Post #427854 by JenTiki on Thu, Jan 8, 2009 11:40 AM

To be completely honest, I could really do without this thread (My heart is seriously breaking over this. This is my community tearing itself apart) and considered asking for it to be removed without responding, but didn't. I'm just too close, perhaps. This thread wasn't started by someone inside the (Oakland) community, so I thought others may have a perspective that could help me.

Sadly, T, I don't think there is a positive perspective on this. The closest I can get to anything "positive" is that I think the shooting may have been unintentional. It is still an unacceptable, and unforgivable mistake, and should not go unpunished. However, the violence and destruction of last night's mob is the wrong way to fix this. These are the people who give Oakland a bad reputation. Rather than considering a productive response to what they see as a failure of the system, they destroy the property of innocent people who are probably just as angry about the shooting. Rather than there being just one victim of the horrible event at the BART station, there are now dozens! The business owners who had store windows broken (and lets not pretend there wasn't looting as well), and vehicle owners who had their cars burned and smashed. In the current economic climate, this will be the final straw for many of these people. Rather than paying to fix the damage, some will be forced to close their businesses. People who are struggling just to pay rent each month will now have to dole out hundreds or thousands of dollars to repair damage to their vehicles, just to be able to continue going to work.

One of the protesters is quoted as saying this:

"She should be glad she just lost her business and not her life," Sykes said. She added that she did have one worry for the night: "I just hope nobody gets shot or killed."

This paragraph alone caused me so much anger! I just don't understand how this protester can think it's okay that this innocent business owner is paying for the tragic error of the BART police. And seriously, how can they expect that someone won't be shot or killed in a riot of that sort?! And I don't mean shot by the police. The vandals are just the sort of people who walk around with a gun tucked into the back of their pants because they think it makes them cool. One wrong look or word from one of the victims of the vandalism and these guys would go off without a second thought! If, in fact, there were no shootings or other killings in last nights activities, I will be relieved, but surprised.

There are so many things wrong with how the initial event has been handled, but the violent response only compounds the injury to the community. Things like this make me sad. Sad because the rest of the country never sees news about the good things that happen in Oakland, and the beautiful neighborhoods and communities of people who live within its borders. They only hear of the anger, violence, drug dealing, and other problems that are caused by just a small portion of its population. Admittedly, I don't live in Oakland proper, but it is my next door neighbor, and what happens there will color the opinions people have of my little island across the estuary as well.

I do hope the community will eventually have some sort of healing from these events, but sadly, I think part of the community will not allow that to happen.

I don't see this as a political matter, at least not the way it has been addressed so far in this thread. It is a matter of community. The community that many TC members live in and near. When something so horrible directly effects the lives of those within the TC community, why not talk about it here? When there are wildfires in California communities where our members live, topics are started to ask about the welfare of our Ohana. People start threads here when a family member or pet passes away, I guess in an effort to gather their community around them and to seek some form of healing. It is normal for people in need of comfort or clarification to seek it within their circle of family and/or friends. That is what TC is for some people.

With the exception of one or two posts, this thread has not contained a lot of discussion of the politics of the initial event or the riot. It has been more about the sadness the locals feel. And speaking of locals ... if you're not one, please remember that the bits and pieces of news coverage you're seeing are but excerpts of the coverage it is getting here. You don't have all the information, I doubt that any of us do. Please do not judge our community based on this one event. Instead, try to have some compassion and understanding for those of us who are living in the midst of the turmoil. And try not to add to the emotional injury already incurred.

Well, there's my 25 cents (inflation, you know). Take it for whatever it's worth to you, or ignore it completely. One of the nice things about TC is that we can ignore the topics that don't interest us. If you don't think this thread belongs here, then please just stop reading now and move on to another topic. That's what free will is all about.

[ Edited by: JenTiki 2009-01-08 11:43 ]