On Mugging in San Francisco

I was sorry to hear about ValleyWag's Nick Douglas who got mugged at San Francisco's Mission & 3rd bus stop after the same Long Tail book launch party I attended last week.

I hate to keep saying this because it seems to offend some of my local friends, but frankly, I just don't understand why San Francisco doesn't 'clean up its act.' It has one of the highest homeless problems in the country and given the amount of money that fill its veins, many neighborhoods make it feel like one of the poorest cities in America.

So many of the streets smell so bad, I find myself making detours simply to avoid the stench, another begger, or the garbage on the street.

Why is everyone so offended by a newbie wanting to live in a clean and safe city, a place where its city center isn't crawling with people who follow you around demanding a fiver at every corner? Others must feel the same way and yet, nothing changes because somehow, there's a feeling that a change will conflict with San Francisco's 'open and socially conscious culture.' Amsterdam and Copenhagen have similar cultural and political 'attitudes' and yet wouldn't stand for this - why do we?