May Day Riot in Santa Cruz (Video)

WATCH: "Anarchy Riot Santa Cruz Ca May Day 2010" on YouTube by alansitarbrown & "Violent May Day March in Santa Cruz" on YouTube by ksbwtv

Santa Cruz has suffered an incident of mass vandalism that is being labeled an "anarchist riot" in the news media. Cowardly and misguided individuals appeared at an un-permitted "May Day party" in Downtown Santa Cruz with masks, spray cans, paint bombs and rocks to destroy the message of international workers' rights. Instead they terrorized and destroyed our city, for the name of what exactly I'm not at all clear.

These nut jobs smashed a series of windows and sprayed anarchist graffiti on local businesses after turning a workers' rights rally into a riot. Whatever misguided notions they have about anarchism, or whatever message they were trying to convey, was smashed right along with the glass. Compounded by that only cowards wear masks to get "the word out," for whatever that means to them. If you have a cause that you are passionate enough to protest about, use your face and real name to stand behind this cause and not the cloak of a mask.

These supposed connections between a local "anarchist's cafe" and the madness in Downtown are weak, in my mind. Those groups are usually book clubs, not bomb-throwers and masked vandals like in some common misconceptions. But I do not speak from any personal experience on this specific group.

I've asked around a little and nobody knows who did this. I'm going with the theory it's just some cretins with no message at all beyond destruction and fear-mongering the public.

The real tragedy here is the taint to the righteous cause of workers' rights worldwide that started when the organizing group, who are now under FBI scrutiny, refused to gather the proper permit.

I can report that unnamed local leaders were urging these people to file for the permit, hoping to close the open door to incidents like this one.

I think the poor police response time is the real story here. Reportedly, police were led away from the rally by a pair of false 911 calls designed to distract them from the situation brewing Downtown; however, according to multiple eyewitnesses (of which I am not one) as well as the included YouTube video the police took over an hour to respond.

Merced Sun-Star:

"We don't think this was an unsophisticated group of protesters; we think this is an organized group of anarchists," Santa Cruz Police spokesman Zach Friend said Monday, adding that investigators believe the anarchists had sought to strain city resources.

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In the Political Internet this riot is being framed as having some connection to liberal progressives by the far right-wing. This is entirely untrue and goes to show how little these misguided conservatives understand how liberals feel about might-makes-right kind of messages like terrorizing people with riots and the mass destruction of property.

Unlike the cases of obvious tea party vandalism against pro-health care reform Democrats, there is no resounding vocal effort to excuse the actions of all these possibly politically motivated vandals and domestic terrorists on behalf of liberal progressives as there most certainly was on behalf of the "tea party conservatives."

Whatever Free Speech you want to spread is fine, and odds are we'll disagree about something somewhere, but making threats, inciting violence, destroying property and wearing masks is just the tactics of terrorists and fascists.

A Gangland Murder Down The Street

A young man, Carl Reimer (R.I.P.), was brutally killed no more than a block from where I write to you now. This small beach town of Santa Cruz, California is fast becoming not a small town at all. We are fast becoming a city that has young men killed in public parks then proceeds about our daily lives as if nothing ever happened.

I am reminded of when Tyler Tenorio was stabbed to death in front of a 7-11, and the community outrage over this incident. Where are these same people when it comes to this recent gangland killing? Does community involvement stop and end around the popularity of the victim murdered?

I have a mind to take the fight to these murderers, to show them the residents in this area have guns too. Another element here is the complete incompetence of the local police department. Myself and many others are skeptical that the SCPD will be able to do anything to put behind bars the murderer of a 19 year old local. We feel they lack the experience or the tools required to aggressively investigate a murder case to a conclusion.

Police presence has increased ten-fold since the murder in the immediate area, but I don’t feel any safer. I feel I need to openly brandish weapons and start my own “community involvement” group centered in violently resisting criminal elements by any means we deem necessary.

The rumor about town is that this young man was killed for wearing gangland colors at the wrong place and the wrong time. According to my sources he enjoyed wearing red plaid and backwards hats, which many gang members in this area associate with gang affiliation. It is extremely unlikely that Reimer had any gang affiliation of any sort, and likely this was a case of gang members mistaking his identity for a rival gang member. Regardless this recent act of gangland violence in my town has me thinking it’s time to stop playing by the rules with ruthless murderers and psychotic gang-bangers.

His honorary grandmother is quoted in a Letter to the Editor appearing in the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Wednesday, April 28^th 2010) as saying:

Gang members are nothing but cowards. They travel in groups and shoot and stab unarmed people. I want them to know how devastated his family and friends are, and they have taken the life of a beautiful, intelligent, multi-talented and beloved human being.

Cowards don’t respond to fair play and status quo responses. Either these murdering gang-bangers get the message they will be hunted down like animals for this, or they will boldly kill again.

Maybe next time I’ll be the crime statistic, maybe next time a stray bullet will kill one of the many young children who live on the block. Then the community will be sure to rise up, but if you kill a 19 year old in a public park that’s apparently not enough to incite people to do something about it.

R.I.P. Tyler Tenorio

The Santa Cruz Community has suffered a great loss. A young man taken from us in his prime.

Whatever the circumstances, this horrible violence has touched me and I don't feel I conveyed the depth of my thoughts on the matter when I spoke of it previously.

When I was sixteen, I was really stupid. I didn't know Tyler, and I have recently discovered some of my friends in fact did know Tyler or his family. I am making an assumption that perhaps teenagerist stupidity was at play in this stabbing based on myself, not Tyler.

I feel what must be said is that I believe in my heart of hearts that Tyler Tenorio rests in peace with God.

This young soul taken from us before his time.

My heart is with all those who have lost loved ones.

I apologize if any person took offense from my previous post in regards to Tyler. I was awarded an "Editor's Pick" on Open Salon for my efforts, but in retrospect I should have expressed my emotions on the matter rather than pure dispassionate conjecture.

Gangland Stabbing in My Town

A young man was stabbed to death in front of a 7-11 parking lot in Santa Cruz, California. Tyler Tenorio was sixteen at the time of his death on October 16th around 10 p.m.

Friends of Tyler Tenorio (Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)

More than 300 people gather on Laurel Street Friday evening to voice their opposition to gang violence and to remember Tyler Tenorio. (Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)

The Santa Cruz Sentinel

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What was conjecture of the locals the day prior has become an issue of major concern for the District Attorney and the police department.

Was Tyler representing gang membership or making a claim to belong to a gang surrounding the time of his death?

Those like myself who read the original article published in The Sentinel on this tragedy saw this element of the story coming ahead of time.

I don't wish to cause anyone to be troubled but in my estimation Tyler, and likely his friends as well, were representing themselves as being in a gang called "Westside" that associates with the color red and is local to this side of Santa Cruz.

The history of "Westside" is not my focus here, but it is a gang that is mainly people claiming to belong to it and has very few (if any) actual members beyond teenagers wearing colors.

It is my contention that Tyler Tenorio was wearing red clothing, and having his shirts pressed by his mom, because he wished to be associated with a local gang that would never seek recrimination upon those who falsely claim to belong to it.

This is a very common occurrence in Santa Cruz youth, to claim to be part of "Westside".

This case underlines the need to be aware of what our children and our friends are doing around us.

There is another element I feel I should touch upon as well.

There is a possibly that this tragedy was not as strongly related to gang affiliation of any sort, but rather was a case of prideful arrogance boiling into sheer violence on behalf of both parties.

The entire scene of violence could have been avoided if only Tyler had chosen to keep driving and avoid the confrontation itself.

It is within reason to assume that this young man is dead because of man-pride and the need to prove yourself right at the end of a fist.

After the shouting, the driver pulled the car onto Myrtle Street, parked and Tenorio and his friends got out. One friend told police he was angry and got out to fight, according to the court document.

I was not present for this event. I can only read news reports and hear what people have to say around town about it. But based on what I know it is a possibility that this senseless death was fueled by the arrogance of the young men in both parties, or it also possible that this was a gangland stabbing that involved a false gang member being stabbed by a real gang member who assumed that other was affiliated.