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this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2024
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Way to tie it back to swing states.
I will now self-promote an op-ed that I wrote in 2020. It started as a furious email that I sent to friends and family. Someone told me, "you know if you took out the swearing, a local paper would probably run this." And so:
Opinion: Oakland is a fantastic community, no matter what Trump says
Because it's paywalled and they're my words, I'm pasting the screed below:
spoiler
President Donald Trump specifically called out Oakland as “living in hell.”Ours is a fantastic community. That’s a word that I use frequently when describing my city: Community. To have some arrogant narcissist say that we live in hell is more infuriating than most of his other outrageous actions.
Oakland has poverty. Oakland has people who live in tents because they are unhoused. Oakland is trying hard.
Oakland has community backlash to the formerly planned euthanasia of an overly aggressive turkey that lives in the park in my neighborhood. The turkey will be relocated because residents opposed his termination.
Oakland has a Buddhist shrine that is beloved by the community and can be found on Google Maps (it’s actually a destination on Google Maps!). A Buddha was installed by a private citizen to discourage illegal dumping on the sidewalk. The community built a shrine around it, and people flock to it as a tourist spot, and locals pray there daily.
Oakland has a strong sense of civic responsibility. The Black Panthers originated in Oakland. While they may be characterized in the media holding rifles, they also ran a free breakfast program to feed the community. They later championed women’s rights.
Oakland is where demonstrators responded to a Karen who called the police on Black residents to harass them for grilling at our cherished Lake Merritt. Hundreds of people grill on the anniversary of her egregious and phony 911 call at an event titled “Barbecuing While Black.” Walking around this lake is one of my favorite pastimes and is definitely my favorite place for a first date.
Oakland has a citizenry who came out, without prior organization, to paint BLACK LIVES MATTER on 15th Street in our downtown. The city didn’t commission this. Our people made it happen spontaneously.
Oakland has an incredible turnout to Pride. The parade includes middle-school and high-school students and their school administrators and parents. A huge festival, with booths and live music, follows.
Oakland has a downtown street festival called First Friday on the first Friday of every month. People come together for live music, dance, performances, street vendors, food, drinks and community. It’s something to look forward to, and we’re bummed out when it’s canceled by rain.
Oakland shut down a freeway with a march in solidarity against police brutality in 2016. This city has been involved in the conversation long-predating the murder of George Floyd.
Oakland is my home. I’m proud to live in Oakland. I’m proud of my city, my community, in a way that I can’t imagine feeling for any other city. I’m not proud to be an American, a Californian or even a member of the Bay Area (well, that last one a little bit).
I’m proud to be from Oakland, something that would have seemed alien to me when I first arrived 12 years ago. This is my community. This is my home. These are my people. Don’t let a blowhard tell you who we are or how we live. We’re the messengers for our city, not him.
Long live our beautiful city,
A Proud Oaklander
Oakland is a great city, and doesn't deserve all the slander it gets. It's just the far right spreading fear and hatred by attacking anyone who doesn't share their politics or skin color.
Reminds me of Charlie Kirk recently talking to a Berkeley grad and interrupting her to say "Berkeley is a slum, it's a hellhole" or something to that effect. It's so comically stupid, but as a Berkeley resident for 20+ years, I hope he keeps it up because it (hopefully) scares away other hateful idiots like him.
Within a few years of moving here, the boathouse on the water by the freeway from the Bay Bridge (should be named for Emperor Norton because he proposed it) had graffiti saying "Republicans go away."