Antithesis

I try not to make myself sick, but sometimes...

Today I learned of the existence of Atherton, California — a suburb of Palo Alto — from a tweet that showed this:

I frowned at it in consternation, not sure what it was. At a glance…maybe a racist magazine from the South? A magazine for grown up sorority gals? I read the headlines and small type (click to enlarge for readability) and realized what the words said. 

I looked up the name Atherton, California, and found this on Google Maps:

Atherton is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 7,188 as of 2020. The town's zoning regulations permit only one single-family home per acre, and prohibit sidewalks. Atherton is known for its wealth.... In 2023, the Atherton ZIP Code had the highest median home prices in the United States, at $7,950,000.

On its Wikipedia page, I was informed that its government has been involved in blocking California's efforts to implement high-speed rail and electrification of Caltrain. There is no commercial zoning in Atheron, so it has no restaurants or places to shop for anything, meaning people have to drive for anything they need.

The 7,000 or so people in this town are so rich that someone thinks it's worth it to sell ads targeted at them and print a four-color glossy magazine just for them. Meanwhile, real newspapers and magazines across the country go out of business.

The publisher's website describes the audience for its handful of magazinges as "billioniares and legacy heirs, the 1% of the 1%."