On Sunday, Google Ventures’ employee Kevin Rose’s Portrero Hill street was flooded by protestors waving banners and distributing pamphlets that labeled Kevin Rose a “parasite” and blaming him for “tech startup bubble that is destroying San Francisco.”
The same group had previously attacked both Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) as well as the private bus companies that provide transportation from San Francisco to numerous businesses in Silicon Valley. But it appears the group is now getting personal. In January, a specific Google engineer who is working on the company’s self-driving car saw his Berkely, CA home inundated with protesters.
Kevin Rose startup picked up by Google
Kevin Rose helped launch Digg in 2004, before his next startup was picked up by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). That is when Kevin Rose joined Google Ventures, the arm of Google which decides what startups are worthy of a capital infusion. Rose, in his defense, seemed to handle the protests with aplomb. He posted images of the flier to both Instagram and Twitter and also found some irony in the fact that numerous protestors were using Android phones to distribute their propaganda on YouTube. Google, of course, developed Android and owns YouTube.
He also seemed to support the same group that targeted him. “We need to solve rising rents, keep the SF culture, and crack down on landlords booting folks out,” Kevin Rose tweeted. “SF is such a great place, definitely need to figure out a way to keep the diversity.”
The demands
A look at the Counterforce website, the group behind the protests, shows their demands are quite simple. They only want $3 billion dollars to develop “anarchist communities.” Surely, Google has the cash, think many in this delusional group which not only is calling for $3 billion to an anarchist group, but an anarchist group of its choosing. A recent post on its website explains further:
To this end, we now make our first clear demand of Google. We demand that Google give three billion dollars to an anarchist organization of our choosing. This money will then be used to create autonomous, anti-capitalist, and anti-racist communities throughout the Bay Area and Northern California. In these communities, whether in San Francisco or in the woods, no one will ever have to pay rent and housing will be free. With this three billion from Google, we will solve the housing crisis in the Bay Area and prove to the world that an anarchist world is not only possible but in fact irrepressible. If given the chance, most humans will pursue a course towards increased freedom and greater liberty. As it stands, only people like Kevin Rose are given the opportunity to reshape their world, and look at what they do with those opportunities.
Oh dear.
