I was driving one of my kids over to a friend’s house the other day. The destination was Atherton, which is adjacent to Palo Alto and a very rich town. The houses tend to be 10, 15, 20 million dollars, or much more, and the lots are vastly larger than those in neighboring communities.
As I was driving there, what was striking to me was the map on my display. Where I was driving, the streets were very far apart, whereas just on the other side of a particular road (the proverbial “wrong side of the tracks“) the density was far greater. Here is what I mean:
The satellite view will make this even more obvious. Where I was driving looked like this – – huge houses, meandering driveways, and large swimming pools next to tennis courts:
Even from a much greater distance, you can see where the “haves” (right side) and “have nots” (left side) are. In this example, Stockbridge Avenue is like a thick red line dividing the rich from the not-rich.
This is even more exaggerated in my own neighborhood. A few blocks from where I live resides one of the richest guys to have ever lived, Mark Zuckerberg. Below is a map of where he lives – – he bought up a bunch of houses where I’ve put his face. Now take a look at the difference between Crescent Park, on the left (big lots, big houses) and East Palo Alto, on the right (a bunch of crammed-together apartment buildings). This multi-billionaire could literally throw a rock and have it land inside poverty.
In case it wasn’t clear enough, here is Zuck-land………
…..and here, quite literally a stone’s throw away, are the shithole apartments where hundreds of people live on each block:
And the only thing dividing them is the Newell Street bridge.
One need not wonder why the Zucks of the world want to make sure the poor folks have just enough McDonald’s, Netflix, and WalMart to stay in their shitty apartments. Because if even 50 people from East Palo Alto were motivated enough – – or, let’s say, a few hundred – – Mark’s $14 million-per-year security force could hold them back only so long.
Simply stated, where I am, what separates the super-rich from the impoverished is little more than tradition and expectations. I’m surprised nothing has happened. Nothing at all.
