Aside from rocking the mic at numerous venues and events across the nation, former member of the rap trio Native Guns, Bambu DePistola, has become a prominent figure and a mainstay in the community - as an organizer and as a powerful voice for the generation.
This is Bambu, in his own words.
Weeks after the Guilty verdict of Involuntary Manslaughter was reached by a Los Angeles jury for BART officer Johannes Mehserles, who shot and killed Oscar Grant, BakitWhy.com had the opportunity to meet up with Bambu DePistola near Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles, CA. We asked Bambu to discuss the community’s concerns and have him address some of the underlying issues surrounding this unfortunate incident.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police shooting of Oscar Grant refers to the fatal shooting of unarmed civilian, Oscar Grant, by BART officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California, United States, in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco, BART Police officers detained Oscar Grant and several other passengers on the platform at the Fruitvale BART Station. Officer Johannes Mehserle and another officer were restraining Grant, who was prostrate and allegedly resisting arrest. Officer Mehserle stood, drew his gun and shot Grant once in the back. Grant turned out to be unarmed. During his court testimony, Mehserle said that Grant then exclaimed, "You shot me!". Grant was pronounced dead the next morning at Highland Hospital in Oakland.
The events were captured on multiple digital video and cell phone cameras. The footage was disseminated to media outlets and to various websites, where it was watched hundreds of thousands of times.
On Oscar Grant:
Oscar Grant was, in the simplest term, a young person of color from a very marginalized, disenfranchised community - as cliché and corny as that might sound, he’s one of us. He was with 2 Latino kids, he was a young person of color, and he was murdered, and it doesn’t seem like anybody really cared. The day of his killer’s verdict they were showing Lebron James’ team switch. That’s what they spent an hour special doing. I’ve yet to see an hour special on the life of Oscar Grant.
On Johannes Mehserle:
Did he mean to kill him? I don’t know, but he killed him. He killed this young man who had his hands behind his back laying on his stomach. He said he meant to tase him, but why would you tase him? I thought the protocol for tasing somebody was when you thought they were going to be aggressive towards you. And then he flipped it and says, ‘Oh I thought he had a gun.’ Then why were you reaching for your taser when you thought he had a gun? And then if he had a gun why didn’t you scream ‘Gun! Gun! Gun!’ like what you’re supposed to scream so that everybody could react? He took it upon himself to be the hero and shot him in the back. Seems like a killer to me.
On the significance of Oscar Grant’s memory within the Plipino community:
I think in regards to the Filipino community, the reason why this is important for us is because all these struggles are linked to us back home. We’re dealing with almost the exact same forces, the abusive authority. We’re dealing with those same things back home in the Philippines. To link the African struggle in this country, the Native American struggle, the Mexican, Chicano, the South American, Central American struggles in this country and show solidarity is important for that simple fact alone. Filipinos should be out there. The same way Filipinos are out there during May Day (when the immigrants take to the streets), Filipinos are right there with them. It should be the same with this--this is no different. This is something that affects young people of color here in America. Let’s just break it down to a class issue. Yeah, I know there are Filipinos that live really well in Rancho Cucamonga but there’s a bunch of us that still live on these blocks. We’re the ones that are being affected. There should be no disconnect there
On the ongoing issue of police brutality:
This is something that’s been going on. This is something we’ve been screaming about. It happened with Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Aiyana Jones, Tyesha Miller. The names, the faces, and the people rush to my mind. It’s something that I’ve always known was there. We go and we keep taking to the streets every time something else happens and we keep getting the same results. You guys can’t see that this is wrong? It’s just that this thing has been happening for so long. It’s not even to a point where we can be calm about it anymore...this is aggressive and active.
On the Guilty verdict of Involuntary Manslaughter:
Involuntary manslaughter is definitely not justice at all. This cop could get 4 years parole 18 months. That’s ridiculous. What will the locking up of one police officer do? Will it send some serious message to these other police officers? I doubt it, but it’s some kind of justice for a man who’s lost his life. I wouldn’t want the guy who killed me on accident to just spend 18 months in jail and then go home to his family when my daughter now has nobody to call a Dad. I don’t think it’s justice at all. And this happens time and time again.
On spreading awareness:
Raise the awareness by studying the issue and then raising the issue; having discussions with people about it... At the same time you’re building that awareness, let them know that it doesn’t stop once that consciousness level is raised. You actually have to go out there and do something about it.
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Comments
I'm with your brother, I believe and see for my own eyes what is going on in the streets of the Wild Wild West. Your doing a great job with the community and I'm proud to say there ain't to many pare's like you, I'm with the revolution and with the people.
Ryan Galang