sad

[cassidyrose]

Just plain depressing, sad, and scary.

With its new Yuppie cafes, gondolas and expansive gentrification in the flatlands, Oakland has experienced a significant transformation since the mid-1990s.

But one thing has not changed.

There remain isolated, impoverished pockets where young black men who sell drugs kill each other over things as mundane as a dirty look or a dice game.

This year, 110 people have been slain in Oakland, almost 25 percent more than in 2001. Although the toll is far less than during the crack wars of a decade ago, it is a stark reminder that Oakland can still be a violent, brutal place.

...

The tabulation of death does not tell the depressing demographics that are sadly similar to years past.

Almost all of the dead, 82 percent, are black, as are most of the known killers. Of the victims, 86 percent are men, and in many cases, those slain knew their assailants.