tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4817488808342083958.post7142047573526330251..comments2023-05-18T08:23:57.660-07:00Comments on a voice in Oakland California: Private patrols in the TemescalDon Macleayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17083015728635699181noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4817488808342083958.post-72427841534308664722013-10-24T09:12:53.614-07:002013-10-24T09:12:53.614-07:00When I was campaigning as candidate for city counc...When I was campaigning as candidate for city council last year I walked a lot of precincts in your area. You learn a lot about a place when you go down the streets and knock at most doors. <br /><br />I too came away convinced that we are very segregated in our neighborhood community organizing. In Longfellow I attended both a "community association" with no black people in the room and also went to a Basketball for Peace / backpacks for kids event organized by my fellow Green Theresa Anderson where almost no one was not African American. <br /><br />It was not that people were unwelcomed at either event, but each event was almost entirely composed of people of the same race. We see a lot of this in our day to day life. As a Spanish speaker myself, I often find myself the only white person at social events and meetings. <br /><br />We have a lot of bridges to build yet. <br />Don Macleayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17083015728635699181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4817488808342083958.post-3832665794463736612013-10-24T09:05:48.955-07:002013-10-24T09:05:48.955-07:00Thank YOU for organizing our neighbors walking nig...Thank YOU for organizing our neighbors walking nights and our National Night Out. My gut feeling is that more community and more relations with our neighbors is a good step for a healthier community in many ways. Don Macleayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17083015728635699181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4817488808342083958.post-92163413266254780712013-10-21T13:26:17.658-07:002013-10-21T13:26:17.658-07:00As a Latina and long-term resident (15 yrs +) of L...As a Latina and long-term resident (15 yrs +) of Long Fellow, I am alarmed at the segregated nature of neighborhood organizing efforts. Knowing that folks turn to increase "policing" as a way to deal with issues of inequity only leads us down the path of feeding the fear. I would be interested in working to build alternatives to youth - getting schools to be open for midnight basket ball and having local residents volunteer to run those games. Or how about building alternative employment opportunities for youth - a worker co-op? Kids could be taught to garden, do other community projects, and outreach for community events. I would be down to commit to giving $$ to these efforts. I imagine that if instead of paying for short term – security, we could invest in the long term health of our neighborhood. <br /><br />poor folks were here before many of us got here, some poor folks are african american and latino, some are white - combating poverty and lack of opportunity, the root cause of property crime with increasing policing only leads to incarceration and death. Instead we can focus on building our community to be inclusive and innovative!<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14655266134987127288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4817488808342083958.post-27749353666073566492013-10-20T17:19:17.761-07:002013-10-20T17:19:17.761-07:00as pointed out by a couple of good natured people:...as pointed out by a couple of good natured people: <br /><br />Hey Don,<br />I enjoyed reading your blog post re the Thursday meeting, but I think maybe you swapped "gentiles" for "genitals". Though I enjoy sex with Gentiles as much as the next guy.<br /><br />I'll fix it, but it seems a shame. Don Macleayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17083015728635699181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4817488808342083958.post-60591460033433378912013-10-20T17:17:18.173-07:002013-10-20T17:17:18.173-07:00Len, I tend to agree with you on these points. I ...Len, I tend to agree with you on these points. I was not trying to write an analysis of the issue, just impressions of the meeting along with the questions it left me thinking about. <br /><br />I have no doubt that the danger of a private security guard getting hurt or killed is higher than the danger of someone being profiled or shot by a security guard. Neither should ever happen. <br /><br />Of course we should compare it to what is happening now. Kids get profiled by the Oakland Police now. At the same time, crime does not get prevented, stopped in the act or caught after the getaway. For the few we do arrest we fail to rehabilitate many. <br /><br />And yes we have failed to convince people to vote for people who would make the kind of changes Richmond has the courage to make and instead they voted for a guy who mailed them a sponge. Don Macleayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17083015728635699181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4817488808342083958.post-55372930626419040202013-10-20T10:41:40.904-07:002013-10-20T10:41:40.904-07:00Thanks Don for going to this meeting and reporting...Thanks Don for going to this meeting and reporting on it. We have much more to discuss about both making the neighborhood safe and about supporting teens and families of color in OaklandJoelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12551797514322326463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4817488808342083958.post-23465162867481339532013-10-19T21:30:47.992-07:002013-10-19T21:30:47.992-07:00I also look at private patrols, like private schoo...I also look at private patrols, like private schools, as the result of government failure. Not for me to tell people they have to use public schools no matter how bad if they can figure out how to get into private schools that are actually better. Nor would I tell people they can't install burglar alarms or video cameras on their premises.<br /><br />Don't agree with what you see as the best and worst case outcomes of this. At best, street crime and burglaries decrease for everyone: renters, homeowners, kids walking to school. At worst, a security patrol person is shot by one of the plentiful gun waving teenagers and crime doesn't drop at all. And 100 households wasted say 30/month for 12 months.<br /><br />Yes, I could see how initially an unarmed private patrol would result in the hassling of innocent black teenage boys. But that would happen with neighborhood voluntary patrols as well, maybe even more so because most of the residents here are white or asian or latino and middlish class who'd be paranoid of any black teenager they didn't know. I'd expect a private patrol employee who most likely comes from poor background and most likely is a poc to be a much better judge of black teenagers than residents are.<br /><br />But I don't see the jump from that to saying that innocent black teenagers will be shot or arrested. That's an OPD problem that we have all failed to get our so called progressive public officials to deal with for over three decades.<br /><br />We've also failed so far to convince people in Oakland to organize to demand safe effective policing and programs from the City except on very limited issues. If this does reduce crime here, it just might give residents a sense of their own power, which they can apply to City officials on a range areas that Oakland fails at compared to similar cities in California such as Richmond.<br />lenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328680760260845056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4817488808342083958.post-81408109408248768382013-10-17T23:32:24.044-07:002013-10-17T23:32:24.044-07:00Thank you for going to this meeting, for speaking ...Thank you for going to this meeting, for speaking out and for writing this. Peggy Simmonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05329449071679520791noreply@blogger.com