Dean Preston leaves
- Dean Preston is the only member of the Democratic Socialists of America on the 11-member San Francisco Board of Supervisors
- The DSA was strongly condemned for its pro-Palestinian stance and its failure to condemn the Hamas attack
- He initially made a public statement this week condemning attacks on civilians but made no comments against Hamas. Later in the week he condemned Hamas
A controversial progressive San Francisco lawmaker has quit X, claiming he no longer feels safe after Elon Musk targeted him – but locals claim he actually has some outrage left over his stance on the Israel massacre.
Dean Preston announced his plans to leave the social media site formerly known as Twitter earlier this week – blaming a personal attack from its billionaire owner for driving him away.
Musk and other San Francisco residents say Preston’s progressive policies contributed to the destruction of a city that is now synonymous with open drug use, raids and violent crime.
However, many critics believe that Preston is using the Musk excuse to deflect outrage over his Democratic Socialists of America party’s outrageous stance on Hamas’s Israel massacre. In doing so, the DSA effectively blamed the Jewish state for the bloodbath in which more than 1,000 people died.
The most outrageous part of their message was: “Violent oppression inevitably leads to resistance.” Socialists support the right of the Palestinian people and all people to resist and fight for their own liberation. This weekend’s events are no different. “Decolonization is the only path to peace.”
There is no indication that Preston himself was behind the tweets, even though he is the DSA’s best-known figurehead in San Francisco.
Dean Preston announced Friday that he was leaving X after Elon Musk called for prison time over his policies toward San Francisco. Preston, a DSA member, was also criticized this week for failing to condemn Hamas in his initial comments
The DSA, whose members advocate for progressive policies and community-driven policing, has also supported pro-Palestine marches across the United States this week, particularly in New York City.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, prominent DSA members of Congress, rejected the DSA’s stance on the Hamas attack and condemned its rhetoric about “occupation and apartheid” and its calls for a “ceasefire” with the terrorists.
In Michigan, Rep. Shri Thanedar formally resigned from DSA membership and said in a statement Wednesday that he “will not work with any organization that is unwilling to denounce terrorism in all its forms.”
Unlike Ocasio-Cortez, Bowman and Thanedar, Preston has not addressed the DSA’s stance, to the chagrin of some.
Noa Argamani was kidnapped by Hamas militants on Saturday after being abused and driven through the desert on a motorcycle
He initially issued a public statement this week condemning attacks on civilians – but did not expressly oppose Hamas attacks. Later in the week he condemned Hamas.
On Friday, he told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was deleting his account on X.
Musk said on September 22, “Dean Preston needs to be fired. “He is arguably the person most responsible for the destruction of San Francisco.”
On September 29, in response to Preston’s plan to ban armed security guards from taking out their weapons to protect property, Musk tweeted: “Dean Preston should go to prison.”
And on October 3, Musk added: “Dean Preston should be in prison for what he did to San Francisco.”
Preston said Friday he’s had enough.
“It’s a reality check that it’s not a safe or productive place to share my thoughts,” Preston said.
“Since Musk took power, Twitter has been flooded with trolls and disinformation. “When the website owner called for my detention, it became clearer that it was time to move to a new platform.”
Preston has previously dismissed Musk’s criticism.
In a statement on his website last month, Preston called Musk a “billionaire fascist.”
Preston isn’t the only boss in San Francisco leaving X.
Supervisor Shamann Walton said last year that he was leaving the platform when Musk took power, and three other supervisors — Myrna Melgar, Hillary Ronen and Connie Chan — either deleted their accounts or stopped using them.