After watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. win the NASCAR race this afternoon, I decided to watch Dateline to see a story about street racing activity in Oakland CA. The Dateline show was about what are called Side Shows which feature drivers doing donuts and other loud smoky maneuvers on city streets. Basically a crowd of people late at night will essentially take over an intersection and perform the automotive equivalent of break-dancing.
Naturally, the Oakland authorities are up in arms about this. Having only 29 officers to cover all of Oakland, they are severely outmanned. But what really bothered me was the fact that the government authorities (mostly white) completely dismissed the notion that one of the reasons that the young and mostly black crowds were doing the side shows was because there was nothing else to do at night in East Oakland. Their only solution to the problem was more cops, fines, and jail time for drivers and spectators. With all of the closed shops in Oakland would it be so hard to actually provide a safe venue for events like side shows to take place? Young people everwhere need something fun to do. Either our society will take steps to provide for this, or the young people will make their own fun without the benefit of mature guidance. The police already have enough excuses to arrest young black and latino people, do we need to give them any more?
14 replies on “Oakland Sideshows: They Just Don’t Get It”
sideshows aint bad. oakland aint bad. we get a bad rep because people are afraid to walk the streets.im 17 and been around this been in cars while in the motion. this is what we grow up seeing. the amusment parks are 2 to 3 hours away and close at 10 so what else is there to do we kids let us have fun. Let East West North Oakland be Oakland let the sideshows happen. while they worry about a sideshow people getting killed and raped other places. sideshows have killed 4 people Oakland people have killed more because cops worry bout a sideshow
I live in Oakland too, and SLEEP seems to come to my mind between midnight and 4am. Try it.
Sideshows are proven to be dangerous, cars careening out of control, YES OUT OF CONTROL!. Spectators get trampled, pushing, shoving, falling over each other.
Yes, there have been 4 people killed by sideshows. Even more killed by gunfire AT sideshows. No one knows how many have been injured at these shows.
Go Home! Go To Bed! And most of all Stay Safe!
I love the sideshows mayne, its the only thing we got 2 do out here….until u give us recreation, we’ll dance on our cars, swing doughnuts and act stupid. 2 people die from it every couple years so dont act like people die every day from it. Sorry u cant sleep, but neither can we and we need 2 hop in the scraper and act stupid all throughout the bay area….
I’m not even from oakland but i love goin out there to c da shows feel me. Im from da sco and da side shows is da only thang keepen niggas outta trouble feel me if u get rid of it then wat people gone have to do at night besides roam da streets and show violence. The side shows is something dat bring everybody in da BAY together so we can all have fun YaDaDaDaDi-MeAn
sideshows crank bro! if thats were its at thats were everybody gone be, the sideshow. livin in the land of the sideshow isnt always fun like u may have heard, we gotta worry bout the same stuff people worry bout outside da town. so we make r own fun. an bein 15 livin in da east dats wat i lov doin. Sidin!
Its great you can hangout and do what you want, but if the gang violence continues or worsens, the cops will eventually crack down and youll lose. All because some jackass gang member felt disrespected. Youll all suffer cause of that asshole.
i was doing my thang @ foothill & high street a few nights ago, & i seen homies i aint seen in years @ da sideshow. its a reunion of folkers in da O. its all lovely here, just a few bad apples. ya know. if u aint from da O then dont come here talking $hit bout our thang! aight. winchels da donut king. feel me
[4] i feel u cutty. sideshows is all good out here. da 5-0 only be trippin. but they cant stop it if they wanted to cuz.all we doin is smokin purple purple and gettin gone of da drank aint nothin wrong wit dat. only the WHITE MAN TRIPPIN. white folks do da same thing but they have more money so dey make it legal for example nascar and monster truck shows. der really aint much of a difernece between white boy monster trucks and scrapers ya feel me?
side shows are saucy no lie. there aint no other way to put it. catz goin swing they ride if they got one. specially in oakland i mean clubs close at 2 aight that maybe late but what about the under 21 yrs old. now more than ever since fake id’s have become harder nad harder to find. i know people do it more for than just sumthin to do. one of those reasons bein that its a rebellious acts i do it infront of a cop if i can id rather yadidamean! our justice system is so currupt that the cops that want to do good for secioty are put on "side show watch" thats a reason why its happenning. the fight against drugs, if u even wanna call it a fight, is held more by AA speakers than cops. if u have enought money to through at a charge you’ll get off when it comes do drugs. and oakland boys, yay area boys are just stuiy we go dumb maine aint shit else to say u aint never gna be able to stop it.
[8] i feel most of that but if u watch exhibition of speed that mac dre puts out or any side show film at that there is jst as many white sideshowers and black or latino so dont bring the race bs into
i love sideshows! its da only thing to do in da town and fuck the police on my moms always tryin to hate on niggas. they need to try to stop niggas killin niggas out here. MURDADUBZ ON MINES!
[1] That’s some real shit man. i grew up in the TOWN. and i go to the side show every weekend. I ain’t bout to sit in a car or ride the BART to Marine World or Great America. The side Show is like an art show. Nigga’s don’t want to fight at a side show they just want to show off they yokin and scrapin skills show off they cars man. Cops just want to smach that’s all. "When They Gone Get It They Can’t Stop The Side Show"
[11] They not tryin to stop NIGGAZ killin NIGGAZ that’s wat they want eather that or LOCKED UP DOIN 25 with an L. YADDAHOLL. 700 ON MINES.
da side shows is what do u know what i mean!! buicks with 20"s is what we call srapers with suckion tips smasing thow da town with loud music. !!!! mac dre feeling my selfs. !!!!