Richard Oakes, born on this day in 1942, was a Mohawk indigenous activist and leader within the Red Power movement, playing a prominent role in the 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island from 1969 - 1971.
Oakes promoted Native American studies in university curricula and is credited for helping to change U.S. federal government “Termination” policies (policies regarding assimilation of indigenous people into the culture of the colonizer) of Native American peoples and culture.
In 1969, Oakes led a 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island with LaNada Means, approximately 50 California State University students, and 37 others. On January 5th, 1970, Oakes’ 12-year-old daughter, Yvonne, fell to her death from concrete steps. After her funeral, Oakes left the island.
In 1972, Oakes was shot and killed in Sonoma, California, by Michael Morgan, a YMCA camp manager. Allegedly, Oakes violently confronted Morgan, and Morgan responded by drawing a handgun and fatally shooting Oakes.
Oakes was unarmed when he was shot. Morgan claimed he acted in self-defense, and was acquitted on charges of voluntary manslaughter.
“We do not fear your threat to charge us with crimes on our land. We and all other oppressed peoples would welcome spectacle of proof before the world of your title by genocide. Nevertheless, we seek peace.”
Richard Oakes
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I truly, deeply hate car alarms. I think they should be fully illegal. I want a world where if your car gets broken into, if your car screams about it you get in more trouble than the thief.
A car thief only harms one victim. A car owner with an alarm harms everyone within half a mile. Fuck. You.
Honestly if cities enforced their laws equally they would already be illegal in most cities. They certainly break the noise ordinance here, but that’s only enforced against people enjoying things, not against property.
It’s such America brained bullshit. Why do we think we have the right to piss off everyone in a half mile radius on the tiny chance we might be able to protect our property. As always in this country, property has more rights than people.
Do they even stop theft? I genuinely can’t imagine a car alarm going off has ever once stopped something from being stolen. If I hear a car alarm my first thought is never “Oh no, someone’s car is being broken into!” my first thought is “Ugh who set off their car alarm by accident fuck you and your car”
If I hear one go off I hope it’d getting broken into. Cause also, usually they’re not gonna steal the entire car, just whatever might be inside.
Sound and light pollution is so normalized that almost everyone is in complete denial of its existence. Very sad.
I have a book from, idk, twenty years ago? Called “where the wild things were” and it’s all about the ecological damage wrought by light pollution, twenty years ago. Pretty grim.
I’m too lazy to check now, but I’m pretty sure car alarms are banned in my city and every once in a while I’ll think about how weird [and good] it is not to hear car alarms anymore.
i know whenever one neighbor is coming or going because their car alarm goes off every single time they unlock it, lol