I try to post something every day, as you know, even though there’s not always “news” to report. But every day, I try to inspire readers, to give them hope in our fight, to validate their courage in resisting the current, evil system that governs us, to reassure them that they’re not alone, but are part of a much larger movement that desires to overthrow the broken woke ideology that runs this town.
It’s easy to feel hopeful on the heels of a huge political victory. But we haven’t had many victories for years; maintaining hope even in this era of Thao, Fife, Bas and Price is hard. I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes it feels impossible. “Progressive” thinking is so endemic in Oakland that it can seem unrealistic, even self-flagellatory, to imagine unseating these people and replacing them with sane leaders. It almost feels, living in Oakland, like we’re in Afghanistan, crushed by a despotic Taliban regime that has seized total control and will allow no deviation from the official line.
On the other hand, our movement is gaining traction—no doubt about it, and the proof of that is the discomfort, anxiety and stress felt by our opponents. That they’re feeling the heat is obvious, from their tweets and public comments. Pamela Price is well aware that trouble for her is brewing. Carroll Fife complains about her critics all the time. Cat Brooks is doubling down on her attacks on cops (including, weirdly, the Atlanta Police Department), but if you read between her lines you can discern her being worried about the backlash she engenders. So let’s not forget that, in our sometimes weary opposition, the other side, too, feels beleaguered.
We can keep them on the defensive by continuing our attacks. Lord knows, the wokes give us plenty of ammunition to hit them with. The more they enable crime—and that is their primary occupation—the more they expose themselves to ridicule and opprobrium. It must be hard to be woke these days. They look out upon the world and perceive how loathed they are. They’d rather be loved, of course, but they’re not; and the only way they can rationalize the contempt people have for them, is to vow not to let it stop them. This is what Nikki Bas does every day: make declarations of “I’ll never stop fighting for the people.” What does that even mean? Fighting to defund the Oakland Police Department. Fighting to prevent cops from protecting us. Fighting to coddle criminals, fighting to empty the jails, fighting to support sleazy, crooked labor unions, fighting to keep Oakland poor, fighting to defend encampments, and pretending to care about crime when, in fact, through her past actions she has enabled it. When Bas tweets, following yet another shooting of a child, “The level of violence impacting our babies & families is not acceptable,” it’s hard to know whether to laugh or throw up. If she were really concerned about that violence, she would not have worked so hard, for so long, and with such rage, to emasculate the Oakland Police Department.
Well, I guess I just wrote another “encouragement” post. It’s become very important to me to encourage our members to keep on keeping on. I feel the hope within my breast, and I don’t think I’m fooling myself. How can we measure progress going forward? It won’t be easy. There isn’t an election looming. But commitment means keeping our eyes on the prize, and moving toward our goal with the ineluctable insistence of righteousness. We know we’re right, even if so many people around us are whack. That’s why we, the Coalition for a Better Oakland, do what we do. Thank you for staying with us on this long journey—and forgive me if I come across a little preachy sometimes.
Steve Heimoff