What Do Oakland Liquor Store Attacks Look like from San Jose?
Commentaries by De-Bug writers
The night before Thanksgiving, African-American men destroyed two liquor stores in Oakland. Two men have recently been arrested for the action, and have been charged with hate crimes and false imprisonment. Interviews with the two men report that they were outraged with the Muslim store-owners selling alcohol to the poor black community. Liquor stores are prevalent in every poor community in America, and the trashing of them in Oakland has brought on both applause and condemnation from other communities who are also seeing liquor destroy lives in their communities.   So what does the trashings look like from San Jose? Here are a few outlooks.

America is Racist, You Don't Believe Me? Then Walk Into a Liquor Store
By Hector Gonzalez

Liquor stores are a blatant symbol of racism in America. They pollute the ghettoes of America, which we all know are populated by mostly Blacks and Latinos, and liquor stores are owned, most of the time, by racial groups that completely dissociate themselves from Black and Latino folk, and who only make contact with us when they are selling us the worst consumption that America has to offer. They are immigrants and people of color, just like Blacks and Latinos, with the exception that regardless of their skin color, in the white man's eyes they are much better then a “nigger” and a “dirty spic.”

My first recollection of when I first heard of the threat that liquor stores have on our communities came from the movie Boyz in the Hood when actor Laurence Fishborne who plays the father of Tre, tells his community that, “in the black ghettoes of South Central LA there is a liquor store on every block.” The movie was released in 1991when gang banging in America was at its peak. I grew up with a whole generation of youth who paid close attention to the reality of those words and who understood the social significance they had in our communities. We see liquor stores as symbols of oppression, of poverty, lack of ownership of our communities, and most importantly, racism.

In regards to the African-American males that took part in the vandalism attacks in San Pablo, I admire their courage and boldness. The damage that liquor stores have on our communities is much greater then the damage of broken glass and alcohol stains on the floor. These men took ownership of their community and if they are to beheld accountable for the damage of a store refrigerator and liquor bottles, then someone also has to be held accountable for all the damage that these stores have done to our people.

Destruction of Oakland Liquor Stores is Terrorism
By Elizabeth Gonzalez

Although I can understand the frustrations of the men who went into the Muslim owned liquor stores and trashed them, I can't respect the action they took because nothing came before it. Yes, it was bold and caught some attention, but it hasn't changed a thing. The neighborhood drinkers can still just walk across the street to the other corner liquor store without missing the one that is closed. Another shipment of the same beer will be in their hands in a few days. Life will go on the same.

The motives don't even seem to be clear about what they did. Was it because of the liquor? Was it because of religion? What was it? It could have been none of those and just a rampage by men that got all dressed up with no where to go. If there had been something proceeding their direct action to explain it I could give it respect, but the men didn't make any attempts beforehand to really address their concerns. That action warranted some warning, a response to a stalemate where the liquor store-owners weren't budging. Then you do something crazy that's defendable, but to take that route initially is terrorism. I'm not saying they had to start another campaign to close down liquor stores, but they could have at least gathered with the owners and talked it through to better understand the issue. Apparently they have no faith that discussions can create a real change.

Their actions have resulted in bigger problems for themselves. And I don't see anyone taking up their probable cause to stop liquor sales in their neighborhood. Their only cause now is to appear in court and stay out of jail. What will you trash behind bars?

I Know Why the Caged Bird Roars
By Troy Curtis

How would you describe the relationship between a bird and its' cage?   Like so many questions about oppression it fails to recognize that the bird doesn't own its' cage. The cage is owed and controlled from the outside. In my community in San Jose there are many cages, or more accurately, there is an abundance of opportunistic business that sell community-debilitating products like alcohol, tobacco and junk food. Recently in Oakland the liquor section of multiple stores has been attacked. In Oakland, just as in every urban area there is an unhealthy number of Liquor stores.   I grew up on the east coast and since I was little I've seen these unnecessary products ensnare people's lives.

If trapped long enough, a caged bird who sings for its' freedom will become a fierce lion who instead of singing, looks through the cage for someone who will be made accountable for there incarceration. I've seen liquor stores become the symbolic lion tamers that receive the wrath of the oppressed communities that surround them. Just like in Oakland.

It is a direct response to the most available representation of oppression. The lion tamer doesn't own the circus, just as the liquor storeowner doesn't completely control the oppressive system it willingly participates in. But people who live immediate lives seek immediate resolutions. Aggression against liquor stores and liquor store owners has been common for decades because these stores are bright neon targets for those citizens fed up with people and corporations who take money out of there community and in exchange set traps for the disadvantaged people already struggling in a systematically hostile environment.

Destruction Was Well-Intended, But Now What?
By Shana White

I have been hearing and seeing news about the different liquor stores being torn up by men who wore bow ties and looked as though they were from the nation is Islam. I saw it coming. For some time now Oakland has been under heat, and I don't mean the Oakland fires either. The heat is the high murder rate, with no decrease in sight. While this violence does not initially seemed linked to liquor stores, I believe it was the fuel behind the destruction. This is why I can honestly say their intentions were good.   So they did what they did, thinking that this will either stop or slow down corner store owners from selling liquor, they felt they needed to assert some control.

But, now what? Don't just stop at the destroying, continue to build something that will benefit your community. If these men were from the Nation of Islam, then these men are respected by their community and are thought to act peacefully. They are also smart enough have a plan of action obviously. If part of their plan was to break the bottles on the liquor shelves, then they should also build healthy to put in its place. Maybe go to the store-owner and putting together a plan a bigger, cleaner supermarket that people would enjoy walking into.

And actually, I don't even think that liquor was the only cause of the social problems in Oakland, just like in East Palo Alto, where I grew up. When I think about whats wrong with liquor stores, I think about the “D” boys who chill out in front of the stores or the prostitution in the streets. They need to have a plan for that as well, and I hope itgoes beyond putting hands on O.P.P.  

Breaking Bottles Is At Least More Then Complaining
By David Madrid

I do not agree with violence or vandalism but I do support the spirit that may have been behind the recent rash of liquor store attacks.Now, I don't think that the act of smashing liquor bottles is the answer to any particular problem, but it was an action that some in Oakland felt needed to be done. And that's what I agree with, the “action.” The motivation and drive that compelled someone to get up off of their couch and do something. I hear folks complain all the time --   the man this, and the government that -- but really, what are you gonna do? I don't condone vandalism, or even think its going to change anything, but I do think there is a time when you have to take it to the next level and take some “action” in what ever form it maybe.   And often it needs to go beyond the standard protest are petition.

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