Gentrification in the Bay Area has classist and ageist elements, but the racial element is off-the-charts. Fortunately, cities, banks, developers and the just genuinely greedy could not have picked a worst time, in American history, to hatch their plans. P.O.C., and our allies, in Oakland, and elsewhere in America, are waking up and are in no mood to be pushed out of our homes, by even the subliminally racist, to willingly shuffle off, silently, in the night, to Stockton. Everybody needs to do some deep, deep thinking. Status Update By Dave Davey D Cook Yesterday over in the Trader Joes parking lot I saw something very disturbing play out.. An elderly couple was putting their groceries in their car when this 40/50ish white woman pulled up behind them and started honking her horn for them to hurry up. The elders who seemed slightly confused took their time as they should to get in the car get themselves together while folks waited patiently in a line of cars to for them to vacate what would be one of the few parking spaces.. The impatient woman gives along honk, bounces out her car and starts yelling to the couple Are u leaving? .. Couple seems rattled, doesnt respond and continue getting themselves together.. By now several folks are watching this play out.. No one says anything but everyone is watching to make sure nothing foul goes down and at the same time wondering whats up with this woman? Suddenly a space next to the couple opens up.. A young sister tries to back up her car waves her hand to the car with the impatient woman to move her back up so she can leave. The angry white woman refuses to budge. Shes determined to get a space. The sista showing extreme patience has to do all sorts of turns and manauveres to get out.. The angry woman who refused to move her car even as others standing nearby wave for her to back . You could see her getting angrier and angrier... Finally the sister leaves and the white woman pulls into the space right next to the elder couple who by now are just getting their car started. The impatient woman jumps out her car goes over to their window to say something as the couple are backing up. In her hand she is holding pepper spray or mace.. The couple is still unaware, back out and drive out while the woman is speaking angrily about them moving slow... I get inside the Trader Joes start shopping, after a while I turn down an aisle and see that angry woman all animated speaking to a gentleman who happens to be a Reverend and is Black.. I ear hustle and hear the Reverend patiently giving her advice offering to give her some names and numbers of whatever she was complaining about.. Then I hear her say in a much louder voice for all to hear I hate Oakland. I hate being here.. This town has Black racism.. Blacks are racist and Im sick of it. The Reverend tries to assure her that there are some bad people but not all are bad, but shes not hearing it and says something about how she cant stand the people on her block and calls the police all time.. She says knows the police chief, the city councilman Noel Gallo and worked for Jerry Brown and says the city is no good because of Black racism and wants them to do something about it.. The Rev tries to talk some more to her and finally gives up and tells her to have a blessed day.. He walks by gives me the universal Black man head nod.. I happen to be wearing a Black Panther sweat shirt and me being who I am nod back and say What up Black man? loud enough for her to hear.. .. Hes says Im blessed brother.. shakes his head and keeps it moving. In the background I could see this woman fuming..You could feel her anger. Now I have no idea what happened to her.. maybe she was having bad day. Maybe its something shes long felt.. who knows? I do know this is not the first time I seen such incidents play out in that parking lot and around that area. This latest incident reminded me of this phenomenon that was bantered about a lot in the 80s under Ronald Reagan called the Angry White Man syndrome... This was thing where many mostly Blue collar white folks were reacting to severe economic downturns thanks to Reagans trickle down economic policies and instead of dealing with Reagan, they blamed affirmative action and other so-called safety net programs for their shortfalls. Many were angry that the lifestyle afforded their parents would not trickle down to them and as result they went all out in blaming Black folks and made moves reverse affirmative action programs and eventually shut them down.. This was also during the time that Crack was starting to hit and even though it was a drug used by both Black and whites, the face of it as far as the news media went was young Blacks. A bunch of harsh prison policies became enacted as a result.. Crack smoking, crack dealing Blacks became the scape goat for all that was wrong in America. Many whites got amped up around this and reacted politically and many time violently. For those who remember some of the racial unrest we see playing out now ran similar cycle in the 80s.. The anger this woman exuded seemed to be the type that results in extreme paranoia, where she feels justified in calling the police a bunch of times, using her pepper spray and if shes in a place like Florida, standing her ground over the smallest of slights. For example, what would this angry woman have said if the sister who was boxed in got out her car and instructed the woman to move her car back so she could leave? Would there be a pepper spray incident? If there wasnt a group of us watching would she had called the police to complain about some unfounded threat?? Would she had pepper sprayed the elderly couple? If I ear-hustled her correctly, this woman was frustrated because the police never did anything to her satisfaction. Couldnt help but wonder in all her anger and the anger that others who think like her have, if it results in exaggerated calls? In other words, instead of saying the kids down the block are too loud, is she the type to call up and say I think those kids have a gun or the kids threatened her?? Is everyone of a darker hue suspicious? Weve been seeing a rash of that. in recent months. Andy Nieto in SF, Jonathan Crawford in Ohio, Trayvon Martin in Florida or Kendric McDade in Pasadena are the most extreme examples. But its all the little shyt that adds up.. It was hard not wonder how many other folks who feel theyve been forced to live in Oakland are walking around angry and feeling hostile? How much of that anger and paranoia is fueled by a constant barrage of sensationalized over the top stereotypical images couched in strategically placed news stories? How many have come to see the Black menace as something and someone that is everywhere? Hes in the loud thug music that Jordan Davis was playing. Hes in the hoodie that an up to no good Trayvon Martin was wearing. The menace is the loud talking sisters in aisle of trader Joes or in the brothers playing chess and dominoes at the nearby Starbucks which all of sudden started getting complaints. That Black menace the large number of people who came out for the Fourth of July party by Lake Merrit and later learned that angry white residents in the 1200 Lakeshore building held meetings with the parks department and city officials to try and stop it... Or is the Black Menace local organizer Malkia Cyril who a few months ago had a group of white men in downtown Oakland tackled her to the ground as she opened her car door to see if she had done any damage to the motorcycle parked in front of her that she accidently hit. The group of white men seeing the incident thought she was up to no good and was gonna leave the scene, became enraged and hence felt justified in grabbing her, holding her down and calling the police. Is the Black menace all those who have long lived in East and West Oakland who are suddenly made to feel like they are the problem that needs to be contained by new comers and even some old timers who Hate being in Oakland with all its Black racism , crime, poverty or uppityness from folks of a darker hue who simply dont know their place. Lastly, one has to wonder how many police officers are walking around angry and hostile and feeling like this woman? In their case, its cause for concern because they have guns and badges and are backed by the state. How often are they seeing the Black Menace. Did they see it in sisters like Marlene Pinnock who was beaten on the side of a freeway in LA? Did they see it in Ersula Ore the English professor who manhandled by in Arizona? Society tells us the best way to eradicate the Black Menace is to be more respectable. Pull our pants up. Talk more softly, Listen to Tribe Called Quest over 2 Chainz and the end result will be the world will see a fellow human being vs a monster to be feared.. In short if we know our place and act accordingly we will make folks who fear us be more comfortable... Will that work?? History says otherwise.. Malcolm X was a Menace. The Black Panthers were a menace.. Martin Luther King was a Menace? The kids who looted stores in Ferguson were maces and the protestors holding candles peacefully protesting were and are menaces? The inability to and the refusal to see the humanity in others is inexcusable. Maybe its an affliction that blinds people.. Maybe its a comfort that folks fight to keep even to their detriment. Should we Turn Down to make those who fear us feel better? Should we turn down for the folks who hate being in Oakland and are forced to now live here? How much more turning down did the folks in the Trader Joes parking lot have to do for that angry woman? In the words of that great urban philosopher from Atlanta,Lil Jon... Turn Down for What??
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 07:33:23 +0000