Every few months, a phrase pops out of the internet ether and into the real world, lodging itself in your psyche and existing on repeat in your head forever.
Move over, “30-50 feral hogs,” the current nonsense gold standard, because we now have “publicly hanging, say, 5 fentanyl dealers.”
That phrase and hypothetical comes courtesy of Michelle Tandler, who identifies as a tech founder, and was last seen going viral for claiming that dogs in San Francisco were addicted to eating meth poop, the poop from meth addicts that dogs would fiendishly try and consume and get high.
Which turned out to not be real.
Now, Tandler is wondering why the men of San Francisco have not begun instituting mob-style, vigilante justice to fentanyl and meth dealers, rounding them up and publicly hanging them to prevent the city from being overrun by drugs.
It should be noted, she’s not saying we “should” publicly hang, say, 5 fentanyl dealers, but just wants to know why we don’t, hypothetically, publicly hang, say, 5 fentanyl dealers.
Tandler’s journey of a thread begins with her waking up the other night to walk her dog and ends with her publishing a list of countries where public hangings are still allowed (generated, naturally, as a tech founder would, by ChatGPT).
Tandler said a man outside, seemingly deranged, put a fright in her. That was coupled with someone recently stealing grass.
“At this point the number of encounters I have had in San Francisco that made me feel uncomfortable or scared numbers in the thousands. It’s a daily occurrence. Often multiple times per day,” Tandler wrote. Tandler is part of a large subset of techie San Francisco residents who’ve worked to paint the city as a dystopian hellscape, overrun by crime and unlivable for normal folks.
The thread also comes in the wake of the murder of CashApp founder Bob Lee, who was stabbed to death in the city. According to one publication, Lee tried to get help for his wounds but was ignored.
To which, Tandler pivots to public executions as a potential fix.
“Our society seems to have become seriously complacent. 100 years ago in SF people were publicly hung for their crimes. Often by vigilante groups that wanted to send a message. The hangings worked,” she said, which led her to question the “men” of San Francisco.
“What changed that the men of San Francisco went from creating vigilante groups to being afraid to even tweet about crime? + What would happen if a few meth dealers were publicly hung?”
To which, she also asked, “Theoretically, if publicly hanging say, 5 fentanyl dealers led to saving the lives of hundreds, is it morally reasonable? + Why would most San Francisco residents view my question above as horrifying and immoral?”
The swift path from dog walk to mass executions surprised a number of people on Twitter, who considered her solutions barbaric.
Tandler concluded by noting that she was reading a book on crime in San Francisco during the 19th Century, hence her digital, theoretical blood lust.
“I am not advocating for public hangings. I’ve been reading The Barbary Coast (a book about crime in SF after the Gold Rush) so it was top of mind. With that said, I *do* believe that fentanyl & meth dealers should serve time in jail.”
However, she did not address whether she still wants men of San Francisco to man up, or if that too was theoretical.
She is, however, now polling her Twitter followers to see if they support the death penalty.
Tandler did not respond to a request for comment.
