Important Takeaways:
- Hanging out with the new meme king of East Oakland, ‘where life is worthless’
- A Prius hanging out of a dumpster. Stripped-down cars. Burning trash cans. These are some of the East Oakland sights set to a new catchphrase that’s blowing up on social media: “Oakland, California, … donde la vida no vale nada.”
- Even cops, government officials, firefighters and kids are repeating the catchphrase on social media and on the streets of the Town.
- It’s all because of Gregorio Ramon, who coined the saying in videos on his Instagram… and TikTok… accounts documenting crime and mayhem in the East Bay city. Since mid-2022, Ramon has been capturing footage of everything from police chases to cars on fire and the boarded-up Denny’s that closed last month due to public safety concerns.
- In every video, he says, “Oakland, California, … donde la vida no vale nada, donde la cuidad nos tiene abandonados.” The phrase translates to English as, “Oakland, California, … where life is worthless, where the city has abandoned us.
- Ramon said, “I said it because it is the reality of what we are living,” the 47-year-old East Oakland resident said. “Oakland, California, where life is worthless. Where someone can drive 100 mph, kill a 60-year-old man walking in the street and try to flee. Like nothing. It’s like just another day.”
- Ramon’s postings precede a recent order by Gov. Gavin Newsom sending 120 CHP officers to Oakland to battle rising crime in early February.
- The temporary “surge,” as state officials described it, lasted from Feb. 5 to 9 with 71 suspects arrested, 145 stolen vehicles recovered and four “crime-linked” firearms seized, according to the Governor’s Office.
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