Protests over BART shooting turn violent
(01-08) 00:17 PST Oakland --
A protest over the fatal shooting by a BART police officer of an unarmed man mushroomed into several hours of violence Wednesday night as demonstrators smashed storefronts and cars, set several cars ablaze and blocked streets in downtown Oakland.
The roving mob expressed fury at police and frustration over society's racial injustice. Yet the demonstrators were often indiscriminate, frequently targeting the businesses and prized possessions of people of color.
They smashed a hair salon, a pharmacy and several restaurants. Police in riot gear tried to control the crowd, but some people retreated along 14th Street and bashed cars along the way.
The mob smashed the windows at Creative African Braids on 14th Street, and a woman walked out of the shop holding a baby in her arms.
"This is our business," shouted Leemu Topka, the black owner of the salon she started four years ago. "This is our shop. This is what you call a protest?"
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"I feel like the night is going great," said Nia Sykes, 24, of San Francisco, one of the demonstrators. "I feel like Oakland should make some noise. This is how we need to fight back. It's for the murder of a black male."
Sykes, who is black, had little sympathy for the owner of Creative African Braids. "She should be glad she just lost her business and not her life," Sykes said.
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The core group of the mob appeared to be about 40 people, several of whom were with Revolution Books, a Berkeley bookstore. A man distributed the "Revolution" newspaper - whose tagline is "voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, U.S.A." - as he shouted "This whole damn system is guilty!"
Surely the Office of the President Elect will step in with free cheese and calm his brothers and sisters.
10 comments:
Immediately after his inauguration, Obama will balance the budget, revive the economy, solve the real estate problem, pay off our mortgages, pay off our car loans, solve the auto industry problem, solve our gas/alternative energy problem, stop the fires and mudslides in California, ban hurricanes and tornadoes, stop identity theft, reverse global warming, find Osama, solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, get rid of corruption in government and achieve world peace. Then on the 7th day, He will rest.
you can take the bunny out of the jungle, but....
Anon,
that's just wrong!
I semi-understand rioting. It's an overt act by people under pressure.
What I don't understand is burning down BUSINESSES because the cops killed somebody. Mad at the cops? Burn down the cop shop stupid you twits.
Good comment O'Bugelly one.
Once my cousin Barry takes office everything will alright! The sun will shine, the birds will sing, the Cubs will win the World Series.
Horshack:
You forgot that the arabs and muslims will renounce terrorism and the world will live in peace.
srk,
You're right I did forget that! Thanks for reminding me!
Everybody join hands! "KUM BY YA MY LORD KUM BY YA"
Cum bayou ????
any mouse said...
Cum bayou ????
You say tomato and I say...
Well, I say tomato too. You get my drift.
40 people is a riot? These fools have never seen a "real" riot! It's quite clear these anarchists were simply waiting for a spark to "justify" their actions. Funny how they never try this in one of their beloved communist countries, where all they'd get is a brick wall and a blind fold.
In NYC, this would've simply been 40 people to the nearest hospital with blunt force head trauma. But this is Mexifornia, where even the cops have been PC'ized, so in the end, it'll be the cops who get punished, and of course, sued. ($$$)
I watched a quick, grainy video of the shooting incident in question, and have come to the conclusion that it was an accidental discharge of the weapon.
The guy was fighting a little bit, but he was under control and the whole mess didn't amount to anything more than a scuffle, with three cops sitting on the guy, more or less, when he was shot. Bystanders report hearing the police officer say "oops" when the gun went off.
THe fact that this happened in front of a mob of folks makes me think it was nothing more than a horrible accident. If that is found to be the case, I cannot advocate the criminal punishment of the officer, but I can say that I'm pretty sure he either needs to be reassigned to a desk job or fired. YOu don't get to accidentally pop someone and walk away clean.
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