Oscar Grant

I need to start with this is about a crime but the accused is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. And if anything in this post offends anyone I apologize in advance. I only want all to be able to have a visual experience to understand what Oakland is like and how it plays a role in one’s life. Having moved here from California a little more than year ago and working with youth (youth is defined 13-24 in the field I was in) in Oakland, this case really hit close to home. I have very strong feels about this particular incident and find it very hard to take an open minded approach.

Never the less here it is. What started as a police response to a fight turned into the fatal shooting of 22 year old Oscar Grant III. Some argue that it was an execution when the officer states that he thought he was reaching and firing his “TAZER”. Here is one of the videos. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=8Tmh9B8LVxM&feature=related The first news article: http://www. insidebayarea. com/search/ci_11359281? IADID=Search-www. insidebayarea. com-www. insidebayarea. com# The Wikipedia page http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Oscar_Grant Throughout the past decades we have heard of police brutality and racial profiling.

Many make claims to such have been made but it is a rarity that criminal charges are brought forth and even less a MURDER charge. Despite hearing about such, we as a society look to the criminal justice system (more than 55,000 local, state, and federal agencies that enforce laws, adjudicate crimes and treat and rehabilitate criminals) for protection and complete up holding of the law. The police particular are built as a bureaucracy (an organizational model characterized by a hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules, and procedures, and impersonality in personnel matters).

Because of this most of the time “to protect and serve” holds true, maybe not the way one would like a situation to be handled but it is handled. This causes rebellion including marches in front of the white house to riots in Oakland. In this particular case what was just considered deviance (any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which occurs) turned into a crime (is a behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms, and/or other negative sanctions).

This is not a widespread crime nor have similar crimes flourished. Despite 100’s, including a woman I personally knew, having been killed by police the rarity of charges being brought on an officer causes the difficulty in trying to find an explanation for these violent crimes (consists of actions- murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault- involving force or the threat of force against others) hard to come by. Was this act racially charged some say yes, the unfortunate part is no one knows what really was going on in the officer’s mind at the time that he shot his gun.

We all can speculate and we have what he has said but may never have the whole answer. When reading about the case, coming from California and working in Oakland, I think the labeling theory (the proposition that deviants are those people who have been successfully labeled as such by others) fits many of Oakland residents that are now incarcerated, homeless, and/or on drugs. Not only do the people being labeled believe it but those doing the labeling do as well. Therefore many officers have fallen victim to what I believe (or at least hope) is subconscious racial profiling and stigma based on race, location and age.

Also, Oakland, California has a culture all on its own one that is full of poverty, durgs, and crime. Many of Oakland’s residents grow up in an area where juvenile delinquency (a violation of the law or the commission of a status offense by young people) is a norm, reference groups (a group that strongly influences a person’s behavior and social attitudes, regardless of whether that individual is an actual member) are local street gangs, and the ingroup (a group to which a person belongs and with which the person feels a sense of identity) is based on race.

Illegitimate opportunity structures (circumstances that provide an opportunity for people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannont achieve through legitimate channels) are a part of daily living in Oakland. Every street corner you will find a liquor store that sells more than liquor and check cashing store with a female ATM looking for deposits.

If one is not a part of a specific group, one is expected to conform (the process of maintaining or changing behavior to comply with the norms established by a society, subculture, or other group) to the local atmosphere in order to survive. This is a sad lingering fact for Oakland and its residents.