Oscar Winners

I watched several videos of the Oscar Grant shooting and read the stories a couple of years ago when the incident took place. Grant was involved in a fight on a transit train.

I do believe the BART cop, Johannes Mehserle, intended to use his taser, not a pistol. The look on Mehserle's face at the sound of the gunshot shows his shock at what he had done. Most videos uploaded online or played on the evening news did not show Mehserle's shock, simply because it did not fit the agenda of those making a case for racism and police brutality, or making political brownie points.

What irritates me is that Oscar Grant was an Oakland gangbanger with a thug sheet for drugs and violence, some baby's daddy, the stereotypical dependent on the same "system" that activists have convinced so many to disrespect - as a dead "victim" he is worth millions to his family and their attorneys, a martyr for the cause, support for a politician pimping votes.

Of course Grant's young daughter and her momma will need some support, not that he was contributing much support anyway. Of course BART should be held responsible for not training their rent-a-cops better - but who is responsible for not training Oscar Grant better?

While the Grant and Mehserle families grieve over the tragedy, the lawyers line up for lawsuits, the Grants go shopping, "justice seeking" pols pander the black vote, and the taxpayers bend over. Squawking about the "system" calms down, all the way to the bank.

It's a sad, sad day when you're more valuable dead than you are alive.