Revolution #164, May 17, 2009

 

Cold blooded murder is still cold-blooded murder:

Protest!
 May 18 at the court hearing for
Johannes Mehserle

Demand justice for Oscar Grant!

On Monday May 18, Johannes Mehserle, the cop who killed Oscar Grant goes to court. That day there needs to be massive protest outside the Alameda County Courthouse, at Fallon and 12th Streets.  You need to be there to demand...

JUSTICE FOR OSCAR GRANT!

Thousands of people are killed by the police every year in the US—and usually the cops who commit these murders get away with it. But this terrible murder was caught on video and the outrage that followed force the system to do something rare: charge Johannes Mehserle with murder! But just because he was charged doesn’t mean he will be tried and convicted. The system must feel the people’s anger and the demand for justice for Oscar Grant. A strong and determined culture of resistance must come into being— to win this battle, as part of building the revolutionary movement we need to end injustices like police murder and bring into being a whole new kind of society.

Four months have passed since Oscar Grant was shot in the back, and the system has gone through contortions to minimize this horrible killing and even lie to exonerate Johannes Mehserle... but

COLD BLOODED MURDER IS STILL COLD BLOODED MURDER!

Millions have seen the videos of the New Year’s execution of 22 year old Oscar Grant—executed by BART cop, Johannes Mehserle. 3 different cell phone videos showed, from different angles, Oscar and his friends fully complying with police, and trying to chill, even while police were slugging, choking, handcuffing and throwing them to the ground. [see youtube.com/user/oscargrantjustice]

After months of BART telling the public how sorry they were about Oscar’s death, offering “condolences” to his family, and promising to investigate the killing and get at the truth, their official answer to Oscar’s death is that HE is responsible, not the cop who shot him.

• BART says, “ Oscar Grant willfully and wrongfully provoked the altercation in which he was involved.”

• They say that when Mehserle pulled his weapon and shot Oscar in the back it was simply a “tragic mistake” and a “terrible error.”

NO! These lies are attempts to cover-up, and deny justice in this case. Why did Obama send a letter of condolence to the families of the four fallen “heroes” but did not utter a word about Oscar Grant or the other thousand people killed by the police each year? And Attorney General Jerry Brown (who some are saying should take over the case) called the people of Oakland “urban terrorists” who “pile on [the cops] as though they were doing something bad, when they were really doing something good.”

Why is it that no one can remember when a murdering cop got convicted?  Because their whole system rests on the violent suppression of the people—especially Black and oppressed people. This is why the system is attempting to exonerate Mehserle. They want to legitimize what he did and defend the police, so they can protect their system and so their police can keep on brutalizing the people.

And this is exactly why the people must not let them get away with this, why we have to step way up on our fight for justice for Oscar Grant.

As a member of Oscar’s family said: “If a cop, especially a policeman, can get away with [murder] on video we are all in trouble, every single one of us are in trouble.” But if people really come out to fight this and WIN, it will be a blow to the system of oppression and part of bringing into being a radically different world.

The Whole Damn System Is Guilty!

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