I have never once experience such a beautiful display of non-violent civil disobedience in my entire life while attending and recording most of Tuesday's night's protest in Portland, Oregon. Thousands of activists were chanting in MASS to the beat of marching drums while marching through the streets unified, to and from the park in front of the Multnoma County "Injustice" Center to avoid repeated tear gas assaults.
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During Tuesday evening's protests in downtown Portland (7-21-2020), we witnessed casualties of two protesters that were shot with rubber bullets. Both of them were apparently shot in the head (which can sometimes kill you even with a rubber bullet), and both sustained serious cranial wounds. One of them also had a second wound in the abdomen that looked to be serious and extremely painful. I saw both victims with my own eyes and you can see one of them being carried off to medical attention in the video. I kept my distance when recording out of respect.
My group of fellow activist friends, my partner, and myself were also directly hit with tear gas smoke. I did not have a gas mask so I felt the full effects of the stun. At first I thought that it was a firework, but by the time I realized it wasn't - it was too late. I bolted blindly without vision or oxygen, and my entire body felt like it was on fire, especially my eyes. It was a scary thing to say the least - I also caught most of this incident in the video. The crowd was tear gassed several times that evening and it started early, not long after we arrived. Flash bangs and rubber bullet munitions were always coupled with each gassing.
These attacks were executed with no violence originally instigated by protesters that evening, and even though all these brutal tactics were inflicted on the crowd, the crowd remained non-violent as a whole, and stayed unified in the messages of government/police reform, and the demand for removal of federal forces from our streets.
For the record, I (along with most of the protesters) do not approve of the small amount of people who are damaging property, lighting fires, and reportedly (although still not proven) attempting to blind officers with lasers throughout the length of these protests. There are thousands of people at these protests NOT doing any of these things, which you can clearly see in the video. I do not support any acts of unwarranted violence from the police, feds, or protesters. The point of these articles/videos is to show the truth of how the police and feds are instigating violence, not the other way around as the government and mainstream media wants you to believe.
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I did not agree with every single chant that was spoken at this protest. One in particular was "all cops are bastards". I am not one for polarizing and generalizations (which is what the mainstraem media is doing to all the Portland protesters), and while many cops do in fact act within the definition of the accused term above, it is certainly not all police. There are actual good police officers that truly have the best interest of the people they serve at heart, but they are far and few in between, which is unfortunate, and part of why these protests are continuing.
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One could argue that "Fuck the police" over "all cops are bastards" is more appropriate (although still not perfect or even all-encompassing to both points of the protests) due to the historical significance of that phrase. NWA - authors of the notorious track "Fuck the Police" may not have originally intended for their song to become what it represents now (the supposed true story of it's origins is actually quite absurd), but this song is recognized as a warning, reminding the government and police that you cannot treat people poorly and expect them not to speak up and resist (although the government obviously very much expected this and are using it to their advantage in playing the game they created as always). I am mentioning this because FTP was another chant protesters were using captured in the video.
It is also necessary to mention that while 99% of the Portland protesters are setting a beautiful example of non-violent civil disobedience, there are a select few people that are destroying property and setting fires, which is not in line with the message and actions of the rest of the protesters. On the way back home after the protest on Wednesday, I heard glass shattering behind me which sounded like someone busting windows. My friend told me not to look back and keep walking because the feds will shoot us if we are near anything like that when it happens. I also heard a story of someone lighting their blunt off of a burning cop car! As cool as that story may sound, burning police vehicles and destroying property is not in the best interest of this movement (or a non-violent action) and will feed ammo and validity to media and government that are already attempting to discredit it as a whole.
" I have not personally attended the protests due to several personal reasons (one largely being covid and my partner’s mother having a blood cancer putting her at high risk), but I have stayed very much up to date every day watching live-streams and getting information from people on the ground and left/neutral/right wing media, and I’ve driven past the protest briefly to see things from afar. There have been a handful of people acting as agitators using violence; however, largely the protests are peaceful. The claim that it’s all ANTIFA or "anarchists" attempting to overthrow America is absurd and undermines the thousands of people showing support for those experiencing racial injustice and for reformation of the police. Oregon has an extremely deep rooted history of racism with the last of the racist language having been removed from the state constitution in 2002. 2002 y’all!!! Portland specifically even has a recent history in the 1940s with the town of Vanport being destroyed by a flood caused by a dam that was known to be faulty which led to 15 deaths. Vanport was basically where all the black people were forced to live due to racist laws dictating racial segregation, of 40k inhabitants, 40% were black. Oregon has at one time a law which gave Black people 6 months to leave the state or they’d be publicly beaten once a week until they left. Oregon was one of the first states to join the union, however, they didn’t just want no slavery, they didn’t want Black people at all. What we are seeing now in Portland is the result of centuries of extreme racial injustice boiling and finally reaching a breaking point. The peaceful protests were fizzling out, but the arrival of the feds has sparked an entirely new energy behind the very same movement with a much greater sense of organization.
Federal agents are wearing masks, full camo, a department signifier and (supposedly) a 3 letter designator tied to their identity kept behind a wall of OPSEC. They are moving through the city in unmarked vehicles and literally kidnapping protestors after they’re in less occupied locations. They refuse to identify themselves and do not speak of why they are detaining or where they’re taking the protester. This is terrifying because now people who want to harm protesters can dress up in military garb and kidnap them. Likely, it’s unsafe for the feds because should they do that to the wrong person and the person gets scared and pulls out a gun... well.. that’s a sight nobody wants to see. The Portland police were banned by a federal order from using CS gas (a chemical agent BANNED by the Geneva convention) unless a riot is declared because they were using it so indiscriminately. $45k USD was spent in July alone on chemical ordinance. The PPB then began declaring riots on peaceful protests because a handful of people had thrown rocks and water bottles, or because someone shined a laser at them (a fucking laser... riot??? Sigh...) Shortly after they had been banned, feds then stepped in from multiple different agencies and simply refused to allow the protests to exist and have used MUCH greater use of force than PPB ever did. They indiscriminately tear gassed and beat a wall of moms linking arms at the front of the protest. They beat a 53 year old navy veteran (wearing a sweater in summer that says NAVY) shattering his hand needing surgery and bear maced him at point blank. They’re targeting media journalists and medics.
What we are seeing happening in Portland is appalling and a perfect example of a government abusing power.
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What About Portland's Mayor?
The mayor has been acting out an obvious facade throughout all the protests in Portland by claiming that he is standing with the people in support of the protests and opposes the federal occupation. He claims this stance while simultaneously commanding the Portland Police Department, which has continuously collaborated with federal "police" in using riot munitions on non-violent protesters.
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Here is a perfect example of how those in government office manipulate the facts to serve their own agendas, the agendas of the government (not the people), and to discredit those who oppose them.
Mayor Ted Wheeler showed up to the protests on Wednesday night, where he continued his claim that the Portland police are not supporting the current federal occupation.
Portland's mayor was asked about what he could do about removing the feds from Portland by a protester after his arrival outside the justice center:
Protester: "So your saying there is nothing you can do immediately?" (about the federal occupation and violence)
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler: "What we are doing tonight is the best thing we can do. Be here, be clear, and be unified. We don't want them (the feds)... we want them to leave"
This claim was again undermined, when the PPB once again appeared at another protest and declared it a riot. This was after the feds released tear gas, flash bangs, and other riot ordinance into the crowd.
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#publicitystunt
By the Mayor - not this Activist
For the record - I am not a fan of Twitter or Insta, however it has been a good source of raw and up to date footage during these protests in Portland from people on the ground.
Source 1 - Source 2
Source - ACLU Oregon
What you are about to witness in the following video is exactly what is taking place during these Portland protests, and what this part of the movement represents. It is 30 mins long, diverse, and comprehensive. I have received an immense amount of backlash for publishing my first post about what is happening during these protests (which I will get into more later) from multiple people that do not live near this area. I anticipate more conversations after this post as well, since many people from other areas may only be considering claims about the movement in Portland made by major media corporations, or choose to only pay attention to the small amount of negatives that are being exaggeratedly highlighted. Providing #resistance to the lies the mainstream media is feeding the populous - here to spread awareness about the TRUTH of the injustices being served in Portland (not to defend violent and aggressive actions of the few), and an accurate representation of the protests on the ground. Let's please keep it respectful in the comments so we can all learn together - we are here to educate each other.
Updated wishlist
GAS MASKS!!! - watch the whole video to see how bad we need these
Helmets capable of stopping bullets
2-way radios
Kevlar Vests
What I wish to see more from protesters - stopping Portlanders who are acting inappropriately.
Aint no POWER like the POWER of the PEOPLE
Cause the POWER of the PEOPLE don't stop!!!
Click pic or link below to play footage
Gunshots, fireworks, or flashbangs? All of the above.
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