What Oakland Taught Me

[PurgedVoter]

At first I was outraged that a bastard in uniform would aim, point blank to the head and fire on a peaceful protestor. I was outraged that he or another scummy bastard would lob a flash bang into the group that was coming to the aid of a fallen, bleeding, injured peaceful protestor.

Then in sunk in. Facing a peaceful protest in a row of armed and armored cops, not one of them, not a single one, made a move to help an injury that they at least by association caused. No single officer of any form made a move to prevent, or restrain or control the evil. No single officer made a move to help a fallen citizen that they had injured.

The horror of this is my expectations. I expected and anticipated that the caring protestors would come to the aid of the fallen. I knew before I saw the rest of the film, that the police would stay in line. I knew before the news came out that the police and mayor would not be forthright with the events, or seek actual justice in this case. You knew it too. You knew what the police would do.


The horrid college or high school experiment where some kids are placed at the bottom and other at the top has gone too far. Our horrid experiment has put men in uniforms, told them that they will not be held responsible and requested that they raise the endangerment level. It is out of hand now. We have made the mistake of turning our police into military units and our military units into police.

All the armor, computer data bases, non-lethal weapons, imposing uniforms, advanced weapons and tactical training have given our officers nothing that Sheriff Andy of Mayberry wanted or needed.

I think the first thing we need to do is let our mayors, police chiefs and officers know, that we expect them to break ranks unless they are facing a mob with guns, clubs and broken bottles. We expect them to do their job and we will not consider them responsible, eligible, ethical or trustworthy unless they break ranks.

Not one of those officers behaved as a guardian of the public that night. Not one of them behaved as a human being.

[dtexdem]

1. There IS a there there.

But it's in the streets, not in the mayor's office or the police department.

(Note: I used to live in Oakland, and already knew that there was a there there.)

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. And the scary part of it is, what will they do when the 'non-lethal' weapons

fail to end the protests?

I'm thinking Kent State and Jackson State.

How many of these officers are in the Guard and Reserves, and have been desensitized to violence, and have been trained to respond to threats, or orders, on the instant because in Iraq or Afghanistan their lives depended on it?

All it would take would be one COINTELPRO type firing a shot to create a Haymarket event, except that unlike Haymarket the protesters would all be unarmed.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. NOt only did they wound the guy, they then fired on the people trying to help him!!!!

Which REALLY raised my pissed off meter.

[FiveGoodMen]

4. That was just unbelievable, wasn't it?

Something very bad has happened to this country very quickly.

It might have been brewing for decades, but the nasty has come out in full force in the last couple of years (worse with Obama at the helm than when Bush was there!)

How can so many minds be damaged so thoroughly in practically no time at all?