On a separate but related train of thought:
In terms of reflection on last night’s events, two things have stood out to me in great contrast.
The area and places that were primarily damaged are mostly wealthy and white, while this doesn’t give people the freedom or right to destroy others property it does lend some understanding to their anger and backs up both @anon61221983’s and @daneel’s points.
On the flip side of this, and I want to word this carefully, from what I observed last night the very small percentage of people who were acting violently and damaging property were without exception white and male. This is where I am struggling to turn my thoughts into words without degenerating a person’s right to anger. I don’t want to say I would have felt better if the people damaging property were LGBTQ, female, minorities, or muslim, but I would have felt… more sympathetic? Then again, maybe that would have given the Trumpkins more ammunition… I think I need some help on this one, any other Happy Mutants understand what I’m trying to say? Because I’m not sure I do.
Oy. Another protest, which is fine, but the “anarchists” are back, which is not. They spray painted the windows of a credit union downtown. A credit union. Duhhhhhhhhh
I believe the peaceful protesters are trying to show support for the many people who will be vulnerable under the Rancid Pumpkin administration, and to send a wider message that . . . well, #NotAllAmericans, I guess. And when this other group shows up and starts breaking shit, they are making it about themselves instead.
That’s the problem with folks protesting anything in the Bay area as well. Opportunists from other areas get wind of it and use the chaos and confusion as a cover for their own selfish bullshit, including thievery and mindless destruction.
There are a lot of breweries here, but I don’t usually equate that smell with piss… or maybe you spent a little too much time in downtown Portland? Then again it might be the issue Portland has with Houselessness and our city council’s unwillingness to work on any real solutions (@Chloe_Eudaly to the rescue!). The city’s refusal to install and maintain anything resembling a public restroom also probably hasn’t helped… hm, maybe it does smell a lot like piss here.
Breweries don’t smell like piss, they smell like heaven. There’s one a couple of blocks from me; the other night we took the dog for a walk and the neighborhood was suffused with the aroma of warm malt
Portland is famous for its bear, and both tourists and locals tend to drink a lot of it, so yeah there are definitely bar/pub heavy spots around Portland where it always smells like piss.
EDIT: @piratejenny, yeah I didn’t word that right. What I was trying to say was that the people around breweries, bars, and pubs are usually pissed (british version), smell like piss (american version), and make the surrounding area smell like piss (both?). I agree, whenever I’m down by Widmer and they’re brewing it always smells amazing!
I recall reading Joe Strummer talking about how that song wasn’t to endorse white people rioting but rather mocking those (relatively) well off whites who thought rioting was justified.
Somehow the fact that the rioting part started on the same corner that has The Big Legrowlski is… an interesting contrast. And yes, it looked like it was mostly white dudes. Someone ordered one too many caucasian.
The chairman of the Oregon Republican Party has called for Mayor Charlie Hales to resign and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to mobilize the Oregon National Guard after five nights of anti-Donald Trump riots in Portland that caused at least $1 million in property damage and repeatedly shut down city streets, transit lines and area freeways.
“The mayor took an oath to maintain control of the city and he has lost control. Where’s the accountability? It’s understandable that the police can’t control thousands of protesters, so the governor needs to step in and restore order,” Bill Currier told the Portland Tribune early Sunday.
Oh for fucks sake. This is just the Oregon Republican Party Chairman trying to be inflammatory and make headlines. Our mayor is not going to resign… because we have a new one taking office on January 1st!
