We continued reading Lysistrata after discussing the recent tragic events in Oakland with Lovelle Mixon and four Oakland Police Officers. There is a vigil this evening at 74th and MacArthur Blvd. at 6 p.m.
Our freewrite today took its topic from this incident. You can post your freewrites on the murders here.
Homework: Complete Dreams from My Father. Think about what social entrepreneur you'd like to to profile in a research essay. See Frontline World (Social Entrepreneur for examples of SE). The argument is each of us can do something to change our community, none of us is a victim. The SE is a person who is working in a community in Northern California and is a key stack holder. There is a difference between a SE and a philanthropist. See kqed.org (New Heroes) for a definition of SE.
I will show you a few films of SE from the series. We will write this paper in April. You will present this paper the day of the final in May. We will continue in Pidd and read The Audacity of Hope next month also.
In May we'll work on polishing our skills and answering questions.
We'll meet in Lit Circles Thursday, March 26, and on Monday, March 30. We'll do some in class writing March 31, and the midterm will be given on April 1, due April 2. Students will propose a grade justification based on an agreed upon rubric tailored from the one I gave you at the beginning of the term.
Make sure you post your three essay questions where assigned by next week, if not already done. You can also add other questions.
Our freewrite today took its topic from this incident. You can post your freewrites on the murders here.
Homework: Complete Dreams from My Father. Think about what social entrepreneur you'd like to to profile in a research essay. See Frontline World (Social Entrepreneur for examples of SE). The argument is each of us can do something to change our community, none of us is a victim. The SE is a person who is working in a community in Northern California and is a key stack holder. There is a difference between a SE and a philanthropist. See kqed.org (New Heroes) for a definition of SE.
I will show you a few films of SE from the series. We will write this paper in April. You will present this paper the day of the final in May. We will continue in Pidd and read The Audacity of Hope next month also.
In May we'll work on polishing our skills and answering questions.
We'll meet in Lit Circles Thursday, March 26, and on Monday, March 30. We'll do some in class writing March 31, and the midterm will be given on April 1, due April 2. Students will propose a grade justification based on an agreed upon rubric tailored from the one I gave you at the beginning of the term.
Make sure you post your three essay questions where assigned by next week, if not already done. You can also add other questions.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 8:28 AM
6 Comments:
rebecca evans eng 1a 3/24/09 response to police deaths
A man wanted for violating his parole killed three veteran police officers and fatally injured another in East Oakland on Saturday. The first gun battle took place after a routine traffic stop and the second after a massive manhunt ended in gunfire. The gunman was also killed.
The injured policeman was taken to Highland Hospital for medical support and has since been taken off of life support and plans ensue to have his organs donated.
Mixon, the gunman, was on parole and had a warrant out for his arrest for violating that parole.
The rampage began when the two motorcycle officers stopped the suspect's vehicle for a traffic violation and out of nowhere the gunman shot at the two police officers, killing one. The suspect fled and Oakland Police called for backup and began a search. .
A SWAT team entered an apartment to clear and search it when the gunman opened fire. Two members of the SWAT team were killed and a third was grazed by a bullet before officers returned fire killing the suspect.
The policemen lost were: Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40; SWAT Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43; and SWAT Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35, and recently deceased Officer John Hege, 40.
These men were fairly young, some left families while others simply left the family of the Oakland Police force. Policemen are courageous; everyday they put their lives in danger to protect U.S. citizens. Police men are gentle and willing to help those in need, they portray themselves as calm and collected only deserting to force when absolutely necessary, instead they would rather take time and talk with someone to understand the predicament. Of course everyone has miffs about an occasional paking ticket but overall they are protecting us.
I am reminded of Columbine at the horror of latest siege. Columbine resulted in the murders of 12 students and the injuries of 23 others at Columbine high school. The gunmen, previous students, committed suicide once they had murder numerous students. The heartbreaking realism is, why did they take innocent lives if they were planning on taking their own?
I have no doubt these men as well as the Oakland gunman, Mixon, suffer from physiological issues. Hence they cannot rationalize the pain they insure. Never the less, weather we must look at our public health reform, child rearing tactics, there is no excuse.
Mixon was on parole and was destined to be caught violating is parole or to live in seclusion and caution. He knew he had wronged and his life would probably remain less than what he wanted. But why and how did he find the gumption and force to kill four innocent men?
Good questions. I am going to the vigil tonight for Mixon. Perhaps some of these questions will be annwered.
WS
Nina Wooten
Eng. 1A
8-9am
I feel really terrible about the incident that took place Saturday afternoon. I can't even begin to imagine why Mixon felt that shooting and killing four police was his only option when being pulled over for a traffic violation. My heart goes out to the families of the individuals who lost their lives.
There are so many people who feel they can't trust police officers because of personal experiences and or witnessing events that took the lives of other citizens. Its an on going war that seems impossible to resolve. I was disappointed to hear one of my most valued friends say that she felt OPD deserved everything they are enduring. Majority of the responses are related to the Oscar Grant shooting, which affected many communities terribly as well.
Rebecca Evans eng 1a 3/25/09 response to police deaths
I am deeply moved by the consequences of the deaths of four valiant men. To lose a life before the calling of old age is a crime, especially for those who serve her community by selflessly protecting others.
I have a firsthand experience in that I am blessed to have an uncle who served 28 years as an Oakland Police Officer. He began his career on parole and then moved to worked on truancy which is perhaps the most dangerous of all police leagues, consisting of daily interaction with prostitutes, drug deals and shootouts. David was involved in a shot out where an aimed gun was miss triggered resulting in him keeping his life. He suffered through traumas daily, leading him to suffer with multiples sclerosis today. After his intense service in the truancy he moved to work in the station as a desk clerk and finally ran the PAL program for four years. PAL is Police Athletic League, which focuses on supplying sports to otherwise misguided youth of Oakland. He found a passion in this; he got to know many children and they left huge impressions on him and gratefulness or his family and opportunities.
Every day he suffers from Multiple sclerosis, MS, it has limited his mobility considerably, affected his immune system. He remains steadfast and strong in his daily life and morals. Being a police man he has leaned valuable concepts and morals such as: dedication, patience, honesty, and fairness. For him the police force served as an extended family, a peaceful solitude and anchor. In a world so turned upside down it is comforting to know such valiant men would give their lives to protect the citizens of America.
In Mexico police men are more like opposing military, they walk with militant guns slung over their shoulders ready to take in the innocent and kill the accused. We as American citizens are blessed with caring police officers who take the time out to make a difference in their communities and in turn our lives.
Andre Stephens
English 1A – 9:00 – 9:50
March 26, 2009
The City of Oakland has made news again and for all the wrong reasons. As if all the homicides and other major issues weren’t enough to date, the four policemen that were killed represented the highest number at one time in the history of the police department. Some might say that these were bad cops. This doesn’t seem to be the case in this scenario. They were just doing their jobs, a routine traffic stop.
The suspect didn’t want to go back to jail because he had previous felonies. What he failed to realize was either way, he was going to pay whether it be to serve more time in prison, or some other significant punishment since his parole officer had signed a warrant for his arrest.
The shootings on Saturday took place five blocks from where I live. I was at home when there was breaking news on the television. It is unfortunate that this happened so close to the Oscar Grant killing because the community has not recuperated from that yet. Some may say this was retribution for Oscar Grant. First, these were two separate situations and secondly, it didn’t involve the cop who shot Grant. The four officers who lost their lives were innocent victims.
On Sunday my brother, who is a bus driver, came over. He said that while he was driving the bus on Saturday many of the young people called the killer a “soldier” and spoke about him as a “hero”. My brother said, “You would have thought they were talking about Dr. Martin Luther King” and it bothered him. He said a hero does not shoot someone who is walking towards them and when they are down, shoot them in the head with an assault weapon with no concern that other innocent people might get hit by stray bullets. A hero doesn’t grab a 12 year old girl off the street and rape her. It was reported that the day before the shooting, DNA evidence had linked the shooter to the rape of the girl.
On Tuesday, there was a vigil held to remember and honor the fallen officers. When I got there, there was a small group carrying signs and screaming “look what happens to our boys; the officers just kill them.” There were some representatives from the City: Mayor Ron Dellums, Attorney General Jerry Brown, Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, Lt. Governor John Garamendi and City Council representatives Desley Brooks, Ignacio de la Fuente, Larry Reid, Nancy Nadel and Jean Quan. The East Oakland Interfaith Choir sang some inspirational songs. Mayor Dellums spoke about peace and unity and offered his condolences to the families of the officers. Everyone was encouraged to “be the change”. The people attending the vigil represented a wide range of races and ages.
My hope is that we can become empowered and stronger as a community so something like this doesn’t happen again. It may not be a perfect system, but can you imagine what our communities would be like without the police? There needs to be more focus on early intervention programs that educate young people everywhere on the dangers and effects of violence. The message should be spread in the home, school and anywhere we can get the attention of young people.
Nely Ruiz
March 20, 2009
English 1 A
Free Write on Police Murders
I do not want to write on this subject. So all I will say is we should not judge, for that is how we well be judged. This incident is very controversial; everyone has different opinions and I do not want to share my personal opinion on this subject.
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