This is Portland, we do what we like. This is Portland, we do what we like.

fortunately, nobody cares what you think

that's colder than the coffee at Shari's

lol, ok maybe you *have* been to Portland

had a kimchee omelette at the Cameo Cafe on Sandy last summer. I love occupied chinook land and its people, forgive me my obnoxious intrusion into this ontological exposition

i applaud the aplomb with which the FOAF post roasts this deplorable problematic applauding, but i can't not help but wonder if 'folx' ought not be incorporated into BIPOC & NBPOC as output BIFOC & NBFOC to really stick it to those WASPy AFAB TERFs

Are those all streaming services?

good article

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2020/07/20/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of-portland/

it's really frustrating to live here right now. really frustrating.

everything is happening on twitter and i don't read twitter because it's not a good environment for me, a healthy environment for me, because you go on twitter and people spend hours arguing about the naked person if they were a guy or a woman or an enby and if they were white or a poc and those are important questions to ask, important discussions to have, and i don't need to be a part of that.

in the meantime i do have questions and the question i have is what the fuck is _happening_

from what i can tell, me sitting in my home just like most of everybody else is sitting safe in our homes because while this is not ok, none of this is ok, i have other important things that i'm trying to do to the best of my ability, because my ability to be of help depends on my being able to do those things...

from what i can tell the federal government is trying to create a fucking war here

from what i can tell there were a couple dozen kids who describe themselves as "feral youths" and they turned the apple store into a george floyd monument and anybody who wants to buy an apple is just getting one online probably

and last night a couple thousand moms and dads showed up and the police, in conjunction with federal forces, tear-gassed them and smashed shit and it's probably going to be on the news today

and who's going to be there tonight, nobody, nothing is planned, nothing is organized, maybe there's some twitter hashtag i'm not aware of where this stuff is being talked about

what the protesters are doing is important and what the media is doing is important and i want to do _something_ besides staring blankly into space terrified for hours on end but there's not really anything for me to do.

i tell myself over and over that what i need to do is take care of myself but what the president is doing in portland is making it extremely difficult, and i envy those of you who are still able to function on a daily basis, not because you're ok with it, like literally nobody is, even the people who are supporting the federal troops want _something_ else to happen

because i am not only not ok, i am not safe, and i don't know how to be safe, not now, not here.

Kate, please do what you need to do to take care of yourself.

If you’d like to check what’s going on, groups like Popular Mobilization (PopMob) have been posting updates, the Portland Mercury has a calendar of events, and there’s a lot of stuff listed at https://www.pdx-blm-events.com/

A federal judge is investigating whether the head of the Homeland Security Agency broke the law by publically posting photos taken inside a federal courthouse, which law, just like the HSA itself, was formulated to protect courthouses from terrorist attacks. It's time to bring back the facepalm.

is that what the kids are calling it nowadays

and who's going to be there tonight, nobody, nothing is planned, nothing is organized, maybe there's some twitter hashtag i'm not aware of where this stuff is being talked about

People are probably going to be there tonight, if Seattle's main two weeks of police riots are any indication. If you want to join a protest, just walk down and join in - it's easy and affirming! you can pick how close or crowded you want to be - if you feel better personally or as a contributor to helping society staying home, stay home.

If you feel more equipped for marching or chanting during the daylight, kingfish's tips look good.

thanks y'all, i'm feeling better about this, things are rapidly evolving as they say and my hope is that there will ultimately be a positive resolution to the situation

i'm still really pretty afraid of having my skull cracked open, still, uh, really broken and fucked up already to be honest, but the people who are down there anyway are giving me strength

Pretty incredible play by play of the Portland mayor entering the fray:

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is entering the protest crowd right now. People are already confronting him. pic.twitter.com/H7uJSGYlma

— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) July 23, 2020

Seeing a crowd of people jeering and booing the mayor as a coward while he's being fucking tear-gassed doesn't exactly gladden my heart.

I assume the people booing the mayor as he's getting tear-gassed are the same people who would tear down a statue of Harriet Tubman because someone told them she had something to do with slavery.

hard to think of a worse analogy tbh

Is that a challenge? Gauntlet thrown!

I meant driven by inchoate rage is all.

Like Kate, I'm not gladdened that unaccountable federal "cops" teargassed a mayor, but AIUI Wheeler is the police commissioner and his police force has made extensive use of tear gas in this and other protests, so I don't agree that their rage is "inchoate," it seems pretty specific to me.

I also think it's...off the mark to analogize Wheeler to Harriet Tubman or even a statue of her.

Oh, that wasn't my intent. I was thinking specifically of the protestors in Madison, WI, who took down a statue of an abolitionist and a monument to women's suffrage. That's the kind of inchoate rage I was referencing. If Portland's mayor has a history, then by all means, boo away. But if he's part of the problem and not the solution, then I don't know who is going to push to get the feds out of there. The AG? Governor?

The frustrating thing for me is watching a national battle play out over what are properly local fucking issues. I understand why the protestors are jeering the mayor. People watching on Twitter, probably a lot of people watching on this thread, won't, and will dismiss it as the radical left eating its own.

I don't think the President and his forces are engaging in divide and conquer tactics on purpose. I'm not convinced he's smart enough for that. I don't think it matters.

I have friends overseas who don't understand why the President is still in office, who don't understand why we don't do something about it. Well, of course, it's because we have no legal recourse. And I have... well, I guess people who I considered friends, and they say that what the federal officers are doing is bad, of course, but that doesn't excuse what the protestors are doing, and they are just going to have to sit this one out, sorry.

I am way more afraid of the federal government than I am of the protestors. Way more afraid. Since I don't have recourse to the law, since the federal government does not consider itself bound by the law, my only hope is that a decisive number of people will see it the same way and that they will make their decisions, live their lives, in accordance with those beliefs.

At this point it's basically a blind hope, and I'm not very good at that.

Oh, that wasn't my intent. I was thinking specifically of the protestors in Madison, WI, who took down a statue of an abolitionist and a monument to women's suffrage. That's the kind of inchoate rage I was referencing. If Portland's mayor has a history, then by all means, boo away. But if he's part of the problem and not the solution, then I don't know who is going to push to get the feds out of there. The AG? Governor?

― Josh in Chicago

Jo Ann Hardesty.

Oh, that wasn't my intent.

No worries, I figured as much. It just struck me in the moment as misguided, hence my response.

Hardesty does seem great, but I haven't lived in OR for years now (and that was Eugene anyway) so I will shut up now.

Anybody who wants more information - here, people will read it, other places, people are less likely to - this OPB article explains pretty well what the situation is here.

https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-mayor-ted-wheeler-faces-protesters-and-tear-gas-head-on/

Ted Wheeler deserves the tear gas tbqh

yep this is about as far from "inchoate rage" as you can get

A list of demands projected on the wall above his head as he spoke concluded with a call for him to resign.

Wheeler showed no inclination to do that, and he provoked more boos each time he told questioners that he does not plan to hand over day-to-day oversight of the Portland Police Bureau to Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty as she has demanded.

is that fucking specific enough for you, Josh?

An hour or so after Wheeler departed, his own Portland Police Bureau declared the event a riot and ordered people to leave downtown or face “arrest, citation or riot control agents.”

meh

https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/07/federal-judge-finds-state-lacks-standing-denies-oregon-attorney-generals-motion-to-restrict-federal-police-actions.html

5,000 or more downtown last night, who knows how many tonight

interview with local journalist on the ground

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTauwlVYMNg

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/politics/portland-federal-agents-leaving-protests-homeland-security/index.html

The feds never left. They stationed a garrison of 130 troops behind, when the original detachment was 114. The cops naturally returned to beating people and slashing tires last night over on the eastside.

which federal property over there did they find to protect from chants and drums?

There’s a precinct or a sheriffs joint on E Burnside

In this video we hear a Portland Police officer discuss his desire to shoot pepper spray up a protester's ass.

Is this acceptable behavior from an officer @ChiefCLovell? Do you like hearing this @tedwheeler? Should this man be allowed to stay on the force, @DAMikeSchmidt? https://t.co/pWloQ8LewY

— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) August 4, 2020

absolutely excessive brutality last night

https://twitter.com/IwriteOK

I guess this is the Portland thread as such? Great because guess what you're all doing on April 22 -- joining us:

https://www.megaphonic.fm/live-2023

ooh

Yeah be there or else. Or something.

ugh i have to work that night but maybe i can sneak in for the first hour or so, would be nice to see former ilxor casuistry!

Pity but yes, do make it for the start at least! His main podcast will record first.

Might have to stop by

Just a quick reminder that this is happening two weeks from today!

Okay, one last reminder for tomorrow if you can make it!

https://www.megaphonic.fm/live-2023

ahhhh FUCK how did i miss this thread, i have a date booked for 5 pm today :( i've never met any ilxors in person... idk maybe i'll talk with my girlfriend and see if we can make it anyway...

update: i changed my mind and decided to go anyway, really enjoyed meeting you ned and the podcast was a lot of fun - i've never been to a podcast taping before!

Oh shoot, I hadn't seen this until now.

Anyway. Formally a Portland resident as of April 1!

xpost It was a treat of a night and a joy to meet ya!

Way cool Eazy! Open invite to folks here - if anyone is in the PDX area and wants to hang out, drop me a DM. :)

same offer goes for me in Eugene!

Aw man, I missed this yesterday

But yeah, if we ever want to do a meetup in Portland, I’m in.