Oakland has always been the red-headed stepchild of San Francisco. In truth, the city of Oakland is a drab, dreary place with crime-ridden neighborhoods. There used to be a great difference between the two cities. Not anymore. Oakland and San Francisco are both decaying examples of the rot that has taken over Democratic-run big cities.
The Oakland NAACP is demanding action from the mayor, the police, and the prosecutor because of the startling rise in crime this year. Perhaps it’s because, in June 2021, Oakland cut about $20 million from its police budget — an act that was cheered by the far left and criminals alike.
It would be a teachable moment — if the left was inclined to learn anything from their mistakes.
The Oakland NAAC issued a statement on Thursday dripping with irony:
“Failed leadership, including the movement to defund the police, our District Attorney’s unwillingness to charge and prosecute people who murder and commit life-threatening serious crimes, and the proliferation of anti-police rhetoric have created a heyday for Oakland criminals,” the letter states.
They just don’t get it. Could it be that “anti-police rhetoric” is coming from the same people who were screaming in the streets to defund the police?
It goes on to say residents are afraid to leave their homes, to go to work, or enjoy recreational activities throughout the City of Oakland. It highlights a number of recent high profile incidents in which women were targeted by “young mobs,” residents of Asian descent were robbed in Chinatown, street vendors being robbed, and even news crews having their cameras stolen.
“African Americans are disproportionately hit the hardest by crime in East Oakland and other parts of the city,” the letter states. “But residents from all parts of the city report that they do not feel safe.”
Why would the residents feel safe, when you have promoted and cheered policies that enable and coddle criminals?
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The letter called for the declaration of a state of emergency:
People are moving out of Oakland in droves. They are afraid to venture out of their homes to go to work, shop, or dine in Oakland and this is destroying economic activity. Businesses, small and large, struggle and close, tax revenues vanish, and we are creating the notorious doom-loop where life in our city continues to spiral downward. As economic pain increases, the conditions that help create crime and criminals are exacerbated by desperate people with no employment opportunities.
We are in crisis and elected leaders must declare a state of emergency and bring resources together from the city, the county, and the state to end the crisis. We are 500 police officers short of the number that experts say Oakland needs. Our 911 system does not work. Residents now know that help will not come when danger confronts them. Worse, criminals know that too…
The intellectual disconnect is beyond belief, between the NAACP’s rhetoric during countless marches and demonstrations calling for defunding the police and this pathetic, whiny letter complaining that the very policies they advocated for so strenuously have now resulted in a desperate call to impose a state of emergency.
And the most incredible part of this is that the NAACP has no clue about the hypocrisy they’re demonstrating for all the world to see.
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