Double speak chants issued from the black clad crowd. “No
Hate, No Fear, Proud Boys are not welcome here.” Were these chants to protest
hatred and fear or were they an attempt to purge this feeling from their own
hearts?
Andy Ngo
Andy Ngo is a Portland based independent journalist who has
worked extensively covering the protests in Portland Oregon. He documents what
happens and shares the video on social media as well as writes articles for
publications such as Quillette and the Wall Street Journal.
Saturday he was covering several of the events in downtown
Portland, excited about his new GoPro camera. Sadly that excitement was short
lived when a large group of Antifa protesters, dressed in all black and in
masks to obscure their identities, descended on him.
It started with someone pointing him out specifically and
telling the crowd he was a ‘bad person.’ This singling out was all that was
needed to provide the incentive for the mob to unleash their fury.
First it was someone throwing a drink, probably a milkshake,
on Andy. This action was met with cheers and applause. Bolstered by this
reaction other members of the crowd quickly stepped up to escalate the
violence.
Andy, with his hands up covering himself, was struck several
times. Fists, gloves with hardened knuckles, and silly string repeatedly struck
Andy. The chaos emboldened Antifa members took the opportunity to rob Andy,
stealing his new GoPro and the camera he had been using to document the
protest.
Attempting to escape this hate, Andy stumbled across the
park, unaware of the extent of his injuries. He felt dizzy and sat down,
unknowing that the cause of this feeling was due to a bleed in the brain caused
by the attack.
The police, having been ordered to stand down in the face of
Antifa by Mayor Ted Wheeler, arrived at Andy’s location and offered medical
aid. Andy eventually made it to a hospital later that night to discover the
seriousness of his injuries.
Other Attacks
Another man alone, filming Antifa marching the wrong way
down the middle of a one way street was pepper sprayed by Antifa and chased
off.
An elderly man was confronted by Antifa only to be left with
blood running down his face as the violent mob beat him, kicked him while he
was down and threw objects at him. When another man tried to intervene to break
up the fight he was struck over the head from behind with what appeared to be a
crowbar.
This man later went to the hospital and received over 20
stitches in his head. These attacks were just the ones that got reported.
Rule of Mob
The Portland Police is taking a lot of heat for these
violent protests. People wonder why they can be seen watching nearby as black
clad Antifa violently assault people and destroy property. This is not due to
the laziness of the individual officers, or the lack of a desire to perform
their duty.
Instead this is due to orders they have been given. These
orders come directly from the police commissioner, Mayor Ted Wheeler. Mayor
Wheeler justifies these orders by saying he is bound by the first amendment to
allow people to protest.
While people have the right to free speech and freedom of
assembly, this right must be exercised peacefully. Mayor Wheeler, with the help
of some members of the media, tries to pin all the violence on Conservative and
Right Wing groups.
If you dig a little and observe other events these groups
hold outside of the city of Portland (across the river in Vancouver for
example) they are peaceful, people are allowed to speak and counter protesters
are allowed to protest. As soon as Antifa shows up things get violent.
The media love to weasel headline these stories. A weasel
headline is when you state something that is not false (which is different than
something that is true) and frame it in the opposite direction. For example ‘Violence
breaks out at Patriot Prayer rally.’ Makes it seem like violence follows the
group Patriot Prayer and their rallies.
When you watch the video of the rally you can clearly see it
is Antifa attacking the group they do not like. Mayor Wheeler, instead of
condemning this sort of behavior actually applauds it. He thanked Antifa for
their harassment of ICE personnel saying that he is glad that they are bringing
national attention to this problem.
Mayor Wheeler also says that if the police enforce the law
it will just cause more protests and Antifa riots. Instead of upholding the
rule of law and protecting the liberty of the citizens, we now see a violent aggressive
group being allowed to assault who they want, disrupt and direct traffic, and
damage property.
When the police do make an arrest these people are often let
out on bail or given a fine and turned lose. The city of Portland used to be a
beautiful city, full of weird and interesting people peacefully pursuing their
American dream. Now it has turned into a graffiti covered homeless camp soaked
in urine and littered with used needles.
Where angry black clad mobs rule the street, imposing their ‘woke’
justice through violence and intimidation, backed by city council members and
the mayor. Where the police force, whenever they are allowed to enforce the
law, are thrown under the bus for political gain. Where business owners keep
boards the size of their windows in their stock rooms ready for the destruction
of the next round of violence.
The line between civilization and anarchy has worn thin in
Portland. Responsibility and authority have been abdicated and the group
filling that vacuum believe they are justified in violently enforcing their
beliefs on the citizens. With the 2020 elections on the horizon I can only see
this downward spiral getting worse. For the citizens of Portland I hope that I
am wrong.
