Tech

Backlash: Woman attacked in SF punk bar for Google Glass

Sarah Slocum wearing Google Glass, with friend
Source: Sarah Slocum | Facebook

A sign of the tech backlash in the City by the Bay, or a random act?

A San Francisco women claims she was verbally and physically assaulted, and then robbed in a Haight Street bar last Friday because she was wearing Google Glass.

Sarah Slocum, founder of the consulting firm I Love Social Media, was in Molotov's, a Haight Street spot that has been described as a "punk bar," when she claims another patron became perturbed by her wearing Google's cutting-edge wearable device.

The alleged assailant swiped the Google Glass off her head and ran off while shouting that people like Slocum were "ruining the city."

She later recovered the device, but her wallet, cellphone and purse were stolen by another person who was with the alleged assailant and have not been recovered, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

A report in The Los Angeles Times said that the incident started out as a "friendly exchange between patrons at the bar" that grew uglier as the night went on.

Google Glass hits the road
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Google Glass hits the road

The event was covered widely in old and new media (and extensively documented in Slocum's Facebook page), but no arrests have been made.

(Read more: Atmosphere tense at a Google bus stop in San Francisco)

Slocum herself posted video of the event (seen here). She did not respond to an email request for comment.

Tensions in San Francisco have escalated over spiking rents and hypergentrification, which many longtime residents blame on the infusion of technology workers and their attendant wealth.