Cops shot a 22 year old in the back in SF at the BART station

I can't believe this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCgmIqmYalY

sorry but I had to share this.

[ Edited by: Coco Joe 2009-01-07 17:48 ]

staying away from the race card, but the chump cop should be tried for capital murder.If that were anyone on the ground it should have the same outcome...Pretty sad to see that happen.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Capital+Murder

The shooting and the way it's been handled has been total bullshit. Though, I have a big feeling that the whole thing was a stupid unacceptable accident.
The thing that also pisses me off, are the opportunists who see this as a free ticket to get pissed, smash innocent store owners' windows, and set bystanders' cars on fire all under the guise of protest. The family are protesting peacefully and legally and yet these assholes who probably didn't even know the guy are rioting. The comparisons to Rodney King are empty.
The local news footage showed a lot of young white kids(probably Cal Berk students) and some other people who looked more like they were having a good time fucking shit up. Thank you for further jacking the city that I live in and taking up OPD manpower when they could be in my neighborhood busting some of the punkass dealers, who by the way are also shooting and killing people every goddamn day. Where's the protest for all those killings?
Sorry, had to get that out. I'm breathing now.

On 2009-01-08 08:28, TIKI KAIMUKI wrote:

The thing that also pisses me off, are the opportunists who see this as a free ticket to get pissed and set bystanders' cars on fire all under the guise of protest.

Turns out the car belonged to a journalist for the Oakland Post, a weekly African-American newspaper. The people who were out there are the same misguided hooligans that rioted after the Raiders were defeated by the Bucs in 2003. It's tough, though. So many people are consumed by anger and hopelessness.

I pray cooler heads prevail. There has definitely been injustice and we need to stand up against it, but in a way that will make some positive change.

How is this alright to post when one pulls the political card, but not the coral reefs being protected? Even thought I agree that the shooting was awful, I'd rather read about the protecting of the coral reefs on tiki central. At least, it seems relevant to the common interest we all share here.

[ Edited by: Tiki Kupcake 2009-01-08 09:53 ]

I more or less agree with Ms Kupcake.

The reef post was made with political comment in the title. The subject itself wasn't political.

Although this post is definitely Beyond Tiki its relevance to Tiki Central topics is minimal...HOWEVER for many Tiki Central is an actual community of people who want to share all sorts of aspects of their lives with each other.

Coco Joe posted this with his comment "Sorry but I had to share this."

I doubt the link was posted to make a gossipy report of senseless violence but was made because Coco Joe found it shocking and wanted to make note of it to a group of people he felt would understand his outrage.

From what I understand, it wasn't the actual thread that was in question, simply how it was titled (in a politically charged way). I think the coral reef thread is important (and more relevant to TC).

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.

It's kind of bizarre that TC can't be a place to post political issues, as long as they pertain to Tiki Culture.

Or is it?

Is the closing of a classic Tiki Palace (and the surrounding protest that TC can be the central forum for) a political issue?

I assume that Hanford means political party issues are verboten, not politics as it applies to Tiki.

Or is it?....

Race issues and how it interferes with (white) mainstream America's enjoyment of Islander cultures? Is that political?

Isn't promoting Tiki Appreciation in itself a grassroots political push? Especially when it involves legislation and zoning, issues that come up over and over here?

I've never understood the difference. It's never been spelled out.

I do find it interesting how this particular sad incident causes people to riot, when there is
stuff happening every day in this country that are just as worthy of protests. Jusr a small
random sample:

drunk driving fatalities- this happens every single day.
murder-yes every day in this country someone is murdered.
rape
child abuse
50 billion ponzi schemes
cheeseburgers without bacon

It was so easy for me to get riled up thinking about these things, I see why Hanford has TC be a place
of escape from the everyday world.

This may not have happened if he was wearing a tapa printed barkloth shirt !
( not that I'm making light of this horrible event or any other of its kind)

I thought TIKI was about escape-ism? Kind of shutting the door on the outside world. Either way that video is totally depressing. If I want to get bummed out there are plenty of NEWS websites available.

I come here for my interest in escaping the real world.

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 ]

be safe Oakland

I really love Oakland and hope the people who want to protest and show their outrage at the verdict do so in a peaceful manner. Riotting does absolutely nothing but illustrate stereotypes and hurt the community.

By the sounds of the helicopters and police sirens I hear already I am hoping for the best.