Meserhle Trial for death of Oscar Grant begins in LA (San Francisco: felon, school)

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by Taboo2

I agree MANY cops are on power trips and want to let you know they have the power. But that is more of a personality flaw than anything else.

That's not a personality flaw at all. It's the reflection of gun-toting society which believes that violence is a solution to all problems. There are many countries where cops don't carry guns/tasers all the time and they seem to do policing just fine! People keep giving up their freedoms and keep giving more power to law enforcement in every election cycle and they are okay as long victims of overjealous law enforcement are minorities, immigrants and other less desirables. Their freedom be damned!

[Mr. Fantastic]

Originally Posted by Taboo2

No if you kill someone you have to do some time for your penance. But I think it would determine the AMOUNT of time he will do. If I kill someone with my car intentionally, by negligence, or totally by accident... I should still have to pay for it with some jail time, but for how long should depend on what you are convicted of.

I agree. Either way, I feel this whole incident is just what Oakland didn't need. The city already has one of the highest violent crime rates in the entire country, and has a budget deficit that will see 1/4 of the police force leaving. Now we have a big chance for racial tension to suddenly flare, especially if Meserhle is found innocent.

I wouldn't want to live in Oakland right now (or ever).

[BayAreaHillbilly]

RE: "Also called Tuesday was Mehserle's former partner BART officer John Woffinden, who said he arrived with the defendant to the train platform and was met with a barrage of profanities and racial slurs by people aboard the train and from some of Grant's friends."

This attitude on the part of the crowd, is similar to the "F___ the Police" song I alluded to. This is the elephant in the room. If there was an unruly crowd and a quasi riot situation on the train and in the station, it's an undeniable extenuating circumstance.

If Grant was clean, then why did he go out with "da boyzzz" on NYE? He had a kid to take care of.

[HowGoesIt]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

That's not a personality flaw at all. It's the reflection of gun-toting society which believes that violence is a solution to all problems. There are many countries where cops don't carry guns/tasers all the time and they seem to do policing just fine! People keep giving up their freedoms and keep giving more power to law enforcement in every election cycle and they are okay as long victims of overjealous law enforcement are minorities, immigrants and other less desirables. Their freedom be damned!

Believe me, there are a lot more countries out there that are the exact opposite. If you look at a cop the wrong way or do anything slightly wrong, you and your family are whisked away in the middle of the night and never heard from again. Here in the U.S., we have more personal liberties than 95% of the countries out there.

[andyadhi01]

This is a hilarious video but also a sad commentary on the sad state of affairs with the cops:


YouTube - Michael Moore- The Awful Truth

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

RE: "Also called Tuesday was Mehserle's former partner BART officer John Woffinden, who said he arrived with the defendant to the train platform and was met with a barrage of profanities and racial slurs by people aboard the train and from some of Grant's friends."

This attitude on the part of the crowd, is similar to the "F___ the Police" song I alluded to. This is the elephant in the room. If there was an unruly crowd and a quasi riot situation on the train and in the station, it's an undeniable extenuating circumstance.

If Grant was clean, then why did he go out with "da boyzzz" on NYE? He had a kid to take care of.

Are you trying to write a movie script or something??? The cops had no evidence that Grant was the toruble maker? They simply pulled him out of the train based on suspicion and then shot him dead for no reason. Are you just thick or hell-bent on justifying this murder?

[Mr. Fantastic]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

This is a hilarious video but also a sad commentary on the sad state of affairs with the cops:


YouTube - Michael Moore- The Awful Truth

I love Michael.

[18Montclair]

I am appauled at the attitude by the Anarchists(most of whom are probably not even from Oakland) who are behind much of the threats of destruction and vandalism. I remember sitting in a lunch at the Chamber of Commerce where the speaker said that 70% of the retail establishments in Downtown Oakland are owned by women of color! That is something these idiots who want to riot need to take into account.

Why don't they go and set their own homes on fire instead of destroying other people's property.

I don't agree with 90% of what Chip Johnson says, but he is spot on here:
Still, while there will almost surely be some public reaction to the Mehserle verdict on the streets of Oakland, about the only thing more discouraging to some than absolving the former officer of blame and responsibility would be to vent that anger at the struggling city of Oakland and its residents.


Read more: Bracing for the worst in Mehserle verdict

[lmk1707]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

I am appauled at the attitude by the Anarchists(most of whom are probably not even from Oakland) who are behind much of the threats of destruction and vandalism. I remember sitting in a lunch at the Chamber of Commerce where the speaker said that 70% of the retail establishments in Downtown Oakland are owned by women of color! That is something these idiots who want to riot need to take into account.

Why don't they go and set their own homes on fire instead of destroying other people's property.

I don't agree with 90% of what Chip Johnson says, but he is spot on here:
Still, while there will almost surely be some public reaction to the Mehserle verdict on the streets of Oakland, about the only thing more discouraging to some than absolving the former officer of blame and responsibility would be to vent that anger at the struggling city of Oakland and its residents.


Read more: Bracing for the worst in Mehserle verdict

I remember when the Mehserle thing first came out, it turned out it was mostly troublemakers from other areas (primarily SF) coming to Oakland and starting crap, and a lot of the people interviewed seemed to just have an alarming zeal for violence, and weren't particularly concerned with the issue at hand. Last weekend, someone graffiti'd around Lake Merritt some really odd things, and one of them was "BART hates black people." I was extremely skeptical of that being written by someone who was either black or from Oakland, it seemed more like someone was trolling Oakland residents via sidewalk graffiti.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by lmk1707

I remember when the Mehserle thing first came out, it turned out it was mostly troublemakers from other areas (primarily SF) coming to Oakland and starting crap, and a lot of the people interviewed seemed to just have an alarming zeal for violence, and weren't particularly concerned with the issue at hand. Last weekend, someone graffiti'd around Lake Merritt some really odd things, and one of them was "BART hates black people." I was extremely skeptical of that being written by someone who was either black or from Oakland, it seemed more like someone was trolling Oakland residents via sidewalk graffiti.

Its like they think they can get away with it because its Oakland.

I wish the communities in Downtown, around the lake and in other high profile areas of town would meet and plan ways to protect their areas. Maybe put up roadblocks at strategic points and help board up storefronts.

Most of all, I think its important to reach out to the Oaklanders themselves who might be inclined to participate in these antics.

This one rhetoric lady from I think they are called "Justice by Any Means" is quite vitriolic in her commentary on threatening violence and vandalism. Ive seen her on the net a few times and it makes me mad that she can be so coy about damaging the property of innocent people who have nothing to do with this trial at all.