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Vice President Kamala Harris calls herself a “daughter of Oakland, California.”
She was also keen to demonstrate her connection to average Americans. In a recent interview with the ABC affiliate, she said, “I grew up a middle-class kid. Our neighbors were very proud of their lawns, you know? And, um, I was raised to believe and know that every person deserves dignity.”
What this Oakland girl, born in this troubled city and raised in Berkeley, never says is that there is little dignity in being beaten, robbed or murdered.
California Democrat defends Kamala Harris' 'concrete' economic policies
Harris' hometown is consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in America, and crime has risen dramatically in the years since the pandemic shutdowns. As of the start of 2024, rape, theft and murder have shown improvements, but robberies are on the rise and the overall level of violent crime has not declined.
Vice President Kamala Harris claims to be a California native but is indifferent to the issues in her hometown of Oakland. FILE: Harris receives a warm welcome as she takes to the stage at the 20th quadrennial conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) Women's Missionary Association in Orlando, Fla., on Aug. 1, 2023. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
What has Harris done to help Oakland? At best, he has ignored the plight of its residents, and at worst, he has put them at risk.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have witnessed a wave of horrific attacks against Asian people across the country, but the most ruthless and hateful violence has been concentrated in urban areas like Oakland.
Time and again, video footage made it clear that the perpetrators were black. And the victims were too often vulnerable, elderly, immigrants. As the first black and Asian vice president, Harris was uniquely positioned to lead on this issue. She could have led a dialogue between black and Asian communities to promote reconciliation and understanding.
While leaders like former President Barack Obama have condemned the ugly attacks on Asian Americans without regard for their apparent racial context, she could have addressed the black community and called for an end to the epidemic of violence, particularly against Asians, by black people.
Indeed, a national coalition of Asian American organizations has urged the White House to appoint Harris, a former California attorney general, to work with local and state law enforcement to strengthen police protections for Asian Americans in the community.
Harris did none of the above.
Instead, she blamed former President Donald Trump for alleged racism, ignoring the fact that anti-Asian violence by blacks was commonplace during and after Trump's time in the White House, especially in California's Bay Area. Today, because she can't blame him, the first Asian American vice president simply ignores the heinous attacks that continue to occur today.
Meanwhile, black, brown and Americans of all skin colours also have reason to fear.
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff gather on the Truman Balcony at the White House, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Last year, in Oakland, the local NAACP chapter urged elected leaders to declare a state of emergency, citing an “intolerable public safety crisis” in the city.
“African Americans disproportionately bear the brunt of crime in East Oakland and other parts of the city,” the Oakland NAACP said in a statement. “Failed leadership, including the movement to defund the police, and the proliferation of anti-police rhetoric have created a golden opportunity for criminals in Oakland. If committing a crime in Oakland goes unpunished, crime will continue to soar.”
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Where does this proud daughter of Oakland stand?
She advocated for reducing the police budget. During the Minneapolis riots following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, she called for the creation of a bail fund for rioters. She denies this, but her social media posts are still up on X (formerly Twitter). She also argued that we need to “rethink public safety,” which also means reducing the police budget, and supported the decision by then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to cut the police budget by $150 million.
What has Harris done to help Oakland? At best, he has ignored the plight of its residents, and at worst, he has put them at risk.
Thanks to policies like those advocated by Oakland's most famous daughter, the city's residents are seeing fewer police officers, more shootings, more crime, and less safety.
Oakland residents, led by black mothers of murder victims and Chinese-American public safety advocates, have launched a campaign to remove Pamela Price, the district attorney for Alameda County, which includes Oakland. Price has overhauled policing in exactly the way Harris favors it, and residents have accused her of caring more about criminals than victims. Her office has also been accused of trying to secretly secure parole for murderers.
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Where is Harris? Smirking on the debate stage, obfuscating her dismal record as vice president, shunning the media and calling her opponents racists.
If she becomes president, she will disappoint people across America just as she has disappointing the people of Oakland.
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