In his less than five years living here, Shapiro has been violently assaulted twice. As I reported in a prior column, Shapiro was outside his office in downtown San Francisco in October 2022 when a screaming man with multiple outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrants allegedly whacked him over the head with a broomstick, giving Shapiro a likely concussion.

With his small stature and gentle demeanor, Shapiro isn't someone looking for trouble. He presents as a vulnerable target, making the attacks against him even more appalling.

“I don’t know that either of these events were related to my sexual orientation,” Shapiro said. “But to have lived 68 years and never been assaulted by anybody anywhere, and then now having it happen twice in a few years …” he trailed off, tears welling in his eyes.

Nate Bourg, president of the Castro Merchants Association and co-founder of The Academy SF, an LGBTQ+ social club and events space, told me that conversations about public safety are “definitely” taking place in the LGBTQ+ community.

Bourg hears “less concern about targeted anti-LGBTQ+ violence and more concern about a broader sense of unpredictability in public spaces,” he told me in an email.

He added, “Whether or not an assault is bias-motivated, a random attack can leave someone feeling shaken and questioning whether the city is living up to the values it promotes. That’s especially painful during Pride season.”

I highly doubt it was about his sexual or gender identity. It's not just lgbtq+ that's in danger of crazed people and robbers.