Message to the powers-that-be:
You do not want to mess with Oakland.
I don't mean this in the gangster-rap, we're hard, hyphy kind of way. I simply mean that you better take us seriously.
No one criticizes Oakland more than me. We're a city that constantly under-achieves. Any chance we get, we shoot ourselves in the foot. It's always about potential, never achievement.
Nevertheless, there is still an enormous amount of potential here. Potential to rebel.
Oakland is the home of the Black Panthers. This is the town where the Hells Angels became the famous outlaw biker gang. The Raiders are the bad-boys of professional football, constantly penalized by the NFL but refusing to change their ways.
Our neighbor, Berkeley, is where the freedom of speech movement began. We basically create only three styles of music; punk, metal and hardcore rap. We invented a new language based upon slang.
Clint Eastwood is one of our native sons. Our favorite athlete is famous for stealing things.
Basically, we love rebels.
What this all means is that every kid raised in Oakland is taught from a very early age to challenge authority. This attitude pervades every aspect of our culture. It is in our blood to stand-up and fight the power. It is both a curse and a blessing, but it is there.
Just as Los Angeles is consumed with the entertainment industry, New York is a city where you can go rags-to-riches, Portland thinks green, Boston is Irish, Salt Lake City is Mormon, Philadelphia is rude (c'mon, they booed Santa Claus) and Dallas makes everything bigger, Oakland is a city of rebellion.
If there is any place in America where the occupy protests will transcend to the next level, it is most assuredly the sunny side of the Bay.
Not all Oaklanders will agree with the protestors. But when they see the heavy-hand of the police cracking down, certain genes in their DNA will be activated. They will be called to duty and they will hit the streets.
The sleeping giant will have woken.
