It's pretty ludicrous to write an article about "What San Francisco Says About America" and then fixate on the things which most distinguish San Francisco from the rest of the US.
San Francisco is a huge outlier in many respects. Some of the most notable things which the article talks about are unheard of elsewhere: almost anywhere else in the country you will not see visible homeless and you definitely won't see marijuana advertisements.
The Wal-Mart bit seemed especially out-of-place. I don't think San Francisco even has a Wal-Mart (and that fact alone distinguishes its culture from most of America).
What I found odd is how the author fixated on bizarre things like marijuana yoga, vegan shoes, bluetooth toothbrushes (missed opportunity for portmanteau), as if Americans or San Franciscans find all of this normal. We're bewildered and laughing too.
San Francisco is a huge outlier in many respects. Some of the most notable things which the article talks about are unheard of elsewhere: almost anywhere else in the country you will not see visible homeless and you definitely won't see marijuana advertisements.