Call it occupation envy.

The first wave of Occupy San Francisco protesters made their way down to the financial district a month ago to take a stand against what they perceived to be a financial system run amok.

Given the city’s reputation for countercultural leadership, it would seem natural that San Francisco, where protests started on Sept. 17, the same day as the flagship Occupy Wall Street in New York, would emerge as a leading voice in this growing movement.

After all, this is the region that gave the world the Summer of Love and the free speech movement, helped ignite the gay rights movement, and contributed mightily to the Vietnam War and gulf war protests.

But even the protesters themselves at Occupy San Francisco, as it is often called, acknowledge the turnout as surprisingly small.