[Toughy]

I just got back from downtown Oakland. I have been involved in hundreds of protests and I have a good sense of how they go and of crowd energy. I know what the professional anarchist violence prone asshats look like.

Oscar Grant's grandfather spoke at the rally. He called for peace. This was a long planned rally to occur the day of the verdict. Oakland pastors and priests and community leaders have been holding candle light vigils and calls for peace since the trial started and it's stepped up since the jury went into deliberations on Friday. There are lots of families with children down there, Christian groups, Unitarians. The crowd is mostly black and brown, but plenty of white folk. I missed the little incident with the AC transit bus, but that was settled peacefully and the OPD backed off. They do have the entire area surrounded with police in riot gear, long batons, some with tear gas rifles.....I must have seen about 500 cops in the downtown area.........with hundreds more staged down towards Jack London Square (the cops are from oakland pd, state patrol, sheriffs dept, and surrounding communities). Some of those cops looked a little tense, but most looked and felt ok.

I left because it's getting dark and the number of anarchists (mostly young white men) with faces covered by bandannas and black men with faces covered started increasing. The feel of the crowd was starting to change and the families were starting to leave. Yes it's gonna get ugly down there tonight........probably really ugly because there are some rightfully very angry folks who are going to get violent and will be spurred towards it by the anarchists. I've seen plenty of peaceful demonstrations and civil disobedience actions turn to shit in a hurry once the anarchists start with their crap.

AtLast............you know.........what you said about 'racial rioting'........well that's just flat out racist. You might want to think about why you put the word 'racial' in that sentence.

I have no earthly idea how involuntary manslaughter could possibly be the verdict when the white cop shot and killed an unarmed black kid, in the back, while the kid was face down on the ground. This country just will not convict a cop of murder esp a white cop killing a black kid.