Oaklandside, the online news publication, took a look back the other day at the heinous assassination of the Federal police officer, David Underwood, at the Oakland Federal Building during a George Floyd protest downtown in May, 2020.
What I found interesting was the article’s opening sentence: “On May 29, 2020 the city of Oakland erupted in protests as demonstrators flocked downtown to demand justice for George Floyd and looters ripped through stores across the city.”
In English rhetoric, an oxymoron is“a figure of speech that juxtaposes concepts with opposing meanings…that create an ostensible self-contradiction.” The journalist who wrote that opening sentence probably didn’t intend for it to contain an oxymoron, but it does. The juxtaposed self-contradiction, or oxymoron, in the sentence is the conjoining of the phrases “justice for George Floyd” and “looters.”
In a sane world, how do those words end up in the same sentence?
Look,“Justice for George Floyd” is a virtuous goal. But “looting” is barbarous behavior. Don’t the two seem contradictory? Seeking justice is one of the noblest aspirations of humankind: “Let justice roll on like a river,” thundered the Hebrew prophet Amos. Thomas Jefferson, in his Declaration of Independence, refers to justice no fewer than three times. But looting is a sin: “Thou shalt not steal” is a pillar not only of all three religions of The People of the Book but of basic human courtesy.
Part of the criticism of the Oakland Police Department by those who seek to defund it is that peaceful protests downtown, which occur three or four times a year, can lead to confrontations with cops. Perhaps the most infamous instance of this occurred nearly ten years ago, in October, 2011, when the Iraq war veteran, Scott Olsen, was hit in the head, near City Hall, by a beanbag fired by an OPD officer—an incident for which Olsen later received $4.5 million. (I was there that night and I know what happened.)
Less dramatic have been arrests made by police officers of rioters, often the so-called Black Bloc—caught in flagrante delicto while smashing store windows, looting and setting fires. I doubt that any sensible person would suggest that someone caught breaking into a store and stealing merchandise should not be arrested. But so topsy-turvy have things become in Oakland that some individuals claim such theft is a “revolutionary” act, part of smashing the power structure and redistributing wealth!
Ever since Occupy Oakland days, it’s been the strategy of the Black Bloc to insert themselves into the midst of more numerous peaceful protesters. The Black Bloc knows that police dare not use force against peaceful protesters; the Black Bloc thus can shield their criminal activity from arrest and prosecution. Less morally clear is the role of the peaceful protesters, who must be aware of the presence of the Black Bloc among them. Are the peaceful protesters aiding and abetting the mayhem? Each peaceful protester must answer this in her own heart.
But, to return to the matter of the police: How do those calling for defunding (or “reimagining,” to use their latest parlance) envision protecting the public, and our local businesses, if, in fact, they succeed in cutting OPD’s budget? I have known people who argue that they do not want businesses to come to Oakland, unless they’re small, locally-owned ones, like dispensaries, nail parlors, art galleries or clothing stores. They don’t want Square, or Uber, or PG&E, or Credit Karma, or Intuit, or other large employers in Town—employers that pay good wages with benefits. They argue that the real problem in Oakland isn’t crime, or the increasing insecurity felt by its citizens, but gentrification. And in the name of anti-gentrification, some of them apparently feel that looting is commendable.
I don’t believe that, and I don’t think the majority of Oaklanders believes that. I think the majority wants public safety, and they understand that we can’t have public safety with a denuded police department. Yes, they want police officers to be well-trained, and fair, and to do their jobs respectfully and equitably; and they want bad apples to be weeded out. So do we, at the Coalition. But the majority of Oaklanders does not believe, as Cat Brooks alleges, that OPD “brutalizes children.” The majority does not agree with Carroll Fife, who said,“Those people who go and say, ‘I’m going to go become a cop, and I’m going to change the culture. [I say] Shut the fuck up. No, you’re not.”
How dare anyone impugn the motives of a young person, particularly a person of color, who wants to join the police department! OPD Chief LeRonne Armstrong, a Black man, is an Oakland native. He joined the force, he said, “to make the cultural change needed to increase trust within our community through fair and unbiased treatment of all people.” I believe and respect him. Is Carroll Fife telling Chief Armstrong to “shut the fuck up”? Lord help us…
Steve Heimoff