Urgent Meeting @ Oakland Uhuru House: Stop the Billion Dollar War on the African Community

This is the result of the militarization of society. What do you expect? It is not acceptable. Treating East Oakland, I mean occupying it, is not the answer. How many more lives (on both sides?) will be lost due to racism, and economic ghettoization (my word.) It is war, no different than what Palestinians experience. This is class war. To the cops, do you really want to be an occupying army?

ALL POLICE DEPARTMENTS MUST BE BANNED. They do not fight crime and are incapable of fighting crime as the cause of crime is not the lack of police. They are the armed thugs of the capitalist class whose SOLE PURPOSE is to terrorize the workingclass so as to keep wages down and profits up. WE ALSO WANT JAILS ABOLISHED. We are not paying for the existence of cops sitting in jail. For those who commit serious crimes, WE WANT REHABILITIATION so they can be well paid members of the labor force as soon as possible. OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE NOT FOR JAILS, POLICE OR THE DEATH PENALTY, ALL OF WHICH MUST BE ABOLISHED.

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Hi "I agree"!

What do you propose we do to protect all of the victims of rape, burglary, and random violence - crimes committed by the residents of East Oakland? Even if I respect your desire to rehabilitate, what will we do to protect the innocent from these criminals in the mean time?

So let me try to understand this...if I go out and shoot 4 cops, killing 3, I'd get an Uhuru meeting in support of me? Are you people completely delusional? How can you ever expect to gain support for your bizarre political cult if you stage rallies in support of violent sociopaths armed with assault weapons who go around murdering other human beings? Whatever. I will discourage everyone I know from buying your pies, shopping at your store, and giving you another dime for your delusional organization. You are wasting your lives supporting people who are wasting theirs.

It is class warfare now. The system is using the cops. Isn't it obvious? To this system, it doesn't matter if lives are lost. It doesn't work. You can't fight poverty with cops.

your knee-jerk, i love the police bs...
I have no affiliation with Uhuru, nor do I care for one, yet the issue is bigger than one Lovelle Mixon, this is about a broader issue of the police serving as an occupying force in African, brown and other poor communities in the service of capital. We must not lose sight of the fact that "routine traffic stops" more often than not are about harassing and trying to find other shit on our young folks whether they have anything or not, that such police behavior goes on unchallenged and is accepted as "routine" is in fact a big ass problem, and in that regard I applaud Uhuru for there work.

"Lovelle Mixon is a victim of the policy of police containment and economic embargo of our African community."?!

The freak, already on parole for assault with a deadly weapon, pulls out another deadly weapon and shoots five humans...and he's the victim?

...I'll never buy another slice of yam pie from your tables for the rest of my life.

once again the uhuru cult tries to insert it's insane political agenda into the murder of three cops.

Indybay should ban these clowns from posting here.

Protection? Do the people who live in Oakland feel protected by police?
Is an identification that extends beyond American borders really threatening?
Is economic self-determination a problem? It is in East Oakland. Hands off the people who are trying to better themselves. Uhuru! Empowerment should not be threatening to anyone with humanity.

the only culture in america is social and racial sexual hierarchies. and yu work like heck or get sick. then harassed by racists xenophobes,THEN you grt harassed or worse by police

I love the rhetorical backflips involved in turning a vicious crime into a trivial detail in a larger ideological problem. Guess what, the ideological problem IS the violence, and groups like Uhuru who will go to any length to excuse it. As far as I can tell, Uhuru does not believe crime exists in Oakland, unless it's committed by the police. Murder does not exist, unless it's committed by the police. The police are the only guilty parties in Oakland. The other 100+ killings in the past year are a trivial footnote in the larger struggle. Which only makes sense if (a) you are a member of a political cult of personality (b) you ignore all evidence that does not fit into your rigid ideology - you know, the one fed to you by the founder of your cult and (c) you have never had to go face to face with a deranged sociopath with an assault rifle. Oh sorry, I meant revolutionary with an assault rifle.

You're missing the point here. Consider this quote:

"Following the shootings of the first two officers, hundreds of police, sheriff, highway patrol and helicopters terrorized the entire community around 74th and MacArthur."

I'm not a member of Uhuru, and I share a lot of the same concerns you have about them. HOWEVER...

Look, the police terrorize poor people - *all* poor people. Since a disproportionate number of people who are poor are black or brown, it's a black and brown issue. That's one.

Two, the black community is not some monolithic entity. Uhuru speaks for Uhuru, and last time I looked, they have a right to do so. Do I disagree with a lot of what they represent, as an organization? Sure. But I'll fight to the death for their right to do so. It's called democracy; you use it - and respect it - or you lose it. Further, they can be wrong about some things, even many things - and right about others. Same with RCP, same with ANSWER, and so on. Thinking that a group who you have issues with somehow is wrong about everything is an essential fallacy in logic.

If you want a source for the origins of the militarized police state that may be more to your liking, I suggest you look up the film "Urban Warrior".

By the by - if this is just some trolling that you happen to be doing on Sunday because you're bored, it'll become clear soon enough. If not, welcome to the fray.

"... in support of violent sociopaths armed with assault weapons who go around murdering other human beings?"

And how does this description not fit many police and their interactions with the community again?

you can always smell a reactionary america,they actually have a rotting odor!

Look, I live in Oakland and am very sympathetic to the goals of economic development in my impoverished community. I also see a 100+ murder body count that the progressive community seems content to ignore. I see a kid shot at his piano lesson that apparently is not a big deal on sites like this one. I see the most Orwellian excuses made for incredible violence and the people who perpetrate it. In no way am I here to idealize the police and excuse their excesses. But I do find it bizarre that the killing of 4 people by someone who deserves very little of your sympathy becomes an occasion for excuses and apologetics and "but cops are bad too" finger pointing. You can't post articles like this and expect anyone but the choir you're preaching to to cheer you on. I was once willing to listen. But why should I if this is the best you've got?

Time to put an end to this. Power to the people!

now that we know racists are styill making excuses for killer coops,i must say good riddance cops who died,you work for people whon seriously injured a minority and you werent punished

"not trolling, just angry"

I'm glad that you're willing to have a dialogue - I'm angry as well, but I save my anger for what's wrong with the system, of which the police are just the tip of the iceberg. Keeping that in mind, here are a few more questions:

Who benefits from the police?
Who brought the drugs into the neighborhoods?
Why is there always more money for more police, and for more guns for those police - but when it comes to jobs training, the money can't be found?
Why is it that whenever there is an attempt to "clean up the neighborhood," it usually translates into higher rents and more displacement?
Where do people go when they get displaced?
If the paramilitarized approach works, then why are things the way they are?
If the government rewards those who risk the ultimate sacrifice, then what about veterans?
If the purpose of war is to promote peace, then why not just fund peace?

>Who benefits from the police?

People who don't commit crimes. Small business owners who are shot at and robbed. Every friend of mine ever beaten or mugged in lovely oakland. I've had friends dragged from their cars and beaten and robbed (as well as ones who can't afford cars). Maybe that is why there needs to be police.

Obviously the community isn't going to do anything about the violence. Snitching is wrong afterall. If the communities in Oakland with these problems don't act appropriately than the only solution is more police.
There are plenty of poor people in the world who do not rob steal and murder.

So often a murder happens and there are witnesses all around, but not a single person speaks up. Unless people start speaking up, nothing will change.

> Who brought the drugs into the neighborhoods?

Do you seriously think cops did? Or do you think the CIA did? Are these the same people who created AIDS to kill off gay people?
Who sells the drugs in your neighborhood? Is it a cop? Is it some white collar business man? Is it a social worker?
Stop pointing fingers and do something.
If some kid sells drugs, you don't blame cops, you blame the kid, and probably his parents. There are plenty of kids who don't sell drugs. (i suppose i'm using 'kids' figuratively, as not all drug dealers are "kids".)

>Why is there always more money for more police, and for more guns for those police - but when it comes to jobs training, the >money can't be found?

There are job training programs. More often than not, they are not used to their full potential. Just like the california state health programs were never used to their full potential (i remember a few years back only 30% or so of eligible residents had signed up for the state health program).
Or better yet, as a community, get some volunteers together and start a job training program. Get some small business owners, have them run some sort of after school program for some local poor kids. Don't just whine about how the government isn't holding your hand.

>Why is it that whenever there is an attempt to "clean up the neighborhood," it usually translates into higher rents and more >displacement?

unfortunately this is just a fact of capitalism. Also, there is rent control in oakland. (i realize some people still get kicked out, but often their are ways to fight this) And there are poor neighborhoods that aren't full of loiterers and trash. Maybe instead of cable TV someone can buy a broom and a paintbrush, or a book for their kid instead of an xbox.


>Where do people go when they get displaced?
Well obviously they go do some pcp, rob a liquor store and then shoot some evil cops.


>If the paramilitarized approach works, then why are things the way they are?

if it truly were 'paramilitarized' then i don't think there would be ~100 murders every year.
I'd love to see what that rate would be if their were no police.


>If the government rewards those who risk the ultimate sacrifice, then what about veterans?

what?

>If the purpose of war is to promote peace, then why not just fund peace?

not sure what this has to do with previous discussions.

good shallow and obvious answers for all the questions... the solution you seem to offer is: this is the way things are, they won't change, deal with it" am I right or do you have a deeper point that I'm missing?

Lord knows that African Americans have suffered more than anyone besides the Native Americans. But coming up with wild conspiracy stories and pointing fingers ARE NOT going to raise your people up. Respecting authority, embracing education, and policing your own community will.

By $: ALL POLICE DEPARTMENTS MUST BE BANNED. They do not fight crime and are incapable of fighting crime as the cause of crime is not the lack of police. They are the armed thugs of the capitalist class whose SOLE PURPOSE is to terrorize the workingclass so as to keep wages down and profits up. WE ALSO WANT JAILS ABOLISHED. We are not paying for the existence of cops sitting in jail. For those who commit serious crimes, WE WANT REHABILITIATION so they can be well paid members of the labor force as soon as possible. OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE NOT FOR JAILS, POLICE OR THE DEATH PENALTY, ALL OF WHICH MUST BE ABOLISHED

9th grade civics project???????

I see this bumper sticker, but could you elaborate on what it means to "fund peace"? Beyond just sound bytes and slogans.

Taken a face value I see 4 dead police and 1 dead convicted felon who apparently was a rapist as well. I'd be interested to hear how "funding peace" will help keep people from doing evil deeds. As far as I can tell there are some people in the world who are just wired wrong. Probably a combination of nature and nurture, but they end up doing bad things. There needs to be some way to deal with them.

So now it turns out that your "martyr" raped a 12 year old. Nice. Is that the type of human you want to celebrate?

He's a rapist because the cops said so? Oh, then I suppose the killer of Oscar Grant is innocent because he says so. Don't people get it? The convenient new rape claims are coming from the cops. That means the claims are absolutely meaningless and unreliable and from an untrustworthy source. Think about it please.

The postings here are heartbreaking to me. I am a black ex OPD officer who grew up off International. After six years on the force I took my family and moved to St. Paul-where I am also employed as an officer. The statements and sentiments posted here are largely why I left my hometown. Oakland is an anarchistic wasteland. When crimes go unsolved it's because the police/society/the middle class/capitalists don't care. Any attempt to slove crimes however = "brutality." Our communites are populated with good and civic minded people who are rightfully proud of their city and their heritage. However, the good people in our community are largely too terrifed by thugs to do a damn thing about the decay around them. Pandering to absurd allegations of capitialist exlploitation does not help this situation-it is the domain of the middle class college student and the parasites from our own communities who dont contribute and professionaly trade in exploitaion.

This shooter was an animal-he became one the minute he put his finger on that trigger-as surely as any unjustifed officer shooting is animalistic.

For what it's worth, ever since moving to St. Paul and joining the force I have not been shot at, referred to in vile racial epithets, called an Uncle Tom, had my home robbed, or my building vandalized.

For all the apologists out there-how many "after school programs" and "interventions" does one need before they realize that killing four human beings and being serial rapist is wrong?