I really don't know where to begin... my thoughts and prayers are with the family of Oscar Grant and community of Oakland.
A BART policeman murdered a man on the platform of Fruitvale station in Oakland on New Years day. It was captured on cell phone video... the Town feels different to say the least.
My flight home was welcomed by a text message that read "oakland is going off tonight... get home safe my dude..." I knew about the protest at Fruitvale station, but by the time we were riding home, shit was on fire and the cops and hellacopters were all over downtown. The media is busy sensationalizing the damages, citing estimates of up to $150,000. Speaking of damages...
BART should pay the ALL damages during protests in addition to whatever the family needs and then some... fuck that, the officers pay should automaticly go to the family for the rest of his life.
The family is suing for 25 million dollars.
What ever $ settlement associated with this murder should be LARGE ENOUGH to make BART feel the sting daily... and what are we to do? I don't feel safe on the train anymore as long as their police are armed. I've lived most of my life blocks from Fruitvale station and have been lined up and harrassed by the BART popo hella times coming to and from St. Elizabeth High just 2 blocks from Frutivale Station. It really could have been any of us. How will the damage to the community be repaired? In a way, this happened to all of us.
I know it's hard to be strategic in all this anger... but we must.
CLICK HERE for more photos of Jan. 7th protest on JSIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
"In Their Own Words" NBC Bay Area has some decent coverage
Davey D TV has some words from Oakland Mayor Dellums (finally)
NWA- Fuck The Police
Part of me thinks I shouldn't... fuck it. Police Brutality... some Amerikkkan poets wrote a song about it... like to hear it? Here it go...
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1 comment:
welcome back, homie.
i join you in the thoughts and prayers for Oscar Grant's family.
as details emerge on this story, to me it's sounding more and more like a tragic accident rather than a murder. i'm not saying police brutality isn't prevalent or that the BART cops were at all justified in this situation, but based on the circumstances and the officer's actions since the killing (i.e., resigning, when what cops usually do in this situation is hide behind the union and pray for a whitewash investigation), it sounds like the officer did not intend to shoot Grant with a handgun but made a terrible mistake.
nothing is going to bring Oscar Grant back, so the focus needs to be on what changes need to be made to prevent the shit from happening again. in the next few months i suspect a lot of the debate will focus on BART's officer training, but the question that keeps coming back in my mind is "why the fuck are BART police given guns in the first place?". BART police are basically glorified security guards. i can see giving them mace or maybe tasers, but under what circumstances do they ever need handguns?
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