Anita Chabria: Sorry, San Francisco is not the crime-ridden hellhole the far right claims it is

SAN FRANCISCO — The first time Kenshi Westover walked into AsiaSF, an iconic transgender cabaret in this city's gritty South of Market neighborhood, it was as a closeted gay Mormon visiting from Utah.

That was 20 years ago, and Westover (who uses they/them pronouns) remembers being stunned by the performers strutting down an elevated runway behind the bar, heels impossibly high, dresses dangerously low cut, the mood ebullient.

"These are my spirit animals," Westover thought. "And I am going to be part of that world."

I met Westover on Sunday night as AsiaSF celebrated its 25-year anniversary, in a room packed sardine-tight with drag queens, politicos in suits and even a couple of Stanford students. Westover, who identifies as gender nonconforming, was turned out in a beaded Art Deco gown, with dangling earrings and slicked-back hair, very much a part of this vibrant community that reveals more about San Francisco than the alarmist tales of urban doom that have come to define its reputation nationwide.

For years, the hard-right outrage machine has zeroed in on