What? San Francisco No Longer a Friendly City?
/In the new country that was survival skill #1, in a place where someone who does not look like most people, is always considered alien. Nevertheless, I thought that was just New York.
But San Francisco was different. Its residents took pride in their city as friendly, more open, more neighborly. I have lived in the city for 30 years, mind you, so I did not see what happened to me coming.
On New Year’s Day, in broad daylight I was attacked just outside our apartment at around 1:30 in the afternoon. I was coming from the laundry, with the laundry bag in one hand when I was approached by a black guy, presumably in his 40s, of average weight, standing taller than me, probably 5’8”. All of a sudden and without a word, he punched me in the face, hitting my right cheek. I fell on the ground, still holding on to the laundry bag.
Where the assault happened in San Francisco.
I saw my assailant rush across the street. I could see several other men in the corner, but nobody, no one, offered to help me or run after the guy. What lies at the core of this man who had so much hate? Was it because I look different, an Asian? With the spate of violence against the Asian American community rising since the pandemic, I had the uneasy feeling of being targeted. Was it random; being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Either way, it was cruel and senseless.
This is sad and tragic. I had the sudden realization that I must constantly watch my back, anytime, anywhere. This realization becomes more challenging especially when you are at a certain age and can no longer rely on your reflexes.
The swelling in my right cheek immediately became enormous, it was difficult to move around, what with all the pain and the tenderness around my injury. I spent the rest of the afternoon nursing the bruises, the swelling, and my ego.
The following morning, I went to Kaiser to have myself checked, and the doctor at Urgent Care saw no obvious “damage,” like a fracture, and advised me to remain in observation for at least a week. I had to continue applying cold compress and taking pain medicine, and must return if there were changes in how I felt, like vision problems, nausea or vomiting, etc. Right after the medical consultation, I went straight to the police station to file a report; the desk officer took my testimony, got my photo and assured me they would investigate. If ever. The attack is considered a “minor” incident.
The author a few days after.
That evening, I sent a text message to the building site manager, who promised to take note and check whatever cameras were available in the building or the vicinity.
Just consider being warned. San Francisco has changed a lot since I moved here 30 years ago. Be mindful of your surroundings, be cautious of people around you. Remember: Never look at strangers in the eye, never stare.
On the third night after the incident, I was restless and could not sleep, I kept staring at the empty walls, everywhere, trying to remember my attacker’s face. But I could not.
It took me a week to somehow recover. There is still a little pain, and the cheek remained tender more than one week after. I chose to be busy, to return to the office, and have changed the way I walk the streets of San Francisco.
Mauro Feria Tumbocon, Jr., writer/journalist, community advocate has lived in San Francisco for a little more than thirty years. He is founder and current artistic director of FACINE or Filipino Arts & Cinema, International (formerly known as Filipino American cineArts), a nonprofit media arts group that has continuously held the annual Filipino international cine festival for the past thirty years, for which work he was selected as one of the awardees of the Jefferson Awards for Community Service in 2023. He works in a nonprofit organization that places unhoused individuals in permanent supportive housing.
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