Yeah, we survived the riots. The lame, media fueled riots. The riots set off by a bunch of bored, misinformed vandals. Thanks for snarling my commute home, and thanks for destroying the storefronts of good people trying to make an honest living in a dull economy. I hope you feel vindicated now.
I need to get something off my chest.
- The situation with Grant started at a BART stop in San Francisco.
- Oscar Grant was from Hayward.
-
Mehserle was a BART officer, not an Oakland police officer.
How does this involve Oakland? Because that’s where Grant ultimately met his demise, at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland. As a matter of fact, that’s my BART station. For all of you folks (er, my overly dramatic co-workers) that thought Oakland was going to burn last night, here’s a recent photo of my BART stop.

Yes, and it looked like this all week. I didn’t see a single indication of trouble. Not even a flyer.
And no, I’m not happy with the verdict. Shooting an unarmed man in the back because you’re drunk with power… well let’s hope the judge shows zero leniency during sentencing.
Sorry, rant over. Yesterday M took B for his first vet appointment in the city, so they picked me up from work. It took about an hour to make it on to the Bay Bridge. After that, it was smooth sailing. I could see 3 helicopters flying over the downtown area in the distance, but we don’t live anywhere near there. That’s right, Oakland’s a large place, it’s bigger than San Francisco. And it’s more diverse than San Francisco, too. It makes me sick that it’s become the whipping boy in this situation.
Anyway, M needed some time away from the house (after being stuck with Bradley 24-7) so we drove up to Monclair, a hoity-toity Oakland neighborhood in the foothills. We got to know this area well while we were closing on our house, so we thought it would be the perfect place to grab dinner with Bradley. And man, B was thrilled with all of the attention that he got from strangers (what a rockstar!) After walking around a bit, B sat quietly under a table outside a restaurant so M and I could eat in peace.

Thanks for keeping the people safe during all the nonsense, BART, Oakland and San Francisco police departments.