Wow. The City of Oakland has a new strategy to get guns off the streets, and naturally it involves Axl Rose. Rose, who penned the 1988 classic “One in a Million” featuring the line “Police and n — , that’s right, get out of my way,” agreed to give $25,000 worth of Guns and Roses tickets to Oakland for a gun exchange promotion.
Gun “buybacks” have been successful elsewhere (and in Oakland in the mid-90’s), but usually they involve things people actually want, like money. This program, though, is straight up guns for guns: you give us your weapon, we give you a ticket to the December 15th concert at Oracle Arena.
Not only were we surprised to hear about the program, we were shocked to find out that Guns & Roses was acutally still a band. Apparently their forthcoming album “Chinese Democracy” touches on “the State of global politics,” and Guns & Roses has promised more activism in their music. Their efforts to help make Oakland a paradise city are, apparently, a step towards this goal.
The idea is so strange that it actually has the San Francisco Chronicle’s Chip Johnson – not usually a columnist we see eye to eye with – talking up real solutions to violence in Oakland, like increased work opportunities. His article on the buyback quotes confused Oakland residents wondering why the tradeoff isn’t for more desirable items like Raiders tickets, and ends with a quote from an Oakland resident who lays it out pretty directly. “How about a job offer that paid real money to live on, so I don’t need a gun?” said Allah, a tow-truck driver.
Now the City can’t really be blamed for taking advantage of the offer and seeing if it makes a dent in the skyrocketing homicide rate. We do hope that none of the Measure Y violence prevention program funding is evaporating into this cold November rain. And we continue to advocate for real solutions that tackle the root causes of violence in Oakland, like mediation, recreation, community policing and increased opportunities for young people.
The first buyback already happened, but there is still another chance next Saturday in DeFremery Park. If you (a) have a gun and (b) are dying to hear “Prostitute” (that’s the first single off Chinese Democracy) or the three-minute long guitar solo in “There was a time,” now’s your chance.
4 Comments
Wow that is exciting to hear about i wonder if we can get some hip hop stars and rappers from the bay area to do that as well someone we know the kids will listen too
It’s a noble idea and I hope that one day young people will realize that violence is not the answer. In today’s society our young people have been indoctrinated by the media and the violence within their own homes to think it is easier to point a gun to feel a sense of power than it is to find less violents means to solve disagreements, this leads to so many senseless deaths in our communities. So many mothers crying for the loss of their children and children who will never know their fathers.
I believe we can change this cycle of violence in our homes and our communities, but this can only be accomplished with a serious committment to hold life sacred and teach our children better ways to solve problems. We need to stop the killing and make our streets safer for our young people. Police brutality must end. Racism cannot be tolerated. Violence cannot continue to be a generational legacy. Our children deserve better, they deserve to be safe and to grow up without the fear of stepping outside of their front doors and being shot by drive bys. This is what I hope we can all accomplish if we work together. Let’s save our children in meaningful ways, let us start with teaching compassion, tolerance and respect for each other.
I honor this organiztion for helping so many people, Ella Baker is one of my heroes.
Tanya
parent, activist and advocate
“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation.
The foundation of such a method is love.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
This is right here, in the present, not the future.