Loading ...Racism & The Murder of Oscar Grant III
ByLike many of the readers here (h/t: Victor, Ilish), I’ve been following the news of the shooting death of Oscar Grant, III (photo from Facebook) in Oakland, California by a transit cop. 
At the time of the shooting, Grant was unarmed, on the ground, his hands were hand-cuffed behind him. Grant was employed as a butcher at Farmer Joe’s Marketplace in Oakland, had a young daughter, Tatiana, age 4. Several people at the BART train station recorded the incident on their mobile phones, and witnesses reported that Grant begged officers not to shoot him, telling them he had a young daughter.
The BART cop who shot him, Johannes Mehserle, has since resigned his position, thus avoiding internal affairs investigators. And, lawyers have filed a $25 million lawsuit against the transit authority on behalf of Grant’s family.
As Grant was laid to rest today, protestors gathered at the Fruitvale BART station where he was killed to demand justice (update: the protest prompts The New York Times to take notice).
While officials at BART are suggesting that the shooting was an “accident” in which Mehserle mistook his gun for his taser, the videos taken at the scene suggest otherwise. The BART cops move Grant from a seated (and hand-cuffed) position, place him on the ground face down, and then Mehserle reaches for his gun and shoots Grant in the back. It is not hyperbole to call this an execution. Clearly, this is an example of excessive force, and it is a nothing less than a racist murder. And, racists are lining up to defend Mehserle’s actions. For example, Michael Crook joined the Facebook group “Justice for Oscar Grant,” then started a discussion thread called “Quit Whining,” in which he writes:
“This was a justified shooting, and even if the officer was in error, another ape is off the streets. … This is just another family of black monkeys wanting a payday.”
I suppose the good news is that the other members of that Facebook group called out Crook for his racism. At this point, no one knows whether or not Mehserle held these kinds of overtly racist views. And, to some extent it’s beside the point. Whatever Mehserle’s individual level of racism, Grant is still dead because of racism. The racist idea expressed by Crook that some lives are less valuable than others is one that pervades our institutions, particularly criminal justice institutions, and operates without individual racists. Institutional racism assures that some people, particuarly young black men, are continually viewed as suspects and are perpetually vulnerable to assault by police.
As I mentioned, there are multiple videos of this shooting taken by concerned passers-by. This may persuade some that there is incontrovertible evidence of this outrageous, criminal act. But, the institutionalized racism that creates black men as ontological suspects has already started denying the reality of this mobile phone video evidence. In one report, there’s mention that Grant possibly had a criminal record; in another, a BART spokesman calls the video evidence is “inconclusive”; and, reports are painting Mehserle as sympathetic for a variety of reasons, including the fact that he is getting death threats. For observers of racial politics in the U.S., this should all sound eerily similar to the kinds of strategies used in the trial of the LAPD cops accused of beating Rodney King. As you may recall, even though there was clear, stomach-turning video of those officers brutally beating and tasering the unarmed King, defense lawyers for the cops successfully portrayed King as a “monster” and a “thug” and cast the officers as “victims” who felt threatened by him. All the officers were acquitted of beating King, and if past is prologue, I expect Mehserle to walk without criminal prosecution.
The sort of citizen journalism and activism of cop-watch style actions are promising for addressing brutal acts such as the racist murder of Oscar Grant. Yet, the lessons of racism in the recent past are that these are important, but not sufficient in and of themselves to bring about justice. For that, we must work much harder. Take action.
Here is a GREAT but disturbing example of how easy is it to illustrate how people can more easily shoot/kill/execute people of color:
Asked to make split-second decisions about whether black or white male figures in a video game were holding guns, people were more likely to conclude mistakenly that the black men were armed and to shoot them, a series of new studies reports.
“The subjects in the studies, who were instructed to shoot only when the human targets in the game were armed, made more errors when confronted by images of black men carrying objects like cellphones or cameras than when faced with similarly unarmed white men. The participants, who in all but one study were primarily white, were also quicker to fire on black men with guns than on white men with guns. ”
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E5DE163AF933A25751C1A9649C8B63
Having shot guns before and carried a concealed taser for quite some time, I am not really sure what kind of taser he had to be able to make this mistake.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
And, to address the points by Marcos and others above, white Americans still perceive black Americans to be less human and more “apelike” which has dire consequences for persons of color who are profiled, brutalized, or executed by the police and others.
“In addition, the findings show that society is more likely to condone violence against black criminal suspects as a result of its broader inability to accept African Americans as fully human, according to the researchers.”
An empirical article for you all:
http://news-service.stanford.edu/pr/2008/pr-eber-021308.html
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
people write what they write. it takes people with brains to decipher what to think for themselves. Dr. Fitzgerald is writing opinion and nothing else. do black people like white people in general? ask yourselves the question. i would say that the majority opinion is “no”.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
when is the last time a study was done to see what the percentages were for racism the other way around? black vs. white. my guess is there haven’t been any.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Oscar Grants family has already started a lawsuit against Bart PD for $25,000,000.00 They have filed this lawsuit before any criminal charges have been filed. It seems to me that they care more about a payday then whether or not justice is served. If someone shot my son you better believe I would be camping outside the district attorney’s office until chrages were filed. To me this shows their character.
Now as to the character of Oscar Grant. He was out partying on New Years Eve with his buddies. Maybe he did or didn’t start trouble on Bart. Maybe it was someone he was with. But the officers pulled him and his friends along with other people off the train for a reason. Now if the cops suspect you are guilty of something and you agitate them while they have you in custody how smart is that? I have been in handcuffs a few times and I just shut my mouth and did what I was told whether or not I did anything wrong. Guess what I never got stepped or stomped on or even tased. So I am going to make the logical assumption and say that he was up to no good and he was mouthing off to the cops to get the treatment he was getting. Be real if you think Grant was an innocent bystander you are stupid.
Now what the Cop did was nothing short of stupid. I do not think the officer that shot Grant was trying to tase Grant. I believe he had his weapon drawn intentionally. I just think he was nervous and accidently pulled the trigger. He should lose his badge. He is an example of a cop who shouldnt have been a cop. But I don’t think race had anything to do with it. Now the question is do we punish for the sake of punishment and send the officer to jail for a decade for a mistake and punish his newborn child the way that Oscar Grants daughter is being punished? To grow up without a father figure? I think not. I think Oscar Grant’s family will be provided for with the money they receive in the settlement. His daughter will go to the best schools and live a happy life.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Victor and others who commented on my post,
I did not say Rodney King was on PCP – I didn’t even mention him, you are confusing me with another poster. What I was trying to do was highlight that institutional racism is only part of the context of the event – it wasn’t the ONLY contributor to the context. I’m not suggesting it excuses the shooting by any means. I also should clarify that I understand that racism operates in society in many ways. Separately, it appears that many who have posted on this site don’t know much about the use of force rules cops operate under. They can indeed use a Taser to subdue a subject – even if they have him pinned down already if he is resisting, in fact in some police departments, they can do it even if the subject is handcuffed. They are not required to “fight fair” and risk personal injury to themselves or others by wrestling with an uncooperative subject. Also, when a police officer orders you to do something or places you under arrest, you are required by law to comply, you do not have a legal right to resist.
Since my original post, I saw an interview of a friend of Grant’s who was at the shooting, taped the following morning while Grant was still alive. He claimed that the cop said repeatedly after he shot Grant , “oh my god, oh my god, oh shit” and that it was clear to him that he didn’t mean to shoot Grant. This lends credence to the theory that Mehserle thought he was drawing his Taser, which he was wearing on the same side as his pistol. The scenario of Mehserle confusing his pistol and Taser seems to fit the circumstances. As dissatisfying as this might be to the folks who want to turn this into a racist “execution”, I think it’s likely this will emerge as the explanation.
Then the question becomes, what kind of crime is it? Criminally negligent homicide? Manslaughter? I have know idea – I’ve never heard of something like this before.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
And Glenn, what do men say when they climax? “Oh god, oh god, oh shit” People are supposed to have constitutional rights that protect them from abuses committed by the government and authorities. It was a racist execution—plain and simple. And for all of you who are so concerned about his prior “criminal” history—you all have your own, you just didn’t get caught. If you did, you likely had private defense coupled with the uses of “privileged discretion” by the legal authorities being on your side…. And on the West Coast, there is nothing particularly unusual with being out at 2:00 a.m. especially on New Years…. And even if he were intoxicated or under the influence of anything for that matter, he wasn’t driving—he was taking public transit as he should have. For those of you defending the cop, guard that white privilege with all your might…enjoy your grandeur illusions of walking on water…and I say truly from the bottom of my heart—fuck your Neo-Nazi orgy you’ve got going on here—if you’re all college educated? It only re-confirms my fears of the overwhelmingly majority of the supposed “highly educated” in this nation….
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
im tired of the “white” and “black” crap….t was a shooting but it looks like the police were taunted. looks like he shot them double birds. racisim? my people were cut down long before “black” folks. NATIVE AMERICAN! this is a case of excessive force, anger, poor judgement and just wrong. we cant say its racism as we DO NOT KNOW THE MOTIVES!!! should the officer be interrogated? absolutely! arrested? what does the law say? if it was a “white” or “black” thing…..was the cop truly white anyway?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
If there is one great thing about the information age, it is that people have cell phones with video cameras and then the internet to make sure we can all start finally standing together and say, “No MORE!”
Good post.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Dear Victor, the sociologist want-a-be,
It is not impossible for the cops to not know about his past for a few reasons. First, police remember faces, second, the article said that the officers were there on a drug bust. Also, I find it odd that the mother said she had to hear of her sons death on the five o’clock news, but somehow her family was able to report to CNN, the actions of the officers in the shooting. Also of note to everyone, it is not impossible for him to shoot at the police as he runs away; most likely what really happened. As far as blacks being a minority and not having privileges, I have seen too many get full rides at my college based solely on their skin pigmentation and I am tired of it. If you really understood anything about psychology and sociology, you would know that as long as blacks are still six times more likely to be imprisoned than whites, they will be at least five times more likely to be shot by the police. I hope you really aren’t a sociologist, as you would be a disgrace to the profession.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
If this shooting is not a case of conscious or unconscious, intentional or unintentional RACISM will somebody please explain to me why there are virtually no incidents of black or non-white police officers shooting unarmed white men? On the other hand, white men have been shooting, maiming, killing unarmed black men (and women) since the forerunners of today’s police force began in America employing organized groups of “white” men as African slave patrollers. Some things just don’t change!
And, I contend that black people CANNOT be “racist”… (..reactionary? yes. ..racist? no.) that would be on par with a 5 year old child being called a “pedophile” because some twisted adult had did this evil thing.
Racism is still racism (White-Supremacy) whether it is intentional or not.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
JD,
First, the top sociologists studying criminal convictions and incarceration rates tend to argue that differential rates between whites and blacks are actually based more on the fact the criminal justices system is racist rather than differential rates of crime. The majority of people in prison are there for drug charges, and according to the Center for Disease Control, “white high school students are seven times more likely to have used cocaine, eight times more likely to have smoked crack, ten times more likely to have used LSD, and seven times more likely to have smoked heroine.”
Further, white youth are 34% more likely to have sold drugs than their black counterparts. They are also twice as likely to binge drink, and nearly twice as likely to drive drunk. White males are also twice as likely to bring a weapon to school than black males. The research also shows that for committing the exact same crime, blacks are more likely to receive longer and harsher prison sentences. In fact, the leading researchers on incarceration have characterized the current system as almost form of modern slavery (Wacquant) but at least a violation of the basic citizenship rights of black Americans. Given the fact that whites are more likely to commit the types of crimes that you are supposing, without evidence, that Grant was a party to why aren’t unarmed white men being shot in the streets?
Second, as I stated in my original post white women are the primary historical beneficiaries of affirmative action. Any debate on preferential treatment in academic admissions or scholarship opportunities that does not take this into account is simply being intellectually dishonest. Before we could assess, as you claim that many blacks at your school are there undeservingly, we would need systematic evidence of your school’s admission policies and their present and historical affirmative action policies. Usually, when white assert this kind of thing, it is simply prejudice and anecdote.
As for “police remember faces” this is a silly defense. Most of the research on inter-racial faces recognition shows that people have a bias for remembering faces of the same race, so it is unlikely both statistically and empirically that this particular cop had encountered Grant before. Further, even if the cop had encountered Grant before, how does that in anyway justify the use of excessive deadly force?
As for being a disgrace to sociology, there is a white supremacist history in the discipline that I hope to be a disgrace to, so thanks.
I hope to follow in the tradition of sociologists like W.E.B. Du Bois and social theorists like Frantz Fanon, who had no problem pointing out the centrality of racism in the structuring of society.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Victor, good crime data, thanks. Can you put a url or two to those data in a brief additional comment. I have not seen those high rates for whites. I knew they were higher, but not that much higher. Wow!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Hi Joe. These rates are from a Tim Wise article here.
http://www.lipmagazine.org/~timwise/schoolshootings.html
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Dear Victor,
Again, if you had really done any research in your life, you would know the levels of evidence. Since you dont seem to understand this, I will put it in plain English for you. Some random article posted by some random person, your “evidence,” is the lowest level of evidence, whereas my sources from the US Dept. of Justice, actually are level I or II, depending on your method used. EIther way, they are actually relevant, whereas your “evidence” is crap. You cant just pick and choose articles to justify your concerns, rather, you pick a large alalysis of multiple studies, like the DOJ, to draw the most probable results. As long as the DOJ stats hold true, as they will becuase the black population is increasing, whites will continue to have the same views as they do now. Also, the cops may not have known the man prior, however, MOST LIKELY, they reviewed his case before trying to make the bust. Thats why there were so many cops there. You should thank those cops too: they get paid next to nothing for risking their life everyday all to protect ignorant people like you from themselves.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I appreciate Victor’s response. It holds very true to what I’ve seen in my lifetime…. But jd, you just made yourself look like a serious ass as any fine scholar or person understands the serious limitations and flaws of DOJ reports…any type of research for that matter.
So far as I know, there was no drug bust or drug related problems either–so why don’t you stop on the racist stereotyping and perhaps stop watching C.O.P.S…. And to my understanding he was not armed in any way. But even in full blown drug and other raids where officers do draw their weapons, but people aren’t usually shot–probable cause or not…I put that last clause in there because many raids are unconstitutional and the folks are guilty until proven innocent despite supposed constitutional protections.
I’m thinking of a situation where a man (white) was a direct threat and was armed. He said he was going to kill somebody and some children. During the time of this threat, the police pounded on his door, he threw his loaded gun out his back porch and the cops pounded the door in. The police report states that the officer told him to freeze or he would shoot. The man took steps towards the officer who made the command and the officer yelled out the command once more. At that point the man stopped and put his arms in the air. Then he was arrested by the officers and taken into custody. No stun guns, no pepper spray, etc., even used. And obviously, no deadly weapons fired off.
Yes, there are some outstanding officers out there who are there to serve, protect, and do good, who must be commended. But there are some bad ones too and much corruption. It’s always been that way–uphold a white supremacist structure with use of domestic terrorism. jd, you and people like yourself are the real threat to this society–why don’t you lay off of Victor? You were probably the asshole high school bully too? Go take your Prozac now…and stay in your white denial and live in your psychologically warped world of what Hernan and Vera call “sincere fictions” of whiteness….
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
sorry–Vera and Gordon….
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I am a BART rider. I have on several occasions witnessed BART police treating black young men disrespectfully in stations and trains. I have complained to BART many times but of course got no response. I am not African-American by the way. I was born in the Bay Area and have lived here all my life.
Even though BART Board of Directors continue to support their police department as professional and responsible, that is not my experience. Officers are arrogant, authoritarian and cruel. They treat the public as the enemy, not as equal citizens. The BART police force in general is abusive to the public both in demeanor and behavior. Police abuse can only last so long before citizens become hateful and angry about this.
It was quite evident from the videos taken of Oscar Grant’s death that citizens were disgusted and angered by BART police behavior. For most people it was beyond belief but at the same time made us aware that this behavior by police is extremely common, although doesn’t result in the death of a citizen.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
JD
Tim Wise is hardly a random person. He is one of the leading anti-racist scholar-activists in the country. His work is widely praised by people in the field, and I was sure that Prof. Feagin would know who he was, since Dr. Feagin blurbed his newest book. Forgive me for assuming the readers of this blog would be aware of his higly regarded work. Secondly, If you actually read the article you see that the section I quoted was not from Mr. Wise, but rather from the Center for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/index.htm) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/).
Both of these centers conduct nationally representative statistical samples and a huge body of research is published based on their data. So, this is in your words “level I or II” evidence, and I would argue potentially less biased than stats collected by the DOJ, since the DOJ has a vested interest in making themselves look like they are not part of a racist police state. However, many histories of the civil rights movement, and recent Bush administration overhauls of the DOJ make it clear that it has rarely, if ever, functioned as an unbiased data collector. Further, you say you are citing DOJ statistics and claim that it is a aggregate of many studies (for next time, just so you know, this is actually called a meta-analysis) however, you do not cite the relevant material, so it is impossible for us to know how the data was collected, analyzed, or even if it was cross-sectional, longitudinal, or as you imply a meta-analysis. I have seen these numbers cited before though, in an article arguing that both police and lay people are more likely to shoot unarmed black men. Check out Joshua Correll’s work at the University of Chicago. http://psychology.uchicago.edu/people/faculty/jcorrell.shtml
As for your point on remembering faces, this section is even weaker than your original argument. Beat cops do not review cases before making arrests, largely because they are not carrying around case files with them. The are radioed to an area and they assess the scene. These officers were called to the area because a fight was reported, but I have read no article that claimed they actually saw Mr. Grant engaged in any wrongdoing. They were therefore racially profiling.
Finally, you can attack me personally as much as you want, but this doesn’t strengthen your arguments or contribute to the discussion although it may make you feel better about yourself.
And Seattle in Texas thanks for the shout-out.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Victor, the guy is a … ! Keep movin. Don’t waste your time. Some of these people will never get it. And perhaps, this is good, in a strange but satisfying way.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Jessie sez:
“As a sociologist, I’m interested in the patterns of human behavior. And in case you missed it, whatever, the focus of this blog is to analyze and point out racism”
I’m no sociologist…but isn’t it *also* racism when people automatically assume that every time a white kills a black its *because* he’s a racist?
What about this:
If I own a business and I deny entry to a bunch of gang-bangers who have weapons…if I’m white and those bangers are black…is that racist? You can be damn sure that the bangers will scream racism at the top of their lungs. They will scream about how they are entitled to go anywhere they want. The next morning, it’s highly likely taht my business is trashed.
Now Jessie, As a sociologist, why are you not interested in THOSE patterns of behavior? I guess because they don’t fit neatly into your little racism folder.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Dennis, you saying that black people can’t be racist is the dumbest thing I’ve read today
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Actually, the word “racism” was coined for institutional racism, systemic racism, and was applied by Hirschfeld to what the German Nazis did to the Jews–assault, kill, drive them out of businesses, housing. Ty, have whites been victimized across all major institutional areas of the US, for hundreds of years, by blacks? I think not. So, blacks are NOT racist in the original and systemic-racism meaning. Only when you use racism (Lite) like whites have watered it down to, that is prejudice and individual stuff, can you even make this white -washed argument.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Joe, OK, I’ll give you ALL of that. But, I said “racist”, not “racism”. Blacks can be, and are “racists”, in every meaning of the word, as are whites, jews, mexicans, etc.
Not sure what your last sentence means with the white-washed comment. I’m black BTW.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Good riddance. I hope Oscar be burning in Hell right now.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Wow, I stay away for a couple of weeks and look what I miss. The racist vitriol on some of these comments sure makes me look forward to Jan 20–you know, ’cause now that we have a black president it proves racism in America is dead…right?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Ty, if you use racism in its original meaning (it was coined by Magnus Hirschfeld in the 1930s for German killings and attacks on Jews–that is, institutionalized), before US whites watered it down to mean just any bigotry, it means institutionalized racism. So, blacks are “racist” only if they discriminate against whites on a large scale in US institutions– like in the workplace. They do not, so blacks are not racist. Only if you redefine racism from its original meaning, which is racism-lite ( and whites did that change of meaning to protect whites’ racism by forcing everyone to be called “racist”) can you call any group of color “racist.” More accurate, then, is that anybody can be prejudiced, or bigoted, but only the dominant group in power can be racist. Words should be used accurately, that is my argument.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I see no changes, all I see is racist faces
Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races
We under I wonder what it take to make this
one better place, let’s erase the wait state
Take the evil out the people they’ll be acting right
Cause both black and white are smokin crack tonight
And only time we deal is when we kill each other
It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other
And though it seems heaven-sent
We ain’t ready, to have a black President, huh
It ain’t a secret don’t conceal the fact
The penitentiary’s packed, and it’s filled with blacks
I wake up in the morning and I ask myself
Is life worth living should I blast myself
I’m tired of being poor and even worse I’m black
My stomach hurts so I’m lookin for a purse to snatch
Cops give a damn about a ne-gro
Pull a trigger kill a nigger he’s a hero
Mo’ nigga mo’ nigga mo’ niggaz
I’d rather be dead than a po’ nigga
Let the Lord judge the criminals
If I die, I wonder if heaven got a ghetto–2Pac
masamba, why judge before u have been judged? why is that people always bring up other peoples rap sheets to justify the person whose really at fault?matters to damn what he did in the past. if he was that much of a threat take him to jail and let him deal with the consequences. what if it was your son or daughter you would be furious. but since its not u can sit in your computer chair and make racist remarks because little suzy and johnny is off in the best colleges safe and protected by the same fucking cops sworn to protect and serve all people. why weren’t the white kids on the train handled the same way? people like u always ask why do niggers think everythings racist, look if the shoe fits dumbass then it must be true. sorry the truth hurts sometimes
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I seriously doubt that this cop intentionally shot this man. It seems from what has been observed at the scene, that tensions/adrenaline were running high, and this was likely a deadly and tragic split second decision that somehow went terribly wrong. I think it is unfair to presume racism from the get-go just because the cop was white – I mean – no cop deliberately ruins his whole future like this- wakes up one morning and says ” today I’m going to shoot an unarmed suspect “…it’s likely a very unfortunate accident. We don’t know all
the facts yet. While it is possible this was intentional,
it really is not likely, in my opinion. Before we
make presumptions about this officer, and accuse him of murder based on his skin color, let’s get all the facts. Or maybe some people believe that white skin automatically makes a person racist? That kind of racial profiling is very offensive . Or maybe racial profiling is acceptable if the race being profiled is caucasion? Surely not. Let’s give this cop the benefit of a trial before we convict him based solely on his white skin. It may be that he simply is not cut out to be a cop. In the meantime, let’s not let the race baiters use this as an excuse to foment hatred between the races- M artin would not approve.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Tough guy was hiding in the Lake Tahoe area because of death threats. Ahh? Okay. But on the other hand:
“Murder charges were filed because at this point, what I feel the evidence indicates is an unlawful killing done by an intentional act, and from the evidence we have, there’s nothing that would mitigate that to something lower than a murder
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Justice, the problem with the deep white racial frame in the US and elsewhere is that it is often unconscious, which means whites (and others) can often act out of it quickly and without reflection. Racist images, ideas, emotions about Black men are very deep in the neural circuits of most whites, and thus it is easy to act quickly out of them. Just because they are unconscious and deeply imbedded does not mean they are not real or that we should not be held responsible. You may be right — the officer here is also the victim, but of the racist framing drilled into almost all our minds in this country. Still, he has a responsibility to fight that anti-black imbedded framing, as we all do, and not just act out of it routinely, like too many of us do.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Have you all checked out the racist comments on http://www.bartrage.com? A good majority of the posters are BART employees…masters, Shrapnel (moderator and cop), Officer Jo-Jo (cop), Operator 9 (I believe is a cop, too), BoopieJones…the list goes on. If you happen to disagree with these posters they will attack you. I will say this, I am white and I’m appauled by the comments. I have been attacked on this blog because I believe the shooting of Oscar Grant was wrong. My screen name on the board is saw1972 if you care to look.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
look…What happened was terrible, and the guy should go to prison for a long time for being a dumbass – but it is clear that the guy thought he had pulled his taser. (I’m not excusing his action – he shouldn’t have even pulled his taser in this situation). But the bottom line is he was not trying to kill the guy – its Fu@#’n obvious from the closest video – after he fires he looks down at his gun then at his buddy like “oh man, I just F’d up”. Grow a damn brain people – he wasn’t trying to kill the guy because he was a racist cop. He screwed up and shot the guy because he’s a pathetic, power hungry, desperate for respect cop like all the others. The sooner black people realize that everything isn’t about race, the better off they’ll be. Great source by the way using a quote from some random facebook user in your article…thats hard hitting stuff.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I have seen video of MANY protest, whether it is PETA or some other organization laying down in the middle of streets protesting, and many times the cops ask them to leave, or stand or to lay down, and they rarely obey the orders from the cops.
Yet the cops find a way to handcuff and arrest protesters, often times protesters have to be dragged away, because they will not walk, or put their hands behind their backs as often requested by cops.
BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY PROTESTERS SHOT IN THE BACK WHEN THEY DO NOT FOLLOW ORDERS OF POLICE OFFICERS.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
joe,
Once you start making a generalization based on race you are opening the door to racial profiling… Please don’t feed me your quasi- scientific notions about what may or may not be “embedded” in caucasion dna ….. There is no scientific proof for it ….. Any more than there is proof for ………hmmmmm…………racism.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Jessie, by your argument then, a white “guy” can’t be a racist…only a white regime as a whole. I’m am saying that white “guys” can be racists, and IN THAT meaning of the word so can any black person. I don’t care about the root meaning of the word, and nobody else does either. My definition is what everyone else knows to be racist. People, black, white or otherwise can be racist. Are you saying that if a white guy calls me a nigger, he’s not a racist? Whatever, I know many of my black friends are just as racist against whites as any whites are against us. So don’t tell me racism doesn’t exist among blacks.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I’ve read the comments on this page and some of them quite frankly disturbs me. I don’t feel like pointing those people out because I’m sure they are aware of what they say and how they feel.
I am an AA female and viewed the horrific video footage of Oscar Grant’s murder. Yes the officer did look shock at the fact he discharged his gun. Truth is unless you were there, you have no room to speak on whether he was mouthing off at the cops. Even if he was, even if he had a criminal record, he didn’t deserve to be shot in the back while face down. Some of your comments are racial undertones at its finest whether you want to admit it or not. I am a college student and had a very good education growing up because honestly I believe it was where I grew up. NO you cannot blame everything on racism, but for some people to go on living life like it still doesn’t exist is stupid. NO black people aren’t the only ones who have had to endure hatred or racism at the hands of whites. But be real with yourselves, there is far more discrimination toward minorities by whites than the other way around. Using your little incidents as justification for anything holds no water what so ever.
Everybody doesn’t have access to the means to make sure they become a “valuable citizen” to their community. Inner city schools don’t get the same kind of funding as others, yes some people are able to make it out of the so called “hood.” And others are doomed to continue the horrible cycle that they were born in. So don’t speak on something that you have no clue about. Baseball player Bobby Tolan’s son is in the hospital and more than likely will never live his dream of following in his father’s footsteps because an officer shot him in his drive way because he assumed his car was stolen. I’ve seen instances where a white man stole a cop car tried to run over cops with the car, got out the car pointing a gun at an officer, but somehow he was taken into custody with out one shot being fired. Realistically if he was black he would have been shot 50 or more times before the car moved anywhere.
I am a pretty open minded person when it comes to all races. I don’t claim racism when every time a situation occurs, but if there wasn’t racism we wouldn’t need affirmative action to help people get their foot into jobs and schools. It’s funny how you talk about how somebody being a productive member of society by getting a job or going to school, but when they get a job or into school you complain about them getting a job over you because of their skin color. What is that you want? Please….. During the presidential campaign we saw the hatred that is still in this country by the comments and actions from people about Barack Obama being black. But the thing people failed to acknowledge is that he is half white and half black, but considering that one drop rule from back in the day he is black.
God protect children and fools. Seeing how none of you are children, I pray that you get some sense about yourselves and let go of those ignorant ideals of yours. I’m sure none of your lives are so perfect as for you to throw stones or to judge anybody. So leave it up to the justice system and God before your ignorance destroys your lives.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Black gangs have turned Oakland into a war zone. I don’t understand why the Oakland residents can’t understand collateral damage. Despite Oscar’s refusal to cooperate with the Transit Cops, clearly they were wrong in this case. Was it an accident? Who knows. But live by the sword, die by the sword.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
As to the post # 84, the point you note concerning other protesters ( guess who) as exampled by you, not being shoot for grossly and obviously resisting arrest compared to the seeming unending shooting of unarmed Blacks, is a very astute observation. Now I ‘d love to hear the follow-up excuses. Waiting.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[...] First, I would like to present Jessie’s post from racismreview. I have picked out some key parts of the post that I think are very good points: Racism & The Murder of Oscar Grant III [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
To everyone saying that it’s “possible” that the cop mistook his gun for a taser, thus it’s “possible” the shooting was not racist: there’s no good reason to taser someone who is handcuffed and lying on the ground. Thus even if the cop thought he was using a taser, it just means that he accidentally killed someone for racist reasons, instead of just inflicting severe pain on someone for racist reasons. whoops.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
And had the police known they were being recorded, I’m sure they would have behaved very different–they may not have even thought of drawing any weapons at all…or even made the stop??? There was no excuse and racism is the only explanation. But, in the updated post above, it sounds as though the cop who shot him is sitting with many of those he probably unjustly arrested earlier, etc. Good lord is he going to enjoy the Cali jails and prisons….
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Because of travel, work, and many other commitments, I haven’t been able to spend much time recently on Racismreview.com. I was somewhat surprised today in reading some of the comments on Jessie’s post about the BART police shooting of Oscar Grant. There is a very good article in Tuesday’s edition of USAToday that I hope readers will look at [http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20090113/column13_st1.art.htm]. The article is by DeWayne Wickham, who discusses various police shootings of unarmed black men since 1966. Wickham writes, “That Oscar Grant didn’t live long enough to see Barak Obama sworn in as this nation’s first black president is proof that the post-rcial era that Obama’s election was supposed to usher in has not arrived.” This is a point well taken, I believe, and one that we should keep in mind on Tuesday as we celebrate President Obama’s inauguration.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
frankly, none of my black friends are 400 years old….i have never known a slave…..mpst races were slaves at one time or another and often sold to others by their own peoples. i have a biracial daughter and i want her to grow up in a world where there is no ignorance but that will never happen. i have never felt the need to harm someone because of their race. i dont feel like i should have to pay for “400 years of oppression” as i have never owned a slave and, again, never met a former slave. racism does exist and its a shame. i dont believe i could go into Compton and be welcomed with open arms even though i have never harmed another human being based upon their skin color. my people were here first and i grow extremely tired of hearing about affirmative action, oppression and 400 this and the plight of all of those so apparently less fortunate because of their history. take a look around people! whether you are white, black, asian, latino or whatever, you are living in a country with far more freedoms than most! i am seminole, part of the cherokee nation, by blood and in my chest beats a heart that will never falter or deny as such. if you want to know about oppression, slaughter, desscrimination, slavery, rape, destruction…..pick up a histoy book and read about the natives of this country and the other races that have been slaves. if we really want to bitch about it, i guess we could try to trace our roots back to Israel and all scream “Let my people go!” there is so much focus and anger on the black and white side of things that we cannot see what we all do have. its a governmental way to keep us divided just enough that we dont wake up and see what the true problem is with this nation! we have a right to change things but we choose to fight amongst one another and completely miss out one what we truly could be as a nation. races and creeds are so worried about “what they are owed” that it sows just enough hatred amd mistrust that we are divided. I think it was an accident, it was an abuse of power, but an accident just the same. he should be held accountable as someone who KILLED ANOTHER HUMAN BEING AND NOT A BLACK MAN! I am not black but i have been on the receiving end of cop attitudes as well as members of my family. as long as we have extremists on all sides, we will be divided
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[...] as I read this, I thought of the recent exchange on this blog regarding Jessie Daniels’ post on the Grant police brutality case. I think some of the reaction to Jessie’s analysis reflects [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
obama will fix it.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
my2cents is right (comment 87). i think we could be friends. just so tired. more people worldwide are enslaved now than ever in history. only 4% of the africans sold into slavery (by other africans) ended up in the united states (before it was the united states). not to downplay the incident, but pretty small number. we need to move forward.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
That’s life, all! We all have responsibilities.
To all the black folks, don’t martyrize Grant.
Here is a grown man, a father, with a record, going out on new years eve at a time trouble can brew any minute. He is a 22 y.o man that has a penchant for trouble. His actions showed a lack of brains to be honest. Now he leaves his daughter fatherless and his wife a widow. He could have prevented this.
He should have stayed home with his family and watched the celebration from tv. It’s what a responsible, mature father does.
No, he did not deserve getting shot at. But, the black communities need to step up and guide folks like Grant to be smarter and make smart choices.
Shame on the cop, it’s been written he’s a hot head before.
But folks, don’t martyrize Grant. He made his choice and the real people suffering are his family and the cop’s family.
START HELPING YOUR OWN KIND AND EDUCATING THEM TO MAKE SMART CHOICES ALREADY!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Sad group here. Alas the truth is: Oscar Grant killed himself. Let’s cut through the racial BS, the name calling etc. Oscar Grant had the choice NOT be on that platform, had the CHOICE not be a convicted felon, had the CHOICE not to be a CONTINUOUS FELON OFFENDER, had the choice not to be in felony possession of narcotics at the time of his death, had the choice to comply with lawful orders of police officers WHO DID NOT HAVE A CHOICE, because it was their job to be on that platform. Officer Mehserle will not serve another day in custody and it is reasonable to believe that he will seek civil tort against BPD for the way he was forced into resigning prior to being convicted in due process. WE THE PEOPLE have to understand that when WE THE PEOPLE arm police and give them powers to arrest and an unfortunate mistake takes place WE THE PEOPLE have to absorb it. Strange? Misconstrued? Racist? Take for instance Ofc. Hardy shoots at a fleeing suspect, the shot ricochets and kills the little old lady crossing the street.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0