Yesterday's rally in Oakland over the death of Oscar Grant, tragically, became violent. Storefronts were smashed, police cars were rocked, vehicles were set on fire--mass chaos. Protesters were raging over the injustice of Grant's death, as well as racial injustice as a whole, according to reports. But was it a riot? Two local bloggers differ in their opinions.
Robert at Calitics thinks last night's goings-on in Oakland were not riots:
I've specifically tried to avoid calling this a "riot" and
oversensationalizing this, because the protest's turn shouldn't take
away from the real story here, which is the growing intensity of public
outrage over the obviously unjustified shooting death of Oscar Grant at
Fruitvale Station by BART officer Johannes Mehserle. Mehserle has
refused to answer questions about the shooting, and BART police have
apparently been VERY slow to get information.
The shooting death, and the public outcry, may well be
predictable outcomes of three decades of militarizing the police,
limiting and eroding fundamental Constitutional protections of
individual rights, and a deliberate decision by many Americans to
simply abandon cities like Oakland to their fate.
Matt Ortega, on the other hand, writes that the actions that took place in the East Bay are the textbook definition of rioting:
Robert is, apparently, avoiding the use of the term “riot” simply
because he does not want to overshadow the catalyst of the violence.
Part of me believes that is commendable, as the shooting death of an
unarmed man, Oscar Grant, in the back by BART Police, necessitates
serious changes made in the way they “protect and serve.”
However, the fact is, these people “protesting” this serious problem
devalued it by — yes — rioting in the streets, as their actions clearly
fit the description of a “riot.”
To ignore it is simply cherry-picking out of convenience and harms
the position, for which Robert is advocating, to fundamentally change
the way law enforcement conducts business. People will stop listening
to you if you obfuscate the realities of the situation.
What say you, dear reader? Is it important not to let the violence in Oakland last evening not overshadow the tragedy of the BART shooting? Or was what happened a riot, in all the horror that that entails?
One friend told me just moments ago that the scene reminded her of the Rodney King riots in LA. She said she watched with sadness as minorities destroyed black-owned businesses in the name of racial equality. She watched in sadness, too, when it took far, far too long for those neighborhoods to be rebuilt. How long will it take for the mess made in Oakland to get cleaned up?
Your thoughts below.
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