out of their neighborhoods, of being looked at with mistrust by their new neighbors, or of creating beauty with few financial resources, only to have that aesthetic co-opted by capitalism. But gentrification isn’t usually as directly fatal as it was in Oakland earlier [last] week.

At the time of this writing, 36 people have died in a fire at the Ghost Ship warehouse, which was a live-work-play space for artists who were trying to hang on to community in the face of San Francisco’s tech boom. The space lacked sprinklers, fire exits, and other important safety features, increasing the chance of a deadly accident. 2016 has been an awful year, but Ghost Ship has hit my community of queers, artists, and others on the margin particularly hard because it could so easily have been any of us. Some of the highlights of my life have taken place in crumbling buildings packed with my beloveds, where the floors shook with our dancing, or we sat on each other’s laps to listen to a band.

We are going to need community now more than ever to weather the incoming administration, but in the back of our minds, we will wonder whether it’s safe to gather. I have resources and could leave, although my life would be colder and less interesting. The ones that will be left in unsafe situations are the ones for whom a structurally unsafe home is better than the alternative.