[sudo-discuss] my experiences with "crime" in oakland [part 1 of ?]

[Sonja Trauss]

What are you talking about ?

On Monday, November 18, 2013, Liz Henry wrote:

> I like to share fun anecdotes about how I was just hanging out on the
> Internet on a public mailing list then met some pretty racist white
> people who have done plenty of crimes in their lives, but no one goes
> around assuming stuff about them and treating them like they're
> criminals. It's super uplifting!
>
> - lizzard
>
> On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 7:50 PM, David Barthwell
> <david at vergegraphics.com <javascript:;>> wrote:
> > To all the people sharing fun stories and uplifting anecdotes about
> > encountering black people in Oakland:  Let's not forget that there are
> > actually some on this list.  In fact, I'm one of them!
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 7:36 PM, rhodey <rhodey at anhonesteffort.org>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> Oh yes, it is worth noting that I'm a white male in his early 20s.
> >>
> >> --
> >> -- rhodey ˙ ͜ʟ˙
> >>
> >> On 11/18/2013 07:12 PM, Sonja Trauss wrote:
> >> > this reminds me of a comment I overheard on the bus when I lived in st
> >> > louis:
> >> > "I'm getting that government money man, fuck street money, it ain't
> even
> >> > worth it."
> >> >
> >> > ps are you a boy or a girl?
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 6:55 PM, rhodey <rhodey at anhonesteffort.org
> >> > <mailto:rhodey at anhonesteffort.org>> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >     Receiving and contemplating the perspectives of others is one of
> my
> >> >     favorite ways to burn metaphorical CPU cycles. The level of
> respect
> >> > I
> >> >     show for differing perspectives is something I hope to never be
> >> >     content with, that is to say I believe it's an endless process and
> >> > I'm
> >> >     still working on it. I have a tendency to keep my head stuck in
> >> >     projects and have realized is that I've been holding out on
> sharing
> >> >     many of my most valued perspectives, more specifically my
> >> > experiences.
> >> >     It is my hope that through sharing experiences we can better
> >> >     understand how to conduct ourselves within Sudo Room and how we
> Sudo
> >> >     Room can better conduct ourselves within our local community.
> >> >
> >> >     I arrived in the "bay area" May 1st by way of some airport in New
> >> >     England, in search of hackers, activists and uncomfortable
> >> >     experiences. After subletting an apartment in the mission for all
> of
> >> > a
> >> >     month I moved to West Oakland. Since arriving in Oakland I've been
> >> >     robbed three times, to me each experience has been indescribably
> >> >     educational in its own way. However, my first crime related
> >> > experience
> >> >     in Oakland was not a crime at all.
> >> >
> >> >     There is a corner store within ~6 minutes walking distance from my
> >> >     apartment by West Oakland BART called Happy Times. To me it is
> >> > usually
> >> >     a liquor store, but this day I felt like working through the night
> >> > so
> >> >     I bought 2 large redbull energy drinks. Walking home holding the
> >> >     redbull as best I could in one hand I passed two African-American
> >> >     youths, one female, one male and both no older than 17. We passed
> >> > each
> >> >     other and at this time I was about 20" from home then from behind
> me
> >> > I
> >> >     heard "hey man, can I get a redbull?".
> >> >
> >> >     I turned around to face the two of them with a bit of a guilty
> smile
> >> >     on my face, after all who the fuck really needs 32oz of redbull?
> >> >     Caffeine, other energy drinks, productivity and I all get along
> >> >     swimmingly, all the better if I can help someone else get things
> >> > done.
> >> >     "Sure" I said, followed by "make good use of it" in an attempt to
> >> > make
> >> >     the situation more casual. I walked up and handed him the redbull,
> >> > his
> >> >     face lit up, he went nuts.
> >> >
> >> >     **and I quote** "Oh man! Asking is so much better than stealing!"
> >> >
> >> >     The smile stayed on his face as he continued celebrating,
> exclaiming<--
> Liz Henry
> lizhenry at gmail.com <javascript:;>
>
> "Electric ladies will you sleep or will you preach?" -- Janelle Monae
>
> "Without models, it's hard to work; without a context, difficult to
> evaluate; without peers, nearly impossible to speak." -- Joanna Russ
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