San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Earthquake­s are terrifying, but California loves them

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Here is one big lie California­ns tell ourselves: We hate earthquake­s. The unspoken truth is that we love earthquake­s, as well we should.

Don’t give the weather all the credit. Earthquake­s are another natural phenomenon that made California great. Earthquake­s play as many roles here as our finest Hollywood actors. Quakes inspire us to dream, ground us in reality, shape our culture, and bind us together.

We would be on very shaky ground without them.

Earthquake­s have a reputation for destructio­n, but here they’ve often been a force for constructi­on and progress. The disastrous 1933 Long Beach earthquake inspired new building standards that made modern Southern California possible. After the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, that corrupt city’s crooks were put on trial, and the place was rebuilt into the beautiful city we know today. By 1911, the people who rebuilt San Francisco had taken over the entire state, establishi­ng the infrastruc­ture, progressiv­e policies and democratic tools (like the ballot initiative) that still define California’s public life. While the modern American economy is famously unequal — benefits go to the richest, while the costs are born by us all — the economics of earthquake­s work more progressiv­ely. The damage and death tend to be limited to relatively small numbers of people and places, but the benefits of the money spent on postquake repairs are widely distribute­d.

Even in bad times, the feds eagerly throw money at our state after earthquake­s. Why? Because earthquake­s can’t be blamed on the usual American scapegoats — the media, poor people, gays, immigrants. Fault movement is nobody’s fault.

At the same time, earthquake­s are essential to California­ns’ selfesteem — our sense of ourselves as a people apart, able to survive anything. We proudly reside on moving ground where others dare not — and this has given us the courage to live as we wish and speak

our minds.

Of course, many other places around the world — from Japan to Italy, China to Mexico, Turkey to Indonesia — can experience earthquake­s even bigger and more damaging than ours. But California stands out for having built its culture on the earthquake, quite literally. In describing the standard motion picture, Samuel Goldwyn once declared: “We want a story that starts with an earthquake and builds up to a climax.”

Earthquake­s are often described, incorrectl­y, as a California curse, a fly in the Golden State soup, the dark side of a place that is otherwise sunny and bright. To the contrary, the sudden earthshift­ing of quakes is essential to California’s appeal — the sense that here, everything can change in seconds.

Our state’s great 20th century chronicler, Carey McWilliams, wrote that “the state is always off balance, stretching itself precarious­ly” and possessing a “notorious lack of social and political equilibriu­m.” Our shaking makes us special, he wrote: “California is no ordinary state. It is an anomaly, a freak, the great exception.”

While earthquake­s reflect our unsteadine­ss, they also can keep us relatively sober. The idea of the “Big One” — the massive earthquake around the corner — has moved generation­s of California­ns — typically a “live in the

ple who routinely express their disdain for immigrants, uneasiness with Muslims or resentment toward minorities generally are absolutely insistent that, “I’m not a racist ... but ...”

So here comes the ultimate question: Is President Trump a racist? Should we give the benefit of the doubt to a president who opened his campaign by stereotypi­ng Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals, called for a Muslim ban, deplored black NFL players who protested during the National Anthem as “sons of bitches” who should lose their livelihood, suggested there were “very fine people on both sides” of a white supremacis­t rally in Charlottes­moment” lot — to make longterm and emergency plans, reinforce infrastruc­ture, and bolt our homes to their foundation­s. We California­ns could be better prepared. But — without the prospect of big earthquake­s — would our feet ever touch the ground?

Indeed, the recent quakes near Ridgecrest provided reminders that California­ns are buoyed rather than chastened by quakes. At Dodger Stadium, when the upper deck swayed, people applauded, as if this were just another ride in Theme Park California. The game continued without interrupti­on.

The comedian David Spade tweeted: “All kidding aside. Rules for earthquake­s. Stop ... drop ... then Instagram yourself and be super dramatic. Sit back and count likes.”

Of course, more devastatin­g quakes have shaken us more thoroughly, and to great action. We shouldn’t pray for earthquake­s as solutions for our problems. But we ought to be grateful for them. The lives of California­ns are full of disorienti­ng change. Our neighbors may move away, and our families may leave us. But earthquake­s, like the most loyal of friends, always come back to visit.

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zócalo Public Square.

ville, Va., and took out a fullpage ad urging the execution of the Central Park Five, five young men who were falsely accused of rape — and refused to apologize even after they were exonerated by DNA testing?

The pattern is unmistakab­le. Yes, the rword should be used judiciousl­y.

It applies to the president of the United States, who has repeatedly given comfort to those who do not try to conceal their racism. This is an unsettling moment in our nation’s history.

John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@ sfchronicl­e.com Twitter: @JohnDiazCh­ron

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39 85 160 Huge flop with buyers on vacation Tech snags kept it at last year’s level 175 million purchases, a record E-scooters

Robot delivery carts Package-dropping drones Cannabis bong design fest Litquake literary gathering Nail polish portraits More plunked batters Fewer strikes, to avoid hits Jump in intentiona­l walks By Marshall Kilduff Email: mkilduff@sfchronicl­e.com Twitter:@marshallki­lduff

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