The Oakland Protestors and the Arc of the Moral Universe
America watched, on the heels of the Martin Luther King holiday, as Oakland is portrayed as a city that embodies the antithesis of that for which the civil rights leader lived and died.
First, there was the footage by myriad phone cameras that show the horrific New Year's Day death of Oscar Grant. Second, there was the court of public opinion, armed with essentially seconds of grainy video footage unanimously reaching a guilty verdict as if due process of law is not applicable to this case. Third, there was the absurdity of an officer from Napa, shooting an individual from Hayward, at the Fruitvale BART station with the result culminating in destroying property in Downtown Oakland.
A portion of Oakland's elected officials and community leaders has failed in their mission, opting instead for the sensationalism of inflammatory comments that will garner the attention of cable networks.
The protesters have been conveniently morphed into a single group advocating senseless violence and destruction.
Obviously, not everyone involved in the protest condone the needless displays of mayhem. But how does throwing something through a window or burning an automobile serve the memory of Oscar Grant, especially when his family is calling for calm?
Unrepentant agitators -- some don't even live in Oakland -- help to further stain the city's image. Their cries for justice as they vandalize property does not mute the obvious -- that they've become what they've accused the BART police officer in that they are perpetrators of unmerited violence against the innocent.
Now that the officer accused of firing the fatal shot, Johannes Mehserle, has been arrested, will the needless violence persist? Judging by the actions following District Attorney, Tom Orloff's announcement that Mehserle had been arrested and charged, the answer may be sadly, no.
There is simply no way to justify the vandalism that occurred Wednesday night at City Center Plaza. At the time of this writing, 48 businesses had been damaged as a result of two events.
Each act of violence along with the accompanying rabble-rousing remarks merely strengthens the defense attorney's case for a change of venue. Can anyone say Simi Valley?
From the start, protesters, elected officials, community leaders, and even the observers has sought to condense this tragedy into something that makes sense. But it doesn't make sense, and it won't.
One of the more oxymoronic displays were the signs that read: "Justice for Oscar Grant." What does this mean?
There can be no justice for Oscar Grant or his family. There is no verdict that can be handed down that will suffice as justice.
What exactly is justice? Is it fairness?
However justice is defined it cannot be served on a platter of emotion in the court of public opinion. I suspect that justice is a moving target that is best defined by whatever one's particular self-interest is in the moment.
But there is also justifiable frustration fueled by the knowledge that most of the protestors possess that had they been caught on camera shooting someone, it is not likely they would be afforded the luxury to go free until the district attorney decides whether or not to press charges.
The manner in which the district attorney arrived at his decision to arrest Mehserle may have been correct procedurally, but it demonstrates tone deafness toward the raw feelings of the community, enhancing the distrust that already exist.
We must collectively be mindful of King's words in moments like this, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." The slow, prodding pace of justice ultimately bends toward what is right. But that pace is much slower than most of us would prefer.
There would clearly not have been a Civil Rights Movement had someone decided to set an arbitrary date for when justice should occur, especially those who would be forced to pay the ultimate price for freedom's cause.
This is the frustrating reality that all who have historically found themselves on the underside of life had to confront, and it is what those who say they want justice for Oscar Grant must now face today.
Byron Williams is an Oakland pastor and syndicated columnist. He is the author of Strip Mall Patriotism: Moral Reflections of the Iraq War. E-mail him at byron@byronspeaks.com or visit his website: byronspeaks.com
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I agree with you that a violent protest is wrong.
It is impossible to disagree with your condemnation of the "rock through the window" approach.
I have been searching for any articles you may have written condemning the murder by the police. Or perhaps some where you complimented or drew attention to the peaceful protests that have taken place over the past few weeks against the murderous cop.
I can't find any, maybe I'm not too good with google. Can you provide a link?
I think that Mr. Williams and some others on this list are failing to take into account the shock effect that videos like this have on some personalities. Expecially those people who already feel threatened, have been traumatized, etc..... Watching a video of a person being murdered by an authority figure with apparantly relative impunity is not something that is psychologically easy to digest and some personalities may not be able to do anything other than act out in ways that the rest of us consider inappropriate.
I remember one year in Oakland, there were 143 murders on East 14th street alone,....
See Byron Williams's Profile
Lungfish,
I am not failing to take that into account. The shock effect is understandable, aiding and abetted the defense's case is not. When has an eye for an eye worked, especially for those on the underside of society? I agree that there has been questionable police activity, but does that justify destroying the property of the innocent?
Tell me, if this case is moved to let's say Concord, CA, and an all-white jury finds the officer not guilty should innocent people of Oakland engage in a mass exodus because those who helped get a change of venue are now angry at the outcome? How many protests were conducted for Christopher Rodriguez the young man confined to a wheelchair because of a stray bullet hit him while he was taking piano lessons? Or for that matter the myriad black on black murders that occur so frequently in the East and West Oakland that we are becoming numb as a society?
Again, while agree with the shocking nature of the video, it does not tell the whole story. I also agree with the effects the video may have on some. Does that justify elected officials, in the midst of a violent scenario, calling the events on the video an "execution" before there is a trial? But given the number of homicides that you cite, the mere fact that we need a video to become upset is telling in itself.
Peace and blessings,
Byron Williams
"...we need a video to become upset..." I disagree. All that's needed is awareness of the event, and then "upset" is a far, far too neutral and impotent descriptor.
The video is needed to transform this from an event that never even happened, to an outrage that cannot be denied.
How about you ask Representative Maxine Waters why she continues to refer to the Rodney King riots not as a riot or an orgy of death, destruction and looting, but as "an insurrection"?
Too many black leaders give a pass to violence and this has to stop since it undermines their own community's prestige with the larger American public.
> since it undermines their own community's prestige with the larger American public.
Not that you're wrong in essence, but do you see how ironic your choice of words is? Do you really believe that the American public views South Central LA, or West Oakland communities with any prestige whatsoever? To the contrary, killings of black men in such communities by the very authority figures charged with protecting them has been dismissed and glossed over since the founding of this country.
As the observance of Martin Luther King Jr's life and the inauguration of this country's first black president looms imminent, isn't it time that we as a country collectively demand an end to the dehumanization of our minority citizens?
Enough.
I dont see any "Black Leaders" giving a pass to violence. I would call giving a pass to violence a group of white police officers trying to protect a murderer instead of trying to help a victim. That goes beyond giving a pass.
As usual, not many news outlets covered, and few pundits offered any opinions about another unarmed man of color being murdered by police,...
Sadly this is true.
Violence leads to more violence. Though it is sad for the innocent business owners in Oakland to have their property destroyed undeservedly, we should not lose sight of the root of this problem. Why was this man trusted with a badge and a gun? This is the same question I have for police stations around the nation that employ citizens with attitudes like this man. Why send them into communities of people that they obviously feel are there to be subjects under them and deserve no justice. The taxes collected from the people of these communities help pay for the salaries of these rouge cops. It is sad to think that Oscar Grant's family helped pay for the murder of their loved one.
While it may be disappointing that the demonstrations ended in destructive behavior I do not think that they can be compared to the actions of the Officer that killed Oscar Grant. The line between destructive behavior and murder is not a fine line, it is worlds apart.
Also I do not know for a certainty that destructive protest was not effective in motivating the leaders of the community to do the right thing and arrest this officer. Based on the history of Bart officers being cleared of wrong doing after shooting unarmed citizens, I would have to assume going in that they would whitewash this whole tragedy without the threat of civil unrest.
I have great respect for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s memory and his message of peaceful resistance. But let us not forget that he was assassinated. Further he is not solely responsible for the advance of equal rights in our nation.
It is simplistic at best to make these assumptions.
If I was a young minority male in that community the anger I would feel upon seeing the images of Oscar Grant's execution would eclipse any sense of reason in my spirit.
That said I sincerely hope that the Officer receives the maximum penalty under the law and this community retrains the officers of the BART department. Should these things come to pass I hope the community behaves in a peaceful manner. If not I will pass no judgment upon those involved in destructive demonstration.
Did the owners of those 48 businesses shoot Oscar Grant? Did they support the shooting of Oscar Grant? No. One man is responsible, and he has been arrested. There is nothing wrong with protest, but it needs to be peaceful. When it become violent and destructive is take the focus away from why the protest happened in the first place. When I see animals throwing trash cans through windows, setting things on fire, jumping on cars, I wish they would be arrested and put in jail. The man who shot Oscar Grant doesn't represent the entire city of Oakland and BART.
It is not just one officer. There have been 3 fatal shootings of unarmed men by 3 different BART officers in recent history. The point is what you are saying is irrelevant to the realities of the situation. When a group of people are abused repeatedly by law enforcement in a community, these are the kinds of results you can expect. You can call them animals if it makes you feel superior and civilized but the fact is they are just very angry people (and for good reason)
I also noticed you glossed right over my point that in the past the BART department has swept incidents like this under the rug and gone on as if they are completely justified.
Hence a volatile situation.
While I agree that the violence won't solve much, I must take issue with your calling the people reacting to a definate wrong animals, and calling the real animal here the cop a man. You see this is why America gets this wrong. It is ingrained in many of citizens thinking that cops are never wrong even when seen on film commiting obvious abuse.
Way to screw the pooch, Oaktown.
Media incited riot behavior
this second RIOT behavior that followed the second protest march-
and yes there is a difference between rioting and protesting
the day the San Francisco protest occurred a few days ago only a few dozens protestors showed up at 5pm-- but there were many many media folks- and the media folks were openly disappointed ABC KGO even reported this fact
THIS HAS BECOME MEDIA INCITED RIOT BEHAVIOR
THE MEDIA WANT A SALACIOUS VIOLENT STORY TO REPORT
AND THEY WILL CREATE THE CONDITIONS IF IT SERVES THEIR CAREER OBJECTIVES-
KRON 4 IS DOING THIS BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR PROGRAMMING!
and it is resulting in taking money away from services for the poor in Oakland, SHAMEFUL
Uh, just because the media appears to be goading folks into violent behavior doesn't mean you take the bait. Maybe you need to read the works of MLK again.
It is like Jesse Jackson once said about the crack epidemic: Just because someone dumps a truckload of cocaine on a nearby street corner doesn't obligate you to go and start snorting it. Same here with the media and violence.
Many demonstrations are infiltrated by provocateurs. Usually the police are creating an excuse to do mass arrests. Maybe in this case the media were generating some "newsworthy" video using their own "actors".
Most disturbing of all, even more than the inexcusable death of an innocent man, is that Mehserle's fellow officers made an extraordinary effort to confiscate evidence of the crime by demanding the cell phones and cameras of witnesses. This is evidence of a number of crimes on the part of those officers, and it is OUTRAGEOUS that the DA has made no effort to charge those officers with the crimes they committed: aiding and abetting, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, concealing evidence, etc.
If you live anywhere in the Bay Area served by the BART system, I implore you to call the Oakland DA's office and demand that the evidence of crimes committed by the other BART officers be fully investigated. While you're at it, you might do the same with your state senator and representative.
This matters. Officers of the law are granted authority and life & death power over us in order to UPHOLD the law and PROTECT innocent citizens, not to infringe upon our constitutional rights with impunity. Abuse of citizens must carry significant penalties, or these incidents will continue to increase nationwide. As will the consequences: protests, riots, and the eventual breakdown of govenmental authority and social society in general.
Your voice MATTERS. USE it.
If they hadn't demanded the cell phones you'd say they weren't bothering to gather evidence of a crime.
Ridiculous.
The "crime" that the BART cops were responding to had already taken place. They were responding to reports of an altercation aboard the train.
If they hadn't tried to gather cellphone evidence of the police response to that report, I'd say that they were less concerned that their own actions were illegal. End of story.
They didn't demand cellphones befiore they shot Oscar Grant. They attempted to cover up their own actions by tampering with evidence AFTERWARDS.
Let me ask you this... how many of those confiscated cellphones would you expect to have shown up at the DA's office with their recorded footage intact? (In other words, how naive are you, exactly?)
This is not the first senseless shooting of an unarmed citizen by "BART police", and it will doubtless not be the last. A bill being prepared to FINALLY institute an oversight board for this cadre of loose cannon "officers" may be a step in the right direction, though pathetically long overdue.
The fact is that a crime was committed, documented by witnesses, and as a result the perpetrator was unable to use the typical shield of government to avoid repercussions, as has happened so many times, over and over, in every major city of the US.
Police departments have become increasingly militarized over the last two decades, and it is no surprise to see the "collateral damages" increase as a result. These incidents will not decrease in number unless and until citizens of the US react in ways comparable to those of the young people of Greece, rather than the pathetic lambs we've become in this country. This is not a call to senseless violence, it is a call to thoughtful action. CALL your District Atty when things like this happen in your city. Demand that criminals be held accountable, no matter which side of the badge they are on.
(Cont.)
You sound like an apologist for the status quo. Lets say they caused several thousand dollars worth of damage with the rioting, is that equivalent to a human life.
People can see that they are not treated fairly, a life was taken and no one in authority seemed to care. This is not an isolated incident, it happens all over the country.
Rationalize why they should care about others rights to life and liberty when no one gives a d*mn about theirs.
"Lets say they caused several thousand dollars worth of damage with the rioting, is that equivalent to a human life."
This "pastor" went on and on about "property" as though his concern is money. He had no soothing words about the precious life cut short of this young Black male, Oscar Grant.
This pastor needs redemption.
Agreed, one hundred per cent.
That's why we dont need to inject religion or race. Even though they are probably factors in this. it was a crime commited against an AMERICAN CITIZEN by a police officer paid to protect the rights of that citizen. It seems that many officers don't understand the concept of Government working for the people and not the other way around.
Mehserle's family had a bomb scare at their home in Napa the night the DA announced the arrest. Here's the story about it from the local newspaper.
http://www
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