We’ve gotten a spate of new members in the last few weeks, after a period of relatively restricted growth. I always try to figure these things out. Why would people be reaching out to us lately? What’s going on? I have my theories.
One is that people are increasingly fed up with the situation in Oakland. They hear all sorts of birdsong from Libby Schaaf about how wonderful our town is—and it does have a lot of wonderful aspects. At the same time, they see the enormous problems no one seems to be addressing. They can’t go downtown without encountering freaks. There are piles of garbage everywhere. Certain parts of town are unlivable. And there are a lot of dangerous fools around. The recent murder on 19th Street is only the latest horrible thing to hit downtown. People know, anecdotally, that crime continues to spiral out of control, despite whatever counter-factual claims they hear. They don’t trust anything the city tells them. How can they, after all these years of Schaaf and the City Council failing to protect us? People simply don’t feel safe on the streets, especially after dark, and no amount of cheerful pronouncements from Schaaf about Block Parties can change that.
I think there’s another reason our membership is surging, although it’s connected with the first. Word of mouth is the unofficial telegraph system by which neighbors communicate. I have reason to believe more and more Oaklanders are saying to their friends, “Hey, there’s this group called the Coalition for a Better Oakland and they’re really on to something. You should check them out.” I always go out of my way to inform people that the Coalition is the only pro-police group in town. I’m quick to add that, in my day, supporting cops wasn’t a Democratic or Republican thing, it was an American thing. People like hearing that. So many cop haters have tried to manipulate the public’s mind into thinking that any form of support for police is, somehow, racist. We give the public permission to support the police simply because it’s the right thing to do. People aren’t racist, and they resent it when the professional activists say they are.
In the end, who knows why organizations grow? Whatever the reasons, we welcome our new members, but we’re not done yet. Far from it. I’ve said before that CBO should have at least 1,000 members, and by “members” I mean active members who will get involved. When Jack Saunders and Rich DiLeo started CBO 1-1/2 years ago, they threw a seed on very fertile soil. That seed started to grow when I joined forces with them, in the winter of 2020, and the little vine has since erupted into a pretty big garden. If every member of CBO (counting Facebook, Nextdoor and this website) recruited one additional person, we could hit that 1,000 mark by next week. And then, look out! (By the way, if you’re only familiar with us through Facebook or Nextdoor, please formally join the Coalition by visiting the website and clicking on an orange JOIN US button.)
So please, help us out—help yourself, and help Oakland—by signing up some of your neighbors. And, if you’re able, donate a few bucks to us to offset expenses.
Have a great weekend!
Steve Heimoff