(CNN) -- Glass, Google's high-profile entry into the world of wearable tech, may help launch a revolution if it's released later this year as expected. But test models already on the street have begun playing a more unlikely role -- as symbols in a simmering fight over Silicon Valley's impact on the city of San Francisco. It's a local story, but one with ramifications everywhere as Google on Tuesday made the connected headsets available to the public for the first time in a one-day sale. While our smartphones drop easily into pockets and tablets get zipped up in cases or backpacks, wearables such as Glass are, quite literally, in your face all the time.
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Two recent cases saw Google Glass users attacked in San Francisco
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Both appeared linked to protests over tech industry's role in the city
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Protesters say tech jobs are gentrifying the classically quirky city
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Users say most Glass interactions are positive
"The individual who smashed my Google Glass on Friday -- because of political beliefs or a personal impact that has been made by the tech industry -- felt that it was appropriate to destroy my personal property in protest against what I seemed to stand for, based on my appearance; never mind the irony in choosing to assault someone based on their appearance as a way to preserve @placeholder's culture," he wrote.