I expect it’s both.
The overriding part is the horror and sorrow of those who perished and their families, their friends. I was young once ;) and can well imagine myself or pals unwittingly ending up in a similar place/situation. For freepers who never went through a rebellious stage, or trying to see the world through eyes other than my family’s, it may be a stretch.
At the same time, in Oakland there appear to be some conflicting desires and agendas. First, it is the responsibility of Code Enforcement to...enforce codes!!! This building has been the subject of multiple violations over years. In no way was there ever a straightforward attempt to force the dwellers or the owner to comply. No one meant business.
This brings us to the second agenda- Oakland as a haven for “artists”, musicians, off—the-grid hippies, alternative lifestyle misfits, etc. This character Derick Ion, consciously or otherwise took advantage of these kids and charged them $500 month for a “space” with overloaded and shoddy electricity, no hot water or real bathrooms, no actual kitchen. From reading several accounts there were rats, feces, used condoms and bugs. It was freezing in winter yet the kids loved the “family” and “art”..
But as to ideology - it’s a real problem for the left because their go-to solution is new legislation. The trouble is, they invariably lack the WILL TO ENFORCE the laws they pass.
So they may SAY, we’ve got the strictest this or that law. And feel smug while letting hippies and illegal aliens actually break the law in broad daylight.
Well said. I particularly remember being in some places that were probably firetraps as a young person. The people who built them did so out of a desire to create something; ideology was the farthest thing from their mind.
In particular, I’m thinking of a recording studio I loved when I was in college. Looking back on it, it was super dangerous. But no one got hurt, and a lot of good music was made and distributed from there.
There was no ideology involved whatsoever. I know for a fact that one of the engineers was (or anyway would become) a conservative.