The New Year

On New Year's Day a BART police officer fatally shot an unarmed man in the back. The man was lying face down on the ground, his hands held by another officer. The man was black, the officer was white.

Last night, after a peaceful protest and memorial for the victim, a group of about 200 people broke away and began rioting in downtown Oakland, setting police cars on fire, breaking windows of local shops, smashing cars parked on the street.

From SF Gate:

Protesters smashed the storefronts of McDonald's as well as stores called Creative African Braids and Oakland Yoon's Pharmacy. Cars along 14th Street were smashed, and some were set ablaze.

A woman walked out of Creative African Braids holding a baby in her arms.

"This is our business," she shouted. "This is our shop. This is what you call a protest?"

Nia Sykes, 24, of San Francisco, a protester who was with the group, said, "I feel like the night is going great. I feel like Oakland should make some noise. This is how we need to fight back.

It doesn't sound adequate to say "I lived there." It doesn't express what it means to me, to see this neighborhood attacked. This is not where The Man lives. These people are not the enemy. How dare you destroy this place under the pretense of caring about its people? Go home.