Protesters targeted the San Francisco home of Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose on Sunday, as anti-tech tensions continue to mount in the region.
Protesters Target SF Home of Google Ventures Partner Kevin Rose
Activists single out VC and well-known entrepreneur as anti-tech tensions mount.
Shutterstock / Danomyte
Google declined to comment on the episode, but Rose provided some detail on Twitter and Instagram.
The Digg founder said the protesters raised a banner reading “Kevin Rose Parasite” and handed out pamphlets to his neighbors that read, in part: “Kevin directs the flow of capital from Google into the tech startup bubble that is destroying San Francisco. The start-ups that he funds bring the swarms of young entrepreneurs that have ravaged the landscapes of San Francisco and Oakland.”
The rapid growth of the local tech sector has sparked a series of protests in recent months, as concerns grow over economic inequality, evictions and neighborhood gentrification.
On the site Indybay.org, a group called “Counterforce” said it organized the protest, explaining:
With venture capital in their pockets, these wealthy professionals with few attachments are able to pay hyper inflated rents and property prices, displacing long time residents and increasing the cost of living. Tech-workers on average earn four times the wages of a normal service worker.
On Twitter, Rose highlighted the irony that participants recorded the protest on an Android phone and said they’d post the video on YouTube — both of which are, of course, Google products.
But, he added:
https://twitter.com/kevinrose/status/452879030719488000
https://twitter.com/kevinrose/status/452879321460248576
It’s at least the second time local protesters have targeted the home of a Google employee in recent months. Back in January, a group showed up on the Berkeley doorstep of Anthony Levandowski, who works for the Google X advanced research lab.
There were a handful of additional actions last week aimed at the corporate buses that shuttle tech workers down to Silicon Valley, including a vomiting protester in Oakland and a dancing troupe in San Francisco.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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