The Shooting of Oscar Grant

Sometimes it seems incongruous to switch back and forth between fashion and politics to me, but that's, for better or worse, sort of how I go through the day. I also don't think I could focus solely on one or the other. Sometimes the actions of people, whether individuals or countries, are simply too painful.  In addition to the horrible killing going on in Gaza, this week has also seen an incredibly upsetting tradgedy in Oakland, and its understandable aftermath. On New Year’s morning, San Francisco BART police officer dragged a few young men off a train. An officer then proceeded to shoot Oscar Grant (who may or may not have been one of the men taken off the train) with a gunshot through the back, while he was restrained and lying face-down on the ground.  The effects of the shooting continue to ripple through Oakland and the Bay Area, in the form of protests, anger, and mourning.  Here are excerpts from some of the coverage:

Feministe's "Execution Style": "I think you should watch the videos, if you think you can handle it. They made me want to throw up, made me feel dizzy and aching, but they’re important. If bystanders hadn’t been leaning out of their trains with cellphone cameras, this incident might have passed largely unnoticed. According to witnesses, the BART police reacted immediately by confiscating cameras and phones in the name of “evidence.” The two videos that have surfaced were apparently taken by people who managed to keep their phones because the train started moving before the cops could get them."

NPR's "Oakland Transit Shooting Sparks Riot" (audio): "The fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a police officer on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train is raising tensions in Oakland, Calif. On Wednesday night, a riot followed a peaceful demonstration as protesters set dumpsters on fire and broke windows."

NYTimes' "Oakland Simmers After a Night of Violence": "The shooting is just the latest incident in a historically tense relationship between Oakland’s black community and law enforcement, including a corruption case known as the Riders case in which a group of Oakland police officers were accused of abusing and falsely accusing suspects. Three of the officers were acquitted but the incident nevertheless damaged the department’s reputation . . .

'The murder of Oscar Grant III was a tragedy and not the first tragedy suffered on the streets of Oakland,' said Jakada Imani, executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, who called the protests a tipping point 'for a community that has been struggling and suffering for decades.'

On Wednesday, several protesters lay prone in front of police, hands behind their backs, saying, 'I am Oscar Grant.'"