There is no book in existence, I believe, that the ordinary citizen can pick up and read to attempt to comprehend or to truly explain what transpired on that fateful night. We will come with the many assumptions that this race related, or the former police officer Mehserle simply discharged his firearm mistakenly when the intention was to fire his TASER.
At first glance, when looking at the video, my first reaction is utter outrage, how can a person, in front of many people pull out their service weapon, discharge it in front of all of those people and essentially murdering a human being in cold blood. In reflection, this is more than utter outrage but rather wanting the same reprisal for former police officer Mehserle; in other words, an eye for an eye. But again, we must look at the facts that transpired before we cast any judgement because it is so simple for us, like myself above, to cast judgment without hearing or listening to the facts. As a minority myself, a Latino American, I should be in solidarity with the community from the Bay Area, but first and foremost, I want to hear the facts first before ANY judgment is cast. We are all entitled to the facts for us to make a intelligent but rational judgment or decision as to the culpability of former police officer Mehserle. Should the Grant family be compensated? Yes, absolutely, without a doubt or question. Should the Attorney Burris benefit from this case should it go to trial? No, he should not; he sounds more to me like an ambulance chaser trying to make a name for himself rather than a lawyer seeking justice for Oscar Grant posthumously. However, I do not know the man, but I base opinion because so suddenly now, he is requesting this trial without knowing or ascertaining the facts.
What is most important in all this is the aftermath and what is taking place, which is the rioting. I can understand that people are angry, and they should be! They ought be to be because this could happen to anyone. However, the fact of the matter is that people are rioting and destroying property that others have worked hard to do. One has to ask, if people are rioting, why are they destroying the very community they live in and destroying the livelihoods of their fellow neighbors? Are we this dumb or stupid to not remember what happened during the LA Riots? What would Martin Luther King, Jr, say if he was alive today seeing his own people destroying their own communities? What would Mahatma Ghandi say seeing all the people using violence as the answer to protest this incident? If you are going to protest Oscar Grant's treatment at the hands of the B.A.R.T. police, than fine, do so, it is your right, and it is your responsibility, as American citizens, to seek truth, to fight injustice every where; this is part of our nations charter. Otherwise, if you are going to destroy property because you angry or "protesting" make sure you do it in your name and not in Oscar Grant's name because you are not only tarnishing the name of the people you say you represent but you are making a mockery of the very privilege and right all Americans are blessed with.
Incredibly sad and horrifically unfortunate. This needs to stop. I did not have the privilege of knowing this man, but R.I.P., Oscar. Hopefully you can find peace in the spiritual realm. And as for that officer... He'll figure it out, he's got all of eternity.
As an African American woman who has lived in and gone to school in Oakland my whole life, I am deeply deeply saddened by the VIOLENT SENSELESS MURDER of Oscar Grant. I am so heartbroken by what happened to him, I even want to go as far as saying that I'm crushed. I can't even write this without crying and I didn't know him either, but I feel like I easily could have. We could have gone to school together, been at the same social events, or even seen each other in passing on of all places the BART train. See to me this feels like it could have been any person that I know. My friend, my brother, my cousin, my husband or even my son, and it's totally unfair because I am sure that he was or could have been all of those things to someone. How horrible is it, that his daughter now has to venture through this world without her father? Black men are already labeled as "deadbeat fathers," so now who do we blame for a little girl having her father violently ripped away from her? I really can't even find the words to express my sorrow, and sympathy to the family of Oscar Grant. But I do want to let them know that I have and will continue to pray them all, and I will also do everything that I can to support the effort in bringing Johannes Mehserle to justice, whether that be filling out petitions, sending emails or attending protests!! Man something has to change, it just has to!!!!
There is no book in existence, I believe, that the ordinary citizen can pick up and read to attempt to comprehend or to truly explain what transpired on that fateful night. We will come with the many assumptions that this race related, or the former police officer Mehserle simply discharged his firearm mistakenly when the intention was to fire his TASER.
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, when looking at the video, my first reaction is utter outrage, how can a person, in front of many people pull out their service weapon, discharge it in front of all of those people and essentially murdering a human being in cold blood. In reflection, this is more than utter outrage but rather wanting the same reprisal for former police officer Mehserle; in other words, an eye for an eye. But again, we must look at the facts that transpired before we cast any judgement because it is so simple for us, like myself above, to cast judgment without hearing or listening to the facts. As a minority myself, a Latino American, I should be in solidarity with the community from the Bay Area, but first and foremost, I want to hear the facts first before ANY judgment is cast. We are all entitled to the facts for us to make a intelligent but rational judgment or decision as to the culpability of former police officer Mehserle. Should the Grant family be compensated? Yes, absolutely, without a doubt or question. Should the Attorney Burris benefit from this case should it go to trial? No, he should not; he sounds more to me like an ambulance chaser trying to make a name for himself rather than a lawyer seeking justice for Oscar Grant posthumously. However, I do not know the man, but I base opinion because so suddenly now, he is requesting this trial without knowing or ascertaining the facts.
What is most important in all this is the aftermath and what is taking place, which is the rioting. I can understand that people are angry, and they should be! They ought be to be because this could happen to anyone. However, the fact of the matter is that people are rioting and destroying property that others have worked hard to do. One has to ask, if people are rioting, why are they destroying the very community they live in and destroying the livelihoods of their fellow neighbors? Are we this dumb or stupid to not remember what happened during the LA Riots? What would Martin Luther King, Jr, say if he was alive today seeing his own people destroying their own communities? What would Mahatma Ghandi say seeing all the people using violence as the answer to protest this incident? If you are going to protest Oscar Grant's treatment at the hands of the B.A.R.T. police, than fine, do so, it is your right, and it is your responsibility, as American citizens, to seek truth, to fight injustice every where; this is part of our nations charter. Otherwise, if you are going to destroy property because you angry or "protesting" make sure you do it in your name and not in Oscar Grant's name because you are not only tarnishing the name of the people you say you represent but you are making a mockery of the very privilege and right all Americans are blessed with.
what a sad incident. it really bothers me. why have we yet to get over racism. it is 2009, and it started with blatant racism. disgraceful.
ReplyDeleteIncredibly sad and horrifically unfortunate. This needs to stop. I did not have the privilege of knowing this man, but R.I.P., Oscar. Hopefully you can find peace in the spiritual realm. And as for that officer... He'll figure it out, he's got all of eternity.
ReplyDeleteAs an African American woman who has lived in and gone to school in Oakland my whole life, I am deeply deeply saddened by the VIOLENT SENSELESS MURDER of Oscar Grant. I am so heartbroken by what happened to him, I even want to go as far as saying that I'm crushed. I can't even write this without crying and I didn't know him either, but I feel like I easily could have. We could have gone to school together, been at the same social events, or even seen each other in passing on of all places the BART train. See to me this feels like it could have been any person that I know. My friend, my brother, my cousin, my husband or even my son, and it's totally unfair because I am sure that he was or could have been all of those things to someone. How horrible is it, that his daughter now has to venture through this world without her father? Black men are already labeled as "deadbeat fathers," so now who do we blame for a little girl having her father violently ripped away from her? I really can't even find the words to express my sorrow, and sympathy to the family of Oscar Grant. But I do want to let them know that I have and will continue to pray them all, and I will also do everything that I can to support the effort in bringing Johannes Mehserle to justice, whether that be filling out petitions, sending emails or attending protests!! Man something has to change, it just has to!!!!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI have a post on this incident "Confronting Legalized Murder By The Boys In Blue".
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa