The Portland Police Should Go on Strike

Men and women of the Portland Police department I know a lot has been asked of you in the last year but I ask for one more act of courage on your part, it is time to go on strike.

 

You are beset on all sides by people who wish you harm. Politicians are willing to throw you under the bus to fuel their political careers and to grab national headlines.

 

International activist groups and lawyers prevent your arrests from resulting in justice rendering your valor and virtue wasted.

 

Gangs of violent anarchists attack you indiscriminately without repercussion.

 

Corporate media, only interested in a headline, provides cover for your enemies, cutting you off from the real public support that you need.

Patriots, back the blue, brothers and sisters who took the oath to protect the constitution with you, and peace loving Americans will stand with you. We are thankful for your service and respect the difficulty of the job you do, but we are now asking that you do one of the most difficult things a person with your type of character could do, stand down.

 

I am not asking you to stand down forever nor am I saying stand down so people can get hurt, I am saying stand down in order to help the communities for which you love and sacrifice for daily. To help restore the rule of law, to ensure that the law is applied equally to everyone, to serve justice and peace.

 

I know that you have families to feed, mortgages and rent to pay, and bills that are due and that a strike is asking a lot of you. I wish I could offer you security and promise that everything will be okay but I cannot make any such assurances and remain honest.

 

What I do know is that you can either make a stand for justice now and go on strike or continue to serve injustice and have to look into the face of the communities that once called you friend as they view you with anger and fear.

 

At the end the choice is yours, the future is uncertain and you stand at a crossroad. History is rarely made in a clap of thunder but through the individual decisions we all make every day. This decision is yours, what kind of future and life do you want? One where you survive simply by getting by or one where you struggle for something better? Will your children be better served by a check paid to you out of their future liberty or by your sacrifice now to secure the light of liberty?

Enough is Enough: What Are You Going to Do?

The police are being told to stand down so that people the mainstream media call mostly peaceful protesters can riot and loot.

The mostly peaceful people cheer on the minority, actively encouraging, condoning, and providing cover for their actions. The mob has taken away your right to have a say. They boldly claim they are speaking for you, the people, as they set fire to the court house or pull down a statue.

They do not speak for me.

But what do we do? Normally I would say elect new people, go out and vote, get involved in your local party. While those things are still important, this is not a normal time.

The police we have entrusted to keep the peace have been handcuffed and are now being beaten savagely as we look on. We now have a choice, do we stand by and watch as these guardians of peace who have stood between us and the most depraved manifestations of our nature are systematically taken apart or do we pick up the responsibility abandoned by those elected officials entrusted with authority and restore peace and order?

It seems like an easy choice, but it is not as easy as you’d think. You will not be cheered for picking up responsibility, in fact by lifting this cross you will be attacked. You will suffer.

You will be called violent when someone punches you in the face. You will be called an extremist as you call for unity. You will be branded racist for loving your country. You will also be tempted.

Tempted to claim the power being used against you and wield it for good. But good fruit cannot grow from a poison tree. Both the suffering and the temptation seek one thing, to strip away your responsibility, because it is in this responsibility that you find meaning.

It is in this responsibility that you make yourself worthy of the suffering of life.

The streets have never been so crowded yet so empty. People shouting empty phrases into the air, conjuring demons out of brothers and making saints out of lies.

Calling people out does not reach their heart, it only causes them to utter false apologies in a misguided attempt to please a monster that feeds on outrage and misery. The apology, instead of satisfying the monster, only sends it into a frenzy as it justifies the outrage (inherent in any apology is an admission of guilt) and means the fruit of misery is ripe.

Our elected officials drop everything to meet the demands of the rioters but you peacefully gather at the capital in the thousands only to be shooed away with a pat on the head. I am just as guilty of this as anyone else. I post things online, I write my blog, I talk with friends and coworkers and we are all full of ideas of what ‘they’ should do. Then we go back to work, go home, and carry on with our lives.

We say things like, oh it’s Portland, if they would ever come to my town they would never get away with that. Then they come to your town, destroy your statues and loot your businesses. 

You then say, yeah but if they tried that at my house they would never get away with it. Then they show up at your house and burn the American flag on your front porch. You weakly say, well if they break into my house they would never get away with it. 

But it’s too late, they have already gotten away with it. Your house is on fire, the police are not coming, the fire department is not coming, and your neighbors are not coming. You are alone in your burning house and you wonder, why didn’t someone do something? 

All the while you never realized that you were someone, that you could have done something, but each time you were called you hesitated. As your community, your state, and your country burned, you turned on Call of Duty and ignored Duty’s Call. Each hesitation, each ignored call, etched onto your very being until hesitation became habit and inaction became your virtue. 

So what can you do? I’ll admit honestly I have no clear answer for that question because I do not know you. I am not going to lie to you like a politician and say I have all the answers for you and if you support me all your worries will go away. That is a question you are going to have to answer for yourself.

First recognize four things. 

One, work within your circle of influence. This means understanding what you are actually capable of doing. You probably can’t get elected governor, but you can vote. You can always extend your circle of influence and work up to getting elected governor, but chances are for the majority of us, that is outside of our current abilities.

Two, understand there is not going to be one magic solution. Simply changing the school system or the tax code will not fix everything. Lots of things need to be done, do not focus too heavily on any one thing or believe that if only X would happen then everything would be better.

Three we are currently in a culture war not a political disagreement or violent revolution. You cannot win the battle if your army is on the wrong field.

Four, you as an individual are needed right now. Not you as a member of a group (gun owner, male or female, or Trump supporter) but you as the unique individual with your own talents, interests and abilities.

Lastly if you know of any of these events, statue destruction, flooding of a school board meeting to read scripted ‘comments’ trying to cancel someone, or occupations, please bring it to the attention of the rest of the community. Then get up and go use your voice. Don’t get into shouting matches, physical fights or call people names but stand up tall with courage and honor.

PS. I am starting to organize people in my local community here in Oregon to do something I think is pretty cool. Looking to organize mostly young people to become the leaders we need but also looking to build a community. If you are interested, everyone is welcome, reach out to me on Facebook or in the comments of this blog, thanks!

The Portland Narrative of The Right Wing Rally

There was a Right Wing rally in Portland on August 17^th 2019. The rally was to raise awareness for domestic terrorism, particularly to highlight the actions of the group known as Antifa. This rally was in response to the brutal attack, at the hands of Antifa, on an independent journalist Andy Ngo that left him with a brain hemorrhage.

Narrative One

Leading up to this rally there was a lot of hot rhetoric on both sides. This of course caught national attention and the media was attempting to bill this event as the next Charlottesville. Naturally this alarmed the public, no one wants Neo-Nazi’s and White Nationalists gathering in their city.

This narrative was pushed by the mayor, Ted Wheeler, and the mainstream media. The only problem was that the Right Wing groups were not Neo-Nazi’s or White Nationalists. In fact Enrique Tarrio, one of the organizers and head of the Proud Boys is not white at all. Seems a bit odd that a White Nationalist group is led by a non-white person.

The media and the Progressive mayor, not interested in allowing the truth to get in the way of a useful narrative, ignored that fact. The mayor instead doubled down. He made the rounds on major media outlets saying that violence will not be tolerated in Portland.

His statements were a bit vague and any attempt by media personalities to get him to clarify who he was talking about were dodged. He seemed to imply that he did not want groups from outside of Portland to bring violence into the city. It seemed like mayor Wheeler was going to allow the police to do their jobs to keep the peace.

The mayor, along with a group of Portland organizations, held a rally a few days before saying they don’t want outsiders to bring violence into their city. That they don’t want people to come here and say hateful things and spread their hateful message.

In an unrelated and totally coincidental matter, several members of Patriot Prayer had arrest warrants issued for them and were taken into custody. This included the head of Patriot Prayer Joey Gibson, who turned himself in voluntarily to the police.

The Death of Narrative One

The rally was set to start at 11am on Saturday August 17^th 2019. Several groups showed up early to organize people and to share their location on social media. I arrived 15 minutes early and made my way to park where the rally was set to take place. After making my way around the police line and ending up among the black bloc I eventually made my way to the Right Wing group.

The Right Wing groups met up in the park, surrounded by police and screaming protesters. The protesters shouted at the Right Wing groups, called them Nazi’s, fascists, racists, and yelled at them to go home. While the organizers were from out of town a lot of people at the rally lived in or near Portland.

The Proud Boys got between the protesters and other members of the rally, trying to keep everyone focused on the speakers rather than engaging in shouting matches. Most the people at the rally understood that Antifa were a distraction and focused on the speakers. While in the park the Right Wing groups knelt down and said a prayer.

They prayed for Antifa and the city of Portland. To bring light into the city and to bring an end to the hate. This was followed by a signing of the national anthem and chants of USA. After this the organizers announced they would march to another location. They walked across the bridge and ended up at their location. It was here that a man walked into the group and started shouting F*** YOU while pointing at the face of every person he saw.

The Proud Boys acted quickly to keep the crowd away from him and the police quickly removed the man from the situation. No punches were thrown, no one was beat up and the police did their job. Soon after this, around 1:30pm the group was told by the organizers to disperse and head home. People left and made their way home.

The rally was over and it was peaceful. Antifa remained and turned their anger on individuals they singled out as Nazi’s, the police, and even attacked the bus the Proud Boys were attempting to leave on. Seems a bit odd that Antifa members spent hours yelling at the Right Wing groups to leave and the moment they try to leave they attack them.

After the Right Wing groups left a civil disturbance was declared due to illegal blocking of roads and several assaults committed by Antifa. The next day the media tried to carry the narrative forward writing things like ‘violence rocks Portland at Far Right rally’ or ‘13 arrested at Far-Right protest in Portland.’

They seem to have forgot that almost everyone has a cell phone with a camera and can watch the events happen in real time, unedited. These media companies had their comment sections light up as people pointed out that they are attempting to mislead people. Mayor Wheeler came out afterward and said that Joe Biggs, one of the organizers, was no longer welcome in Portland.

Wheeler said that Bigg’s message of hate had no place in the city of Portland. This narrative died as soon as the bus carrying the Right Wing rally goers left the city.

Narrative Two (Plan B)

We the people are not stupid. We understand that Antifa is a huge problem in Portland, but Mayor Wheeler refuses to directly address them and the media refuse to shine the light on this group. The first narrative was false and that falsehood was exposed for the world to see, and public sentiment started to turn against Wheeler and Antifa.

That is when the second narrative was born. In order to shift public sentiment against the peaceful Right Wing groups the media started running stories about how much businesses who closed their shops the day of the rally suffered.

The estimated cost to these businesses was $3 million and expected to grow. The media of course is trying to stand this narrative on the corpse of the previous one. They say if these Right Wing groups would not provoke people than things like this would never happen.

To clarify, the narrative goes like this. If Right Wing groups would stop committing the crime of being Right Wing in Portland than black clad people would not have to violently assault people, destroy property, and attack the police costing millions of dollars of tax payer money and hurting business.

It would seem that the Mayor does not believe the people actually committing the acts of violence and property destruction are responsible for their actions. Instead it is the groups who those people hate. It also seems that Mayor Wheeler believes the Right Wing groups are responsible for the hate and anger of other people because the Right Wing groups are the objects of that hate.

The Mayor of Portland seems to think that Right Wing groups should not be allowed to go into certain places if they are hated in those places. And if they do go into those places they are not allowed to enter, the simple act of being there is justification for the outrage, anger, hate and physical attacks they suffer. Not only that but that they are to blame for the attacks they suffer and any damage done due to those attacks.

The goal of this second narrative seems to be the same as the first, sway public opinion against the Right Wing groups.

A Comparison

Joey Gibson, leader of Patriot Prayer told reporters that he and his group have done around 60 rallies all over the state of Washington. All have been peaceful, no property damage was done, and no one was hurt. A few counter protesters even showed up but they all remained civil and everyone got to exercise their right to free speech peacefully.

 

Antifa protested in Portland after the election of President Donald Trump and cost the city $1 million in damages. There was no Patriot Prayer in the city, the Proud Boys did not exist as a group, and no one was counter protesting them. They were so upset about the election of Donald Trump they attempted to burn down and destroy the very communities they now claim they are protecting.

The question becomes, if Patriot Prayer can have around 60 peaceful rallies (so peaceful they get zero media coverage) all over the west coast, why is it that there is only fighting and violence in Portland? You must also ask, if Antifa protests turn toward violence and destruction even in the absences of Right Wing groups, why does the mayor not address directly the issue of Antifa violence?

The problem at these rallies are not the Right Wing groups (don’t get me wrong the Right Wing groups have problems of their own to be sure, just like any other group), they understand they are under a microscope at these events. They understand that any hint of aggression, any fighting, or any statement will be analyzed, picked apart, twisted and turned if it can be used to support the narrative that the cause of all the problems are Right Wing groups.

The problem is not even Antifa, but rather the culture of Portland itself. A ‘Progressive’ culture that increasingly focuses on a person’s group identity as an indicator of good or bad. A culture that believe the world is a conflict between good and evil people. A culture that believes if words make you upset that is violence, to be met with physical violence justified as self-defense. A culture that applies laws differently depending on your ideological belief and the fact that you wear a mask.

The Attack on Andy Ngo and Portland's Rule of Mob

Last weekend we saw the first major event of the protest season in Portland Oregon. Antifa showed up in force and marched down the streets hand in hand with violence and hated.

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.

Mr. Wheeler Has No Clothes

In a Republic the public elects and imbues representatives with certain authority and responsibility. This is the people willingly giving up a piece of their rights and liberty in order to make their lives a better place.

When an elected official abandons their responsibility to the people, that imbued authority is also abdicated.

An elected official also abdicates their authority when their responsibility has become corrupted. If they only feel responsible for those whom they share an ideology their sense of responsibility has been corrupted.

It is with this corruption or abandonment of responsibility that the authority can no longer be claimed by the elected official. The constitution is clear in this situation, if the authority has been abdicated it is to return to the people.

Losing Faith

Mr. Wheeler has refused to support his police officers, instead he favors the ideologically possessed activists who are only interested in exerting power over others.

Why should they break up a fight among two people if ideological activists will spin it to make it seem like a legitimate exercise of authority is an abuse of power and the media will gladly fan the flames created by those lies simply because it feeds their ideological desire?

Then the Mayor, the person who is supposed to represent them and support them, sacrifices them for his own personal and political gain all while wearing the mask of compassion.

This is how you get violent thugs in the street blocking traffic and attacking cars while the police watch and do nothing. This is how you get masked groups of vandals destroying property and attacking groups who have a legally approved and permitted protests with mortars all under the guise of 'protest.'

Businesses have lost faith in the mayor as well. A mayor who supports the homeless person urinating on the sidewalk of a business to the point where no amount of water will rinse away the stench.

 

A mayor who not only supports the homeless people who aggressively harass employees but promotes the very activists who would love nothing more than to see these businesses destroyed either out of misguided sense of outrage or an actual hatred of anyone possessing a shred of competence.

Abdication

It seems that Mr. Wheeler believes that if he exercises his authority he is doing something wrong. He seems to be on a campaign to seek approval from the radical activists in Portland and with that approval find someone with whom he can exercise his authority.

He is the one the people of Portland invested with the authority and responsibility of managing and maintaining the city. The people of Portland did not elect the activists who seem to have such a stranglehold on the mayor.

This would seem to imply that the mayor has not simply abandoned his authority and responsibility but has prostituted it out to the ideological activists on whom he seeks approval.

The people of Portland invested the authority in the mayor and if he is going to give up some of that power he needs to return it to all the people not just the radical activists who yell at him the most. With his latest interview the mayor of Portland seems upset that he does not have the power to oppress those who he disagrees with ideologically.

He says he wants to stop people fighting in the street but he believes that the only way to do that is to oppress Patriot Prayer or groups like them. The truth is those groups have the right to protest just as much as anyone else and that the real problem in the city are those whom the mayor agrees with on an ideological level.

I am talking about Antifa and the violent masked activists. They disrespect the police, the people of Portland (at the same time they claim to stand up for and defend the ‘community’), and anyone who holds an opinion different than theirs.

Mr. Wheeler seems beholden to these ideological groups even to the point where the good people of Portland are left to suffer. While these things might not have impacted you yet, it is only a matter of time before Antifa comes for your business or bash your head in for flying the wrong flag (even if you agree with them).

While they might not do these things at the express direction of the mayor they do so knowing full well that Mr. Wheeler will turn a blind eye to their activities. I would ask the people of Portland, put aside your political ‘group’ and take an honest look at the mayor of Portland. Does he stand for clear principles or does he simply try to please those who are loudest?