Several local conservatives hold secret meetups. They have to because local leftists don’t tolerate dissent The environment for conservatives in the San Francisco area is so hostile that some have been reduced to meeting in secret for their own safety, KPIX 5 reports. “If you witness what happened in Berkeley, actually they are so violent on top of it. I mean being a conservative in the Bay Area is like being a heretic,” said acknowledged conservative Robert Ward. “You lead a double life. You can never tell your friends and co-workers.”