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Reflections on the Oakland Warehouse Fire
American Thinker ^ | December 7, 2016 | Joseph Nicolello

Posted on 12/07/2016 6:53:13 AM PST by Kaslin

As the nation mourns the tragedy of the dozens who perished in the Oakland Warehouse Fire, it is time logic is addressed as well.

When I was in my early twenties, I went to several such parties. Not raves, but more like shows and readings from books, have a couple of beers. There was no thought involved, for the cities and the parties I attended, the people I met, were the main thing. To an extent it was well worth throwing caution to the wind, far away from a stagnant hometown, in order to meet a fellow artist.

Then one day I had a revelation of what would ever happen if indeed a fire broke out.

I mentioned this to the sort of man in this confessional video published recently – and I was laughed out of the room.

These people did not even have fire extinguishers on hand.

That is psychotic.

There are places like this Oakland Warehouse all over America. Places with neither window nor fire escape. Drugs rampant. Cigarettes and spliffs abound. Ashes.

Inquiry into sprinklers or fire extinguishers or emergency exits will get you laughed out of the room.

It is this attitude that killed those poor people. We must, as a people, never let artistic integrity transcend the real safety of the people attending these warehouses.

He is likely to say he was providing a Safe Space. This is doublespeak. Stupidity and an apology does not save the fool who gets into his car drunk and runs over children walking home from school. Ideological safety must be treated with equal sincerity for the physical safety of these sorts of artistic havens. This applies to housing as well.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; US: California
KEYWORDS: oakland
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1 posted on 12/07/2016 6:53:13 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Plus a protected class of people running the place, which may have meant lax inspections from the city.

Had it been a Christian retreat, it would have been inspected right out of existence.

Plus the people at the rave were probably mostly high on something, making an escape even less likely.


2 posted on 12/07/2016 6:59:17 AM PST by ltc8k6
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To: Kaslin

The more that comes out about the owner of the property and the manager of the building, the more both of them along with the City should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The owner & manager knew the place wasn’t safe, and the city repeatedly ignored the situation.


3 posted on 12/07/2016 7:00:04 AM PST by nuconvert ( Khomeini promised change too // Hail, Chairman O)
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To: Kaslin

Fire protection is so dull, so square, so un-artistic. In a way it is a buzzkill to the artist. The very possibility that it and the artist might burn to the ground is part of art for art’s sake. Why in the world is there even an event called Burning Man (mentioning it because it is a reflection on such a mindset).

But anyhow, the artists would be smart to hire a non-artist to take care of these square things.


4 posted on 12/07/2016 7:01:13 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: ltc8k6

Christians would have at least tried in earnest not to have it be a death trap.


5 posted on 12/07/2016 7:01:48 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Kaslin

Without reading the rest of the article, I am wondering how many more times he is going to hackney being laughed out of the room.


6 posted on 12/07/2016 7:02:43 AM PST by webheart (All comments are considered to be sarcasm unless otherwise noted.)
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To: ltc8k6

Hey. It’s Oakland.


7 posted on 12/07/2016 7:03:49 AM PST by onedoug
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To: Kaslin
Public schools have 87% of the population through the psychologically formative years and then turn the zombie snowflakes loose with a permission slip/hall pass (diploma)

I am not surprised and I AM angry as JIT !

8 posted on 12/07/2016 7:05:25 AM PST by knarf (I say things that are true, I have no proof, but they're true.)
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To: Kaslin

Unfortunately this event will trigger much invasive action across the country by inspectors. Whether fire inspectors or building code offices, citizens will be subject to snooping and nosey county and city officials using this event to unleash oppressive citations, etc. To go where no govt officials have gone before.


9 posted on 12/07/2016 7:14:07 AM PST by George from New England (escaped CT in 2006, now living north of Tampa)
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To: knarf

It’s ultimately up to the people yet what spirit they are going to trust.

A lack of explicit bible preaching in those schools doesn’t excuse the soul of any person.

Ideally they should be hearing at home. Then wherever they go, even in academies where evil is encountered, they will be safe and secure in God — and also those academies will be less tempted to mislead the students because they won’t go along with certain things anyhow.


10 posted on 12/07/2016 7:17:15 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Kaslin

A rave is not an art showing.

These counter culture slobs do what they want and don’t give a crap even about their own tenants. Oakland had many complaints from tenants and they were ignored. IF they had been squatters they would have lived the same way


11 posted on 12/07/2016 7:17:44 AM PST by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: nuconvert

I believe the correct charge is murder one


12 posted on 12/07/2016 7:18:29 AM PST by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: George from New England

It’s too soon to say.

I hope it would wake up artists’ associations, however. If they won’t look to the “unartistic” art of fire protection, then a city that is not at all understanding will look to it for them.


13 posted on 12/07/2016 7:19:41 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: George from New England

Yeah sure/s

Not in oakland


14 posted on 12/07/2016 7:20:05 AM PST by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: Nifster

In our indignation we might wish to morph the law that way, but it will be a negligence/negligent manslaughter case at most.

The artists had a responsibility too. Nobody crammed them in that fire trap against their will. Nobody.


15 posted on 12/07/2016 7:20:57 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: ltc8k6; Kaslin

Actually, the fine City of Oakland has inspected only about one-third of the buildings in this neighborhood, which is part old single-family housing, part warehouses, part artist and performances spaces - it’s sort of like when things got started in the now hip district under the Brooklyn Bridge. And while the city inspectors have cited owners, they rarely seem to do any enforcement.

The owner of this place had been cited, the fire seems to have started in a refrigerator (which wasn’t even supposed to be there because it was not approved as a residential space) and he was stealing power from a building next door or from the city street lights, I don’t recall which. So he should have been shut down immediately.

Of course, the City of Oakland has a huge city staff and bureaucrats galore, but they don’t actually do anything. And this is the result.


16 posted on 12/07/2016 7:21:09 AM PST by livius
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To: Kaslin

Reading the Daily Mail story it doesn’t seem this was an “artistic community”. It was more like a slum composed primarily of people who couldn’t afford to live anywhere else or people who were more into drugs and drinking then making a life for themselves.


17 posted on 12/07/2016 7:22:11 AM PST by DouglasKC
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To: Kaslin
Here's why this article is off base: For instance, the last room I looked at renting in NYC had no windows and the only door to get out was at least 100 feet down a long, long hallway. It was a waste of time to even come out to that edge of the city. Out of morbid curiosity I asked about a fire escape. Again, laughed at. “No, but that’s why it’s so cheap!”

This warehouse was NOT being rented or approved for habitation. It was not an apartment complex but was being used as one - illegally. The enforcement officers should have raided the place and kicked everyone living there out - but as government does, it did nothing.

18 posted on 12/07/2016 7:23:27 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: HiTech RedNeck
I would LOVE to agree with you, but I can't.

My first wife (now home with the Lord) home schooled all our kids, all in church almost from birth, all born again, and now only one out of the five nominally "religious"


America is no longer the religious atmosphere it was in the 50's.

TV went off at midnight with the National Anthem and a prayer, and the family the prays together, stays together was a common phrase

EVERYONE called it "The Good Book" and only the basest of human beings gave God a last name.

Satan has been working hard and he DOES have successful graduates of his own and they are good at proselytizing.

19 posted on 12/07/2016 7:34:05 AM PST by knarf (I say things that are true, I have no proof, but they're true.)
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Comment #20 Removed by Moderator


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