You gotta love Oakland Report, mouthpiece for Empower Oakland and sad example of propagandists who have laid waste to the usefulness of data or, are they textbook examples of how easily it can be used to manipulate.
Last week they mourned Oakland's very existence by using their own versions of crime rankings to explain to you why you should call your sister-in-law who quit teaching last year to get her real estate license…and get a 4 SALE sign up toute suite in front of your house. Get thee back to Kansa or Walnut Creek…
During the Pandemic everyone did have a real crime story to tell, from noticing your 3rd catalytic converter had been stolen or hearing that your childhood friend up in the hills had their VW SUV taken out from under them at gunpoint, scary stuff. We all learned that ordering coffee at Starbucks was not a quick stop (you really hadn't noticed that?) but a chance for your laptop resting on the seat of your car with the only copy to your brilliant anthropological treatise on it, was gone with a bicycle riding gangster’s quick smash. Ah well, at least they didn't threaten us before coffee.
But no one much hears these stories anymore, that is, those folks smart enough not to lurk on Nextdoor where people from Moraga shiver at the thought of driving through Oakland.
Most people felt exactly as the headlines explained, that crime had been trending downward enough to eat out or wait in line at the Grandlake while of course, staying aware of your upscale surroundings.
But lest you have a positive feeling about the Town where you send your kids to school (more about that later) hang out with your friends, own your home or hope to, Oakland Report (OR) will set you straight.
Look, we have always had a crime problem in Oakland. Ever since disinvestment of industry and continued red lining in housing, many Oaklanders have lost their foothold in the regular economy. Then we started to make even the underground economy less lucrative, particularly the marijuana marketplace. I had adult students belatedly trying to get their high-school diplomas tell me I shouldn't advocate to legalize Marijuana because they had to make a living.
During the Pandemic people lost jobs, elders died and this was all a few years after the financial meltdown during which people, especially in East Oakland, lost their homes. That came on the heels of the Crack epidemic that jailed whole generations and the closing of the bases where many “minorities”, especially Black homeowners lost good paying civil service jobs, the kind that came from merit and hard work, not who you know.
[Of course, now most theft happens online and almost no one escapes a scam or two including the kind that disney+ routinely perpetrates. BTW, online scamming has become an equal opportunity line of work.]
Oakland is a city full of entrepreneurial immigrants and their food, their cultures, their languages. It's one of the reasons why our restaurants are top-rated, nationally. Did OR mention that?
Most Dangerous Cities according to Wallethub:
Top 10 Least Safe Cities in America
New Orleans, Louisiana
Memphis, Tennessee
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Detroit, Michigan
Baltimore, Maryland
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Houston, Texas
San Bernardino, California
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cleveland, Ohio
But there are also ratings with us as number 2 down to #8. Here's one with the 10 US cities with consistently high crime rates:
Memphis, Tennessee
St. Louis, Missouri
Detroit, Michigan
Baltimore, Maryland
New Orleans, Louisiana
Oakland, California
Birmingham, Alabama
Cleveland, Ohio
Little Rock, Arkansas
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
With the exception of New Orleans, (IMHO) Oakland is probably the most popular of that list. Also except for Detroit, it's likely the best known for its talented offspring. Few could beat us in the arena of talented athletes, actors, literary figures and even politicians.
What's the other thing that sets us apart from those two above cities-weather and proximity to geography suited to every sport or pursuit, a place people come from all over to remake themselves (including me.) And it's a family town, a city of neighborhoods. I didn't feel that when I lived in beautiful San Francisco. So why do these people in Empower/Oakland/Report want you to think it's time to pack up?
Also, if you want to avoid the downbeat mantra of “Oakland not living up to itself,” work to build opportunities and reduce the mounting sense of inequality that plagues the Town more each year.
Meanwhile if you want a bigger bench of candidates for mayor, council, schoolboard, run for office! Or do you fear the hideous atmosphere that causes reasonable candidates to shrink from public service, the constant denouncements, accusations, and misunderstanding of duties that dog your every decision, your every word, even your friends?
Recently Rowena Brown, who is our At Large Councilmember, she's also Black and gay, was assaulted by a troubled acquaintance and injured. Outside the normie reaction of sympathy and well wishes, there were numerous blame-the-victim reactions on ND, I mean really a lot. They felt she had made bad decisions about this woman and deserved what she got-ending by calling councilmembers in general, thieves, thieves!!
I'm not a fan of the decisions of this particular city council as a body but I would never slur them or denounce them as human beings (correction: except if they lash out at their constituents.) I attribute good intentions to those that run for local office even if it does not turn out well. I certainly don't believe they are in it for the money, much less the power. As if…
However, it's still concerning to me thatt we have such a thin bench that we have to beg our state or national almost-ready-to-retire leaders to come back and run our city. We need to encourage our young adults to consider leading us and taking on these difficulties along with us. I don't know how we can accomplish this but it's not by constantly disparaging our city in ways that offer little hope or opportunity.
Crime, particularly violence is the bane of Oakland's hopes. Our city has been trying to take on the diverse facets of this problem in creative and thoughtful ways in the last many years. When Mayor Lee talks about Ceasefire and the Department of Violence Prevention, she's talking about serious approaches to reducing communal violence; approaches that are making a difference.
Btw, complaining that some mayoral candidates won through RCV is just nonsensical. When Don Perata got the highest number of first place votes, he would have won had he gotten a majority but he did not. It would have required re-running the election 4 to 6 weeks later to see which of the 2 top rated candidates got a majority. RCV is very useful when you have numerous serious candidates as we did when Sheng Thao won as Treva Reid was also runnjng with Loren Taylor, none of them well known politicians. And when Jean Quan ran, so did Rebecca Kaplan. Perata just didn't have a deep enough approval rating to beat his opponents. Jean Quan turned out to be the most acceptable to the most voters. When Barbara Lee won, Loren Taylor was the only other serious candidate and she beat him outright.
I'll also note that when news stories tout the notable decline in crime rates, OR comes back stating that property crimes have actually risen. But in order to make that claim, they enlarged the reporting window by more than a decade whereas stats are usually reported for recent years. Did you notice that?
Reading OR is similar to watching a magician perform or playing poker with a card shark. Did you notice their data sleight of hand? More importantly did you notice what they didn't say at all? And do you wonder why they continue to push a view of Oakland and now of our mayor that is seriously negative?
I think, for one, their little band of techies, hedge fund managers, and public school disparagers, are sad that they don't have a serious candidate to run against her. I agree that we should have a more robust field. And despite this city council having a lackluster record, the current slate has almost no viable opposition. They will be reelected.
This is local politics folks. It's not about the DNC or the venal cowardly GOP dominated (for now) Congress. These are all people who you can talk to one-on-one, yes you can. Don't write angry repetitive letters on ND and then submit them to OR. Or go ahead but then make an appointment with your councilmember or even the mayor. Email the police chief (or Josh Rowan). Subscribe to your CMs newsletters. So far, Rowena Brown's is the best. Join their advisory committees, follow them on Instagram. Attend various commission meetings or apply to be on one.
Fucking get involved instead of whining or ranting that everyone but you is corrupt [and btw what are they doing about recruiting police—everything- they are trying everything]
Otherwise you can join the ranks that POGO talked about:
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