REVOLUTION 2020: WE NEED TO KEEP OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE IN PORTLAND, OREGON

Our city, Portland, Oregon, is at the top of the news around the world right now. Not because it is a beautiful green city with a river running through it, but because of violent protests by a small group of people and law enforcement actions resulting from them. If you live here, you know what's going on; if you don't live here, you don't understand. Portland has a history of protests, including violent confrontations between different groups, as well as between protesters and police. But this time is different.

Here is a summary:

• daily demonstrations started after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis;
• many thousands of peaceful demonstrators/protesters filled Portland's streets demanding an end to police violence, defunding or abolishing police, reforming police, rethinking policing;
• a much smaller number of demonstrators, anywhere from 200 to 500, started challenging the police every night at the area downtown where two federal buildings are located, and the county Justice Center that contains court rooms, a jail, and the Portland Police Bureau Central Precinct and headquarters;
• the protests at the Justice Center and a few other locations (the police union headquarters in building in north Portland was broken into and set on fire, for example) have gone on for more than 50 nights, lasting until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning;
• protesters at the Justice Center area have defaced the buildings (photos), broken in and set a fire, and challenged Portland police by throwing objects (rocks, concrete, bottles of frozen water, explosives and other items), shining lasers in their eyes, trying to push down temporary fencing around the building and breaking in, and a variety of other actions;
• Portland police have responded, when they determine it necessary*, with gas, flash-bang munitions, and physical crowd control measures to disperse the crowd.

(* This blog post is not taking a position regarding police use of force and related issues. The use of force, including gas and non-lethal munitions, is controversial. The State legislature, the City government, and the federal court have required the Portland police to only use these measures if a dangerous situation is declared, and to give people ample time with multiple warnings, using loud speakers, to disperse. Various law suites have been filed on behalf of protesters, journalists and legal observers claiming infringement of their rights and use of undue force by police. These issues will be resolved in the courts, through internal review, as well as by on-going efforts by City leaders and the Police Bureau to find appropriate ways to deal with violent crowds. There are some reports of peaceful demonstrators being gassed, hit, shoved and otherwise mishandled by police; these are also under investigation.) 

One important point in all this is that the violence-prone protesters at night are a very small number of people compared to the number of peaceful protesters during the day. The news media tend to lead with the violence.

And then there is Donald Trump. Most likely to bolster his ratings in the eyes of his base, Trump has ordered federal law enforcement officers from several agencies under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into Portland to save us from ourselves. Trump has tweeted that the liberal, left-leaning, Democrat government of Portland is incapable of controlling violence, protecting federal property, and probably condones the violence anyway, and so he has sent the troops in. (He hates Portland and Oregon because both are self-declared sanctuary jurisdictions and have ordered law enforcement not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.) 

These federal officers do not operate by the same rules by which Portland police or any other Oregon law enforcement agency is required to operate. And these "troops," dressed in Army-type camouflage outfits, not wearing identification, and driving unmarked rented vans, are not just protecting federal property, they have been seen ranging out into the downtown area grabbing people off the street and whisking them away. These federal officers seem to be untrained for crowd control and have severely injured peaceful protesters. 

The Portland mayor has declared that the city did not ask for federal help, does not want federal help, does not need federal help, and wants these federal troops to leave town. The Oregon Attorney General has filed a law suite against the DHS for various violations of the Constitution and laws. The two Oregon senators, members of the House who represent areas of Portland, and the Oregon governor have all condemned the presence and actions of these federal agents. And the actions of the feds have increased the violence and number of people protesting in the area of the federal buildings and Justice Center. 

So, what does all this mean? 

Primarily, it means that we, the vast majority of people in this country who see the need for fundamental changes in our government, starting with rooting out systemic racism in policing and the justice system, need to keep our eyes on the prize. We cannot let Donald Trump and a small number of violent protesters shift the narrative. Both are trying to do this. 

The primary narrative at this moment in time is Black Lives Matter, and everything that phrase entails. Yes, we need to hold The Trump and his goon squad accountable. And yes, we need to hold perpetrators of violence, police and citizens, accountable. But we cannot let that divert our attention; diversion is what they are after.

I am trying to find a strategy and set of goals related to the peaceful protests. I support these protests, but want to know the desired outcomes. A primary early goal was to defund the Portland police by $50 million. The leading advocate for police reform or rethinking on our City Council, Commissioner Hardesty, achieved majority council support for at least two important actions:  

1. disbanded three special units in the Police Bureau and pulled the $15 million** for them out of the police budget to use the money to fund a number of community programs, including the Portland Street Response program that will have non-police respond to certain 9-1-1 calls involving homelessness and mental health issues;
2. extended the police union contract for one year to allow time to prepare for a transparent process that involves the community in discussions about the kind of policing Portland wants and needs going forward. 

These are major and important steps that fit into the goals and demands of on-going protests. In my opinion, the city and the leadership of various groups organizing peaceful demonstrations need to have clear goals and timelines. How do we achieve that? I have some ideas to add to the mix.

• The City of Portland website should have a go-to interactive portal where citizens can find information related to these issues. Presently, one has to search the website of every Commissioner and the Mayor, the Police Bureau site, the City Auditor site and others to find information. (I have proposed this idea to the Mayor's staff, and received a positive response.)
• The Mayor, Commissioners, Police Chief, Police Union President and others should convene a monthly press conference and open community meeting to report out on activities started and underway regarding the issues of race and policing during the previous month. This will keep the public informed on progress, opportunities to participate and comment, and drive action at the city government level.
• We need to hear more from, and involve rank-and-file police officers, not just city and union officials. I have drafted a concept that would lead to a social contract between police officers and the citizens of Portland. The city government and police union would not be involved in this process; it would be face-to-face discussions in smaller groups of people around the city. The goal would be to develop a social contract within which police officers and citizens (many officers are also Portland citizens) would agree on what each expects from the other, how police and citizens would be held accountable for their actions (in social, rather than legal ways), how policing should work (from both perspectives), how two-way communication would happen, and many other items. 
• Many people like me cannot risk going to mass demonstrations because of the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Some of us are not on social media. It would be good to have a centralized website where speeches, information, event schedules and other demonstration items are posted for the public. 
• I understand that there are many organized groups, as well as unorganized people of varied opinions, who constitute the thousands of demonstrators in Portland. The Office of Community & Civic Life could organize and facilitate community discussions, using the existing neighborhood associations, around the issues of race and policing in order to engage as many Portlanders as possible in the process. 
• The Portland City Council needs to issue an unanimous statement of support for the men and women officers of the Police Bureau who put their well being and lives on the line every day to serve and protect the people of Portland  They should acknowledge that there are issues that need to be fixed.
• Stop the aggressive protests at the Justice Center and federal buildings. Peaceful protests at these locations are appropriate; violent protests simply play into the hands of Trump and others of his ilk. If protesters leave the buildings alone, the trumped-up justification for sending federal troops is eliminated. 
• And finally, for many reasons, and especially now to honor the memory of John Lewis, stop the violence. Wage peace through non-violent protest. 

In spite of the efforts of small groups of violence-prone protesters and the Trump goon squad, the message being conveyed by the people of Portland is loud and clear: Black Lives Matter, the system is broken, we can work together to fix it, and we will keep our eyes on the prize! 

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** The City council pulled $15 million out of the police budget to go for community-based items. Since demonstrations began, the city has spent an additional $8.5 million, and counting, in response to the demonstrations. These expenditures are primarily for police overtime and expenses, as well as fire department response to fires set by protesters, emergency services management and other items.