There were lots of tears and lots of anger at Monday’s big rally at City Hall for Jasper Wu. The tears were for an adorable, 23-month old toddler who was brutally killed when rampaging gangbangers shot up the 880 Freeway. The anger was toward those hoodlums, and toward a system that both encourages and protects them from going to jail—a system that is symbolized by Alameda County’s current District Attorney, Pamela Price.
Scores of people, mainly AAPI, gathered on the Courthouse steps, holding signs that read “2 YOUNG 2 DIE” and “JUSTICE FOR JASPER WU”; many of the signs had a photo of little Jasper dressed in a Superman outfit.
No doubt you know that the Rally was prompted by Price’s insinuation that she’s thinking of reducing charges against the murderers to the minimum allowed by law, as part of her campaign promise to “decarcerate” Black felons. The outrage among the people attending the Rally (sadly but predictably, no one from Oakland government bothered to show up) was palpable. Chants of RECALL PRICE frequently punctuated speeches. This movement has legs, folks. If Price lets these killers off the hook—as I and many other observers believe she will—all hell will break loose.
The speakers included the family members of other AAPI victims of murder. Their stories are heart wrenching. After all the trauma the AAPI community has gone through lately, Jasper’s murder was almost unbearable. The problem is, this isn’t San Francisco; if Jasper had been snatched from us in San Francisco, we could at least take comfort in the fact that a sane District Attorney would prosecute the killers to the fullest extent possible. But no, this is Alameda County, where the big city votes of Oakland and Berkeley launched perhaps the most unhinged, dangerous politician of recent years, Pamela Price, to power. It’s become quite clear that Price considers herself the Avenger for Black criminals. We needn’t lock them up, she avers; we need only to love and embrace them. As for the victims of their crimes, they’re collateral damage. I want also to give a shoutout to Butch Ford, who spoke at the Rally and gave us important information. He’s a 23-year veteran of the Alameda County District Attorney’s office and an Assistant D.A. himself. Price put him on administrative leave—a form of exile--after he dared to criticize her. Butch is an amazing speaker and a dedicated public servant, and he knows the law inside out. You’ll be hearing a lot more from and about him.
Price’s cavalier attitude about Jasper Wu’s murder is contemptible. But I promise you the backlash to Price is mounting like a tsunami following a 9.0 earthquake. The AAPI community is already galvanized. Now, we have to get our message out to the White voters of Alameda County. I say “White voters” because too many of them voted for Pamela Price. They did so out of a sense of guilt. They were driven by their emotions, not by their intellects; and their emotions have been and continue to be manipulated by the wokes. Price, Fife, Kalb, Bas and Kaplan prey on White guilt like vultures on rotting carcasses. It’s turned out pretty well for their careers, but their day is coming to an end.
We have our work cut out for us. We must talk to our liberal White friends and neighbors. Take the time, patiently and compassionately, to explain why Price is so dangerous. They’ll resist listening, at first. They’ll call you a racist. They’ll defend their “progressivism” and try to make you feel like the guilty party. It’s not easy to tell the truth anymore in Oakland and Berkeley. But if you trust your mind and heart, and respect and love yourself, you’ll be just fine. You may even be able to convince your neighbors to sign that Recall Price petition when it comes their way.
Steve Heimoff