As most see it, Oscar Grant, subdued with his hands behind his back and face down on the ground, was brutally murdered in cold blood by Johannes Mehserle. Oscar Grant’s soul will find no peace any time soon. Oscar Grant’s family, friends, and supporters will find no peace any time soon. For Oscar Grant, there is only death--and injustice.
Johannes Mehserle, a police officer, walked away with a slap on the wrist for the brutal, cold-blooded killing of Oscar Grant, an unarmed young man from the city of Oakland, California. Johannes Mehserle mistook his gun for his tazer, and shot Oscar Grant in the back as he lay, restrained, on the cold tile floor of a B.A.R.T. station. A simple mistake. Johannes Mehserle’s family, friends and supporters will celebrate his life. For Johannes Mehserle, there is reprieve--two years jail time and double credit for time served--and a chance at redemption.
On hearing this news I did not flinch outwardly. I felt only that familiar thud as my spirit plunged to the pit of my stomach. I’ve become accustomed to this feeling. Many others have, too. But I have other concerns today. I fear that injustice in our society masquerading as “business as usual” will play itself out and create a recipe for disaster.
The outrage in response to this malfeasance of justice is palpable. Oscar Grant was no angel, to be sure. But he did not deserve to be so brutally silenced. At the very least, he deserved to have his day in court. I feel the anger and hopelessness as I read comments on Facebook and in blogs on the internet. Folks are angry. Folks are desperate. Folks want justice.
No justice, no peace.
We watched in horror as the murderers of Amadou Diallo walked away blameless. Amadou Diallo, an African man with no criminal record, was gunned down in a hail of 40 plus bullets fired by trigger-happy cops, in the doorway of his Bronx residence, as he reached into his shirt pocket for his wallet to identify himself. They thought he was reaching for a gun. He was not. He was unarmed. Ahmadou Diallo’s mother lives with that memory.
We marched in protest at the murder of Sean Bell in a barrage of at least 50 bullets on the eve of his wedding. He left his bride-to-be, Nicole Paultre-Bell, and their two children, to live their lives without his presence. The police scrambled to revise their initial statement, averring their belief that he was armed. He was not. As Sean Bell’s parents went to collect the body of their murdered son, they found his lifeless corpse handcuffed to a gurney. Sean Bell’s parents live with that image.
Recently, we have been inundated with stories of Bristol Palin’s dancing inadequacies, Lindsay Lohan’s sexual pecadilloes, Britney Spears’ social missteps, and Oprah Winfrey’s excesses. The list goes on. But Oscar Grant’s senseless loss of life has never captured the attention of the national media. Again, no surprise here.
Sometime, somewhere, this facade will begin to crumble. It will be undone by helplessness and rage bubbling in the hearts of those who remain inconsolable in the face of rampant injustice. It will be potent and unrecognizable. Some will categorize the aftermath as senseless violence by uncivilized malcontents. No-one will care enough to connect the dots. No-one cares enough now to try and stem the hemorrhaging.
Oscar Grant is dead. Johannes Mehserle will live to lie again. But, mark my words, people will only internalize so much frustration, pain, and rage before it spills over on to all of us. The backlash has not yet begun in earnest. When it does, it will be fierce.
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