California Conservative

Can’t we just all git along?

The Oakland Tribune reports: “Abdul Saleh has just one question for the men — suspected by authorities to be Black Muslims — who trashed his corner store late Wednesday, terrorizing his 17-year-old son and another clerk and causing thousands of dollars in damage.

Why?

“I don’t know why they tried to destroy my life,” said Saleh, who has owned San Pablo Market and Liquor in West Oakland since 1986. “We came here for a better living, not to make war with anybody.”

And if a better living means running a liquor store in low-income, predominantly black West Oakland, who is to judge?

About a dozen African-American men wearing suits, white-collared shirts and bow ties — a trademark of the Nation of Islam — entered the store on San Pablo Avenue and West Street around 11:30 p.m.

Sources cannot confirm, in fact, if these criminals are either from Africa or America, but they are identified as black males.

The men warned the store clerks to stop selling alcohol to African Americans, but they also knocked over display racks containing bread and other food items. Then, almost as quickly as they arrived, they all filed out and headed to another West Oakland liquor store, New York Market at Market and 35th streets, where they did the same thing.

Investigation is ongoing as to what happened to the special boxed Christmas-editions of Courvoisier. But that’s another story.

“My son was here,” Saleh said. “He was scared. When he called me he could not even speak.

“It makes me nervous, it’s scary. They say, ‘We will be back.’ If the city of Oakland can’t protect us, or a security guard, what can they do with 12 or 13 people? I’m worried for my employees. I’m worried for my son’s safety and my own safety. I am supporting two families from this place, 30 people.”

Two families? 30 people? Damn. No wonder he’s got to move a lot of product. Malt liquor doesn’t sell for much.

At New York Market, a busy corner store that offers fortified beer and wine but no hard liquor, the owner, Tony, who just took over the store three months ago and did not want to use his last name, said the group was targeting alcohol when it should be after drugs.

“Before they talk about alcohol, they should talk about all the drugs and heroin on the street,” he said.

His cousin was minding the store when the men came in at 11:40 p.m. At one point, his cousin reached for a shotgun behind the counter, but the men took it away from him, Tony said.

“I’m not worried. Let them come back,” he said. “I’m not chokin’ nobody, telling them to buy alcohol.”

The man has a point. No one is forcing people to buy alcohol. It’s one of those products that just sells itself.

One owner, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal, said he was scared, and compared what happened to a terrorist attack.

“It’s worse than al-Qaida,” he said.

Oh, brother bin Laden. That’s over-the-top rhetoric.

“We have to protect ourselves by any means necessary. If the police don’t protect us, who will help us? They could do that to every store.”

That kind of talk sounds promising — if you’re watching a Charles Bronson movie.

Representatives from Oakland’s Black Muslim community did not return a phone call seeking comment about the incident.

Qui tacit consentit.

Oakland’s Deputy Chief Howard Jordan said police are very concerned and have ordered extra patrols in the area to try to protect the stores.

Jordan said they are investigating the incidents as hate crimes because most of the stores are owned and operated by Arabs or Arab Americans, and the suspects are telling them not to sell liquor to African Americans.

“It’s vandalism and terrorism,” he said. “We’re characterizing it as a hate crime and actively pursuing all leads.”

Law enforcement should exercise restraint, despite the requirements of political correctness: If every violent act is called terrorism, the word is going to lose its potency.

Furthermore, hate is not a crime. It’s a natural human disposition, found more in some than in others. Crime is crime.

Jordan said the department is concerned about how widespread the attacks could become, especially with the large number of liquor stores in East and West Oakland, most located within African-American communities. The suspects did not attempt to hide their identities.

He’s also worried about people getting hurt or killed in an attempt to protect themselves and their property.

“We’re not going to tell (the store owners) to arm themselves, but if it happens, it’s a big concern,” Jordan said. “We could have victims all over Oakland.”

Of course, this could all be avoided quite simply: if people don’t go into liquor stores wielding pipes and smashing up the inventory.

Sometimes, the answer is that obvious.

Anyone with information about the attacks is asked to call police at 238-3426 or 238-6946. A reward of up to $2,000 is being offered in each case.

UPDATE:
Bareknucklepolitics has video
(Hat tip: PoliticalTeen)
See the VIDEO

This entry was posted on Friday, November 25th, 2005 at 2:15 pm and is filed under California, Crime, Race. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.