DISPATCH FROM A LEFT COAST ANARCHIST JURISDICTION

I’ve always said that anarchy is better than no government at all. I now find myself living in what the President of the United States declares to be an “anarchist jurisdiction,” Portland, Oregon. Yeah, that’s what it is, anarchy, it must be. That’s how to explain why I found myself driving the wrong way on a one-way street a few days ago. And I crossed against a “do not walk” signal recently. Someone left their dog’s shit where it was deposited; they didn’t pick it up with a plastic bag. Bicyclists running stop signs and ignoring other rules of the road. Dogs and cats sleeping together! Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

Portland —- the City of Roses, the River City, the place where young people go to retire — has a long history of racism, and a more recent history of progressive liberalism. Portlanders, for some reason, love to protest and demonstrate and march in the streets. Right-wingers, white supremacists, and other creepy types also love Portland as a place where they can demonstrate and get into street brawls. We also have antifa, anti-fascists, who show up to do battle with alt-right and white supremacists. It’s a great mix. 

And so Portland has been at the top of the news for a few months since the killing of George Floyd, as daily, and nightly, demonstrations have gone so long it seems that we are chasing some Guinness Book record. But I need to be clear here; the daily rallies for Black Lives Matter and the end of systemic racism have been well organized and peaceful. Portland police generally don’t even show up at the daily, peaceful gatherings, and offer any assistance needed by the organizers. 

The nightly demonstrations are a different story. These are gatherings of up to a few hundred people, some of whom come dressed in body armor and helmets, carrying large plywood shields, and armed with a variety of weapons and things to throw at the cops, including frozen bottles of water, cans of soup, rocks and chunks of concrete, steel ball bearings shot by wrist-rocket slingshots, laser pointers (t shine into the eyes of cops) commercial grade fireworks, and even Molotov cocktails. (Police have also siezed knives, loaded guns, and other weapons.) They have attacked police buildings, including the police union building, trying to set them on fire, break windows and doors, and various other criminal activities. The cops ask them to be peaceful, then, upon being bombarded with projectiles, declare an unlawful assembly and order them to disperse, sometimes declare the situation a riot (a legal term), often respond with crowd control ordinance or physical force, and arrest people (sometimes dozens every night), until folks get tired and go home, typically at around 1 or 2 in the morning. 

Many Portland liberals I know are down on the police, claiming that the cops are violent and the protestors are not. To be fair, I have only attended one daytime rally (pandemic caution for this elder) and have stayed away from the nighttime brawls. There have certainly been instances of police using excessive or inappropriate force. What I have not heard from my liberal friends is what the police should do in these situations, instead of what they are doing. 

Donald Trump, however, the very stable genius, knows what to do. If we would only let him send in federal troops, he would end the violence quickly. Violence to fix violence? Well, some feds did come to Portland, under the guise of Department of Homeland Security, to protect the federal building that houses federal courtrooms and offices. These guys (we assume they were all guys) were violent and seemingly out of control, and they operated by their own rules. People were hurt, some very badly. People were grabbed and whisked away in unmarked rented vans to be interrogated. These goons (yes, a good term for them) made a bad situation worse. They finally pulled back after the Oregon Governor talked to the Vice-President and worked out a deal using Oregon State Police to protect the federal property. 

If you don’t live in one of Trump’s “anarchist jurisdictions” you might have a false sense about Portland. We are mostly nice people in a beautiful city with great restaurants, live theater, sports teams, museums, great outdoors activities, and many interesting neighborhoods. We are not a very diverse city, which is an issue. We have a commission form of government, something that has its own set of issues. But Portland is a great place to live and visit, anarchy and all. 

I come full circle to my opening statement: anarchy is better than no government at all. If Portland is anarchy, then Trump’s administration is no government at all. I’ll take anarchy. 

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FROM THE MOUTH OF THE TOTUS

Much has been said about the guy in the oval who said to George Stephanopolous during an ABC Town Hall: "you'll develop a herd mentality...." But that is not the whole quote. 

You can find the video and hear it for yourself. This is exactly what The Don said: "...and you'll develop turd - like a herd mentality...." That's right, he dropped the t word. 

We can chalk this up to confusion, senior brain, a Freudian slip, or simply that the man doesn't know what he's talking about. Or, more likely, all of the above. In my humble opinion, he was telling us something we already know, Donald Trump has shit for brains - a turd mentality. He is the Turd of the United States (TOTUS).  

There is, however, a serious point here. As Rachel Maddow explained last night, the people The Don has surrounded himself with to give him "expert" advice about coronavirus are not experts, but charlatans. His latest "expert", Dr. Atlas - a Faux (pronounced "fox") News regular, advocates not doing anything, and letting millions of Americans contract the virus so we will develop herd immunity. A conservative calculation tells us that this would result in anywhere from 1.5 million to 6.5 million dead Americans from COVID-19. BUT - the theory of herd immunity is not accepted by the vast majority of real experts. 

And there is now evidence that the Trump Admin is actually telling state governments, including those experiencing major outbreaks of coronavirus, that wearing masks and closing bars and restaurants is not a recommendation! Mass murder? I think so. 

How do you make a turtle disappear? Vote for Biden and the turd'll disappear! 

full stop

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"IT'S GOING TO GET COOLER. YOU JUST WATCH. I DON'T THINK SCIENCE KNOWS, ACTUALLY."

And that was the response by the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, to a plea by the Secretary of the California Natural Resource Agency to work from a base of science, including climate change science, to address forest and wildfire management. 

Anyone who pays attention and has at least half a brain knows that Trump is a climate change denier as well as a science denier. This has been part of his M.O. since taking office and has resulted in major decisions that have made the world a worse place to live (climate, pandemic, etc.).

There is more to this topic that every American needs to understand, however. The issue is not the stupid things Trump says, it is the destructive things his administration does. The most public examples are: pulling the United States out of the Paris climate accords at a critical time in climate action, defunding and then pulling out of the World Health Organization in the middle of a global pandemic, and totally bungling the pandemic in the United States - the "China Hoax" pandemic. But there is more, much, much more.

Trump has placed people in key positions in every federal agency. The main assignment of these people is to deconstruct government in ways that will benefit big business and very wealthy people. In regards to the environment, the Trump administration has rolled back many key environmental regulations (many of which were put in place by the Obama administration). In a recent article, the New York Times lists 100 - and counting - environmental regulations targeted by the Trumpsters, and 68 of these roll-backs have already been completed. The article lists all 100 regulations, and is worth scrolling through. Below is a summary table from the article.

So, yes, we can scoff and laugh at what an ignoranus Donald Trump is, but we need to be really pissed off about what is happening behind his clown characterization performance. This is serious, and the effects will plague us for a long time. 

Trump must be stopped. Every citizen, not just the usual 40+ percent, needs to vote, and every citizen with at least half a brain should understand that another 4 years of Donald Trump could be the end of America as we know it. Seriously. 

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WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE 2020 ELECTION

The election of 2020 is under attack by those who want to unfairly influence the outcome. This danger is unprecedented in our lifetimes, and should concern every American. Free and fair elections are the bedrock of American democracy, and the right to vote for all women and non-white men was won through hard struggle and sacrifice. 

The dangers we face for the 2020 election are:

• a concerted campaign by Donald Trump and his minions to undermine faith in vote-by-mail processes using a false claim that it is rife with fraud (he recently suggested to his supporters that they vote by mail, and then try to go and vote in person to test the system—-in other words try to confirm fraud by committing fraud);
• attacks by Trump and his minions on the U.S. Postal Service, with claims that it will not be able to handle the expected volume of mail-in ballots;
• cyber attacks by Russia and other state actors (China, Iran) against the U.S. election system and the dissemination of false information to voters using social media;
• orders by the Trump White House to U.S. intelligence agencies not to disseminate information gathered about Russian cyber attacks to other federal and state agencies (U.S. intelligence agencies are warning that Russian attacks against our election this year are worse than in 2016, and favor Donald Trump);
• voter disenfranchisement efforts by Republican-controlled state legislators and governors targeting BIPOC and Democratic voters;
• efforts by Republican state and local officials to make voting more difficult in majority Democratic districts and districts with majority BIPOC voters (limited polling locations, long waiting times, elimination of voters from voting rolls, use of provisional ballots that are not counted, and other methods);
• apparent efforts by the Justice Department, under Attorney General William Barr, to favor and assist the candidacy of Donald Trump;
• attempts by Donald Trump and his minions to get foreign governments to assist the Trump campaign by spreading negative information about Joe Biden and his family;
• using false claims (outright lies) about Democrats, liberals, and Joe Biden in campaign literature, video commercials, and social media posts;
• possible violations of campaign laws by the Trump campaign (as in 2016);
• and—-strangely—-Donald Trump is in a sense committing mass murder of his supporters and possibly many thousands of other Americans by holding mass campaign rallies during a pandemic at which most people are not wearing masks and are violating every recommendation by public health experts about avoiding crowds.

Am I forgetting anything? Yes, what does Trump do if he loses? This is a scenario many people are thinking about. All of the items above are ways that Trump and his minions are trying to swing the election his way by enlisting the help of foreign powers and by keeping Democratic voters from voting. He is also setting up the scenario for his loss by putting forward the idea that the election could be fraudulent or "rigged" against him, and therefore not a valid election. The Trump MO, after all, is: tell a lie often enough and it becomes a truth. So if Trump loses, will he go gently into that good night? There is a good probability that he will not. And he has set up his more militant supporters---you know, the ones who refuse to wear masks (COVID) and carry AR-15s and drive big trucks with American, Confederate and even Nazi flags flying---to defend him when he refuses to leave the People's House (a.k.a. the White House). Civil war? Yes.

We know, based on the past 3-1/2 years of Trump, that his sole objective is to make himself great again, again. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the people of America. And he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about free and fair elections, as long as he wins again, again. So how do we stop him?

Other than divine intervention (not likely in my opinion), it is up to us, we the people, to run the crime family patriarch out of the White House. Have a plan for voting. If you can vote early and/or by mail, do it as soon as you have your ballot. Talk to others about voting, and help people who need assistance to register and/or vote. Talk to anyone you know who might not vote because they don’t see a reason to, and convince them about the critical nature of this election. Let’s give Donald Trump the thing he craves the most, the biggest thing ever in the history of this country—-the biggest landslide loss of any previous election! 

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Note: this post has been edited on Sep. 13, 2020, to add the third from last paragraph.

    

THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESS IS NOW PART OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

A thought occurred to me recently after watching a news report about the negotiations between Democrats and Republicans for a second pandemic relief bill. The negotiators came out of a meeting and spoke to the press. The two Democratic negotiators were the party leaders of the two arms of the Congress; Senator Chuck Schumer, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. The team for the Republicans was Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. In other words, the Republican Congressional leadership was nowhere in sight while the president’s men ran the Republican side. 

During the Senate impeachment hearings of Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell let it be known that he was coordinating with the president’s legal team regarding how he would run the hearing. In other words, Mitch and his Republican gang were simply window dressing for an operation being run out of the White House.

In the House of Representatives, the Democratic majority committees investigating the president issued subpoenas for data and testimony from parts of the executive branch. These were mostly ignored, leaving the House committees with little recourse. Once again, the executive assumed more power than the legislative branch.

The role and powers of the President, at the head of the Executive Branch of government, has been debated for as long as the United States has existed. Some legal scholars, politicians, presidents and others have argued that the power of the president should be larger; others have argued that it should be less. Trump, and the people with brains who work in the White House shadows, think the president should have absolute power, perhaps dictatorial. Trump’s Attorney General, Bill Barr, is of that opinion, and his actions have clearly demonstrated that. Mitch McConnell appears to be of that opinion, also. Donald Trump absolutely thinks that he should be able to rule with absolute and legally protected powers. 

This is a bad turn for the United States. This trend increases the power of the executive while decreasing the power of the legislative branch. It also changes the role of the judicial branch, as the president appoints or nominates federal judges, and the senate approves them. Obviously, if the executive rules the senate, the judicial bends to the will of the executive. 

This precedent has now been set by Trump. If he is elected for a second term, the power of the executive will only grow stronger. Under Trump, this road leads to authoritarianism. Even if he is not re-elected, this new imbalance of power will exist, and future presidents might want to take advantage of that. 

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UN-GUN AMERICA

I have written extensively on this blog about gun violence in America. It is epidemic and shameful. The spotlight is now on the killing of Black men and women by police; the majority of these killings are by gun. (There are also many Black persons wounded by police guns.)  We tend to attribute this horrific toll of human life to racism, and that is certainly a major factor. In this post, I want to talk about guns as a major factor.

Why do police officers carry guns? There is not a simple answer to that question. One answer is to protect themselves from armed criminals. Another likely reason is to look militaristic and convey fear among citizens as a control measure (this could be another post about the history of policing). 

Too often we see or hear about police officers killing someone and think that there was really no reason to use a gun in that situation. Of all the deaths by guns used by police, the alleged crime, if there actually was one, prompting the police action is not punishable by death. (In fact, 25 of the 50 States do not have the death penalty.) Too often recently, we've seen police with their guns out and pointed at someone who either has committed no crime, or perhaps is suspected of committing a crime that absolutely is not punishable by death, and is not doing anything threatening! How many Black men and women have been killed by police guns as they were running away, or sleeping in bed, or getting into their car, or just standing while black? So why do the cops have their guns out?

What if cops didn't have guns? What if they only carried a baton, handcuffs, and maybe a can of pepper spray? That's what cops in London carry, as described here.  OK, that works in England you are thinking, but it would never work here in the US of A. Correct, as pointed out in the quote below from the article linked above: 

Of course it's easier for police to remain unarmed if civilians do the same. Out of every 100 people in Britain, fewer than four of them owns a firearm, according to GunPolicy.org, a project run by Australia's University of Sydney. In the U.S. there is more than one gun per person.

The fact is that America is awash in guns; there are more guns in the hands/homes of people than people in this country. An official estimate is about 423 million firearms (about 1.2 per person in America), and many billions of rounds of ammunition (8.1 billion rounds were manufactured in 2019 alone). There are about 17.7 million assault-style rifles, or long guns (AR-15 and AK-47) in private ownership; this is the most popular gun in America.  (Put the word "guns" in the search field of your browser and you might be shocked at the number of places where you can purchase them online. But beware, you'll likely start getting ads about them!)

So why don't we un-gun America? "Good luck with that!!" is the reply I usually get when I ask this question. No politician would dare suggest we collect people's guns. Hey, Second Amendment, Freedom, My Rights!! Sure, it would not be easy, and it might start another Civil War - but guess what, we are already in a civil war...but that, too, is for a different post. 

Here's the deal. Right now there are about 274 million dangerous machines owned by people in America, but they are highly regulated. To own one of these, you must be old enough, register it with the state in which you live, be certified to operate it, get re-certified every so many years, have insurance covering any damage it causes to other people or their property, and operate it according to laws, upon penalty of fine or arrest. Yes, motor vehicles (cars, trucks, motorcycles, mobile homes), very dangerous machines owned by Americans, are heavily regulated. In fact, the machines themselves must meet certain standards of safety, which change over time. 

So change the Second Amendment to say that you can own a firearm if you comply with the same kinds of rules and laws governing motor vehicles. Who could argue with that, in a rational way? In fact, surveys have repeatedly shown that the vast majority of gun owners favor more regulation. 

Here is the text of the Second Amendment:

 A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. 

Makes a lot of sense, right? Wrong, it makes no sense at all in 2020. 

And here is the revised Second Amendment I proposed on this blog in 2013:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, shall be maintained by the federal government. The right of the people to keep and bear arms, under a well-regulated set of laws and rules to protect the health and welfare of the people, shall not be infringed.

What kind of society is so fixated on firearms that 40,000 people are killed by them every year, that school children are trained how to respond when a shooter enters their school, that a person can walk around with a military-style weapon and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in broad daylight, that over and over and over and over someone with one of these weapons commits mass murder, that thousands of people per year are killed by police with guns? What kind of society is that? Welcome to America.

Come on America. Let's do this. Un-gun Americans and un-gun police officers.* We could do it if we had the will to do so, and if the people we elect to public office grow a spine and make it happen. Make this part of the New American Revolution. 

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* Note: in England, there are special police units that carry weapons and are highly trained to use them for situations where they are warranted, such as terrorism. We could do the same here. And in America, private ownership of semi-automatic long guns (AR-15s and AK-47s) should be banned outright.

HOLDING CITIZENS RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE

 The United States is in the throes of a great upheaval that will affect every aspect of government and the social order. The events will be transformative, in positive or negative ways. A lot depends on the results of the 2020 federal election, as well as those at state and local levels. And a lot of the outcome depends on the actions and behaviors of citizens now, and going forward.

This post discusses the responsibilities of citizens, and how citizens could help be accountable for ending the turmoil in Portland, Oregon that has become global news, and fodder for the Trump re-election campaign. And yes, it is my opinion.

We live in Portland, Oregon, the Portland where nightly protests against police turn violent, and the videos of the violence appear in Donald Trump re-election campaign commercials. A lot has been said and written about police violence. In liberal circles, which includes my friends and family, the majority opinion seems to be that the police are using violence against mostly peaceful protesters, and this is the problem.

Police reform, or reimagining (not abolishing) is long overdue and drastically needed across America.   This is self-evident, people in government know it, people in policing know it. We can all, or mostly all, agree that officers of the law need to be responsible for conducting their business in respectful, non-biased and lawful ways. And they need to be held accountable for any transgression of those responsibilities.  

I wonder if I will find agreement among my liberal friends and family regarding the question of the responsibilities and accountability of citizens. Let me explain.

Protests in Portland have been going on, daily, for almost three months. The majority of protesters/demonstrators are peaceful, and working under the mantra and goals of Black Lives Matter. There are people, anywhere from a couple hundred to several hundred, who go out every night to protest at law enforcement buildings (police stations, a justice center, a federal courthouse, the police union building). Almost every night these events turn violent; some of the demonstrators throw things at police and buildings, fires are started in dumpsters or piles of combustible materials gathered from the area, people try to break through windows and doors and, if successful, get inside and loot/trash the premises and light it on fire (a news channel video of a recent demonstration showed a man leading chants with a bullhorn, including: "Burn the precinct to the ground; burn the precinct to the ground"). The police respond, first with warnings over a loud speaker, and more often than not this escalates to the use of various crowd control munitions (pepper spray, irritant gas, flash-bangs, rubber bullets, etc.) and physical "bull-rushing" or "hand-to-hand combat." This is a bad situation from every angle, and truly has no relationship to Black Lives Matter. (For those readers not from here, Portland has a very small Black population, and the majority of protestors, peaceful or otherwise, are white.)

Many Portlanders feel that the police are too violent in these situations. From where I sit, this is a tough call. But the point of this post is not about the police, it is about citizens. The actions of police during these demonstrations will be reviewed by city government and the courts (as a result of lawsuits filed by people at the demonstrations). Who will review the actions of citizens, other than those arrested? 

People are going to nightly demonstrations with the knowledge that there will probably be violence. There does not appear to be a strategy behind these nightly actions, other than to provoke the police to use force, and then complain about the police using force. Many leaders in the Black Lives Matter actions, as well as community leaders, have spoken out against this violence as being non-productive, changing the narrative, and playing into the hands of the Trumpsters. 

What are the responsibilities of Portland citizens in relation to this cycle of violence and destruction? I would say this: 

• Stay away from demonstrations that you know will turn violent (an obvious hint, from my experience at a daytime demonstration, is young white people dressed like Ninja warriors and carrying large plywood shields); 
• Go to demonstrations that are peaceful (these are mostly during the day);
• If you are at a demonstration and the police issue a legal order to disperse, go home immediately; 
• Don't go to demonstrations that are known to be violent with the intention of protecting the protestors from the police (yes, I'm talking about you Wall of Moms, Wall of Leaf-blower Dads, Wall of Vets, and all other Walls of); 
• Support, in any way you can except perpetrating or condoning violence and vandalism, the goals of Black Lives Matter and other social/racial justice movements;
• Educate yourself and others about the history of systemic racism;
• Educate yourself and others about the workings of the Police Bureau, including what it does right as well as wrong (for example, what has the Police Bureau accomplished under the terms of a settlement agreement with the U.S. Dept. of Justice?);
• Don't demonize police officers; policing needs to be fixed, but the vast majority of the women and men who are Portland police officers truly want to serve their community, and they put their lives on the line every day to do that.

How do we keep ourselves and our fellow citizens accountable for our actions and behaviors in relation to the above? Here are a few things:

• If you see something, say something. This includes seeing someone acting violently towards police or anyone else, and those who are committing vandalism; and also police acting unlawfully;
• Don't promote false news or stories; there is a lot of fake stuff on social media that is meant to confuse people or provoke them to anger - check sources, and ask others to do the same;
• Help people you know understand the complexities of this time of social upheaval;
• Be respectful, and demand respectful treatment for everyone, even those with whom you disagree, and respectfully talk to people who are not;
• Accept the kinds of citizen responsibilities listed above, and add your own ideas to the list.

 I am saddened by the violence and destruction I'm witnessing in Portland. Areas of our beautiful downtown have been trashed, and many businesses are boarded up. Neighborhoods that have a police station are scenes of demonstrations and often violence until early morning hours. Our City Council has been unable to deal with the situation, and does not seem to have a plan for doing so. Some City Council members contribute to demonizing the police, instead of supporting officers as public servants. The cost of police and fire services to deal with these nightly events, as well as the future costs of restoring buildings and public spaces, will be a burden on all of us. (The City Council recently pulled about $15 million from the Police Bureau budget and redirected the funds to community services. The costs for police and fire bureau response to the nightly protests, and the public costs of cleaning up and restoring public property will certainly exceed that $15 million.) 

It needs to end. We hold police accountable. We need to also hold ourselves accountable.

(What do you think? Your comments here would be appreciated.)

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MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN AGAIN

The Republican National Convention is upon us. What new and exciting things will the GOP propose for the next four years under Trump? Nothing. Nada. Zip. The platform of the Republican Party for the 2020 election is exactly the same one they had in 2016. They have made one change, the addition of one word - again. "Make America Great Again Again" is the new old slogan. 

Basically, the repugnicans love Donald Trump so very much, they just want to recycle him again again. As for a platform, well, here is what it says about a platform on the Repugnican National Committee convention website: 

RESOLVED, That the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda;

RESOLVED, That the 2020 Republican National Convention will adjourn without adopting a new platform until the 2024 Republican National Convention;

RESOLVED, That the 2020 Republican National Convention calls on the media to engage in accurate and unbiased reporting, especially as it relates to the strong support of the RNC for President Trump and his Administration; and

RESOLVED, That any motion to amend the 2016 Platform or to adopt a new platform, including any motion to suspend the procedures that will allow doing so, will be ruled out of order.

And there you have it: anything The Donald says is what we'll do (MAGAA); in other words: nothing new until 2024; the fake news needs to stop telling lies about Trump's lies; and anyone who tries to do something different will be taken out back and shot (well, maybe it didn't exactly say that). 

I just heard an interview on NPR with a Democrat and a Republican strategist. The R person was so enthusiastic about Trump, and was all over Make America Great Again Again. Oh yes, she enthused, we're going to continue Trump's agenda, such as draining the swamp. WHAT??? Didn't Trump already drain the swamp? Yes, he did. And he created a new swamp, better described as a shithole (his language, not mine) filled with the most vile creatures ever to have walked the planet. 

Make America Great Again Again - these idiots are delusional, again again! 

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BATTLEGROUND PORTLAND: WHAT'S THE STRATEGY?:

In an election year there are always so-called battleground states. This year, Portland, Oregon is a battleground city, literally. Donald Trump has sent federal "troops" (nobody is certain what to call them), under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to "protect federal property" (see my previous post for a summary of the protests and the federal response). 

The presence and actions of these federal troops have not eased the demonstrations at the federal buildings in Portland, they have swelled the ranks of protesters. A situation that was slowly losing steam (I'm referring to the violence) is now gaining. More people are showing up, more gas and ordinances and baton beatings are being used by the feds (and peaceful people are being injured by them), and the situation is verging on being out of control. 

In my discussions with family and friends, I seem to have a different point of view than most. I don't see a strategy by protesters or by the Portland government (mayor and city council); I don't see an end point that looks good. 

Many people see the action by Trump and his "goons" as the beginning of, or continuation of the march towards fascism in America. From this viewpoint, it seems to make sense for thousands of people to demonstrate at the federal buildings and challenge the federal troops. This is, in this view, the only way to fight fascism. 

While I agree that Trump is a wannabe fascist - probably is one if given the chance - I do not see the strategy of challenging the feds every night as a winning strategy. Instead, I think we should call Trump's bluff.

This is an election year. Trump is on the path to a huge loss. He now wants to paint himself as the law and order candidate who is protecting America from the leftist, Democratic, violent, anarchistic people and mayors and governors of America, like those in Portland. And so Trump trumps up the story that he has sent federal officers to Portland to protect federal property from violent anarchists who want to smash things and burn things to the ground. Every night, like clockwork, masses of people demonstrate at these federal buildings, most peacefully, until a few start to throw things at the feds and the buildings, including fireworks, Molotov cocktails, rocks, bottles of frozen water and urine and feces &c. Sometimes folks try to rip the plywood off the building windows, and break down the temporary fencing, and start fires against or in the buildings. And then the feds swarm out of their hive like angry wasps, tossing gas canisters, flash bang ordinances, firing "soft" bullets (that have seriously injured people), chasing people and beating them with batons, &c. "Hey, we are protecting federal property!" they say.

So which is it: protecting federal property or advancing fascism? Why not find out by calling their bluff? What if people peacefully demonstrated in various places around Portland every day, and then all went home every evening? What if everyone left the federal buildings alone? Nothing thrown at them, no more graffiti, no more trying to break in, no more fires; simply leave them alone. If the feds continue to swarm out of their hive and attack people who are not near the federal buildings, then we know they are here to advance fascism. If the feds stay in their hive, then we know they are only interested in their buildings. 

As I have stated previously, Trump and his minions want to change the narrative away from Black Lives Matter and the systemic racism of America to a Trump re-election narrative. I am concerned that the nightly confrontations at the Portland federal buildings are following the Trump playbook perfectly. 

And where is the leadership of Portland? Well, the mayor and council members all support the anti-racism demonstrations, and also seem to support the challenge-the-feds demonstrations. The mayor, Ted Wheeler, was out there a couple nights ago and was gassed, along with many other peaceful demonstrators  But supporting demonstrations is not a strategy, and there is no end game that I can see. The most outspoken member, regarding policing, of our City Council has basically declared war on the Portland police. (The focused ire of demonstrators since the George Floyd murder was on the Portland Police Bureau, who were tasked with crowd, sometimes mob control and used many of the same tactics the feds are now using when things got out of hand. Now the Portland police stay away from the federal buildings, and the focus has shifted to the federal troops.) 

I would like to see a unanimous Portland City Council present a strategy for moving forward with supporting the right of people to peacefully demonstrate, cracking down on criminals using the demonstrations as cover, helping to shift the focus away from the federal buildings and directing it in more positive directions, establishing processes for including citizens in initiatives and sharing information to re-imagine policing and the justice system. Lay out a clear strategy and timeline, with goals and objectives, and ask Portlanders to participate. And stop the war between the Council and the Police Bureau by acknowledging the importance of public safety and the men and women who are sworn to serve and protect the people of Portland, while at the same time focus on the broken parts of policing that need to be changed. (And, dear reader, don't get lost in the "good cop, bad cop" argument; focus instead on making positive and needed changes to policing and public safety.)

Don't misunderstand me, as I think some people do; fascism is a real threat to American democracy, especially under Trump and his Congressional Republican accomplices, and we need to guard against it. But let's be smart about it; let's be smarter than they are. 

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FYI: Here is a good summary of the situation in Portland, by The Oregonian reporters.

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.

REPOSTING TWO POEMS FOR OUR TIME

This is a critical time in America. We are in a perfect storm of horror: a virus pandemic, the Trump presidency, widespread civil rights demonstrations and protests sparked by continued police killings of Black men, staggering unemployment, businesses struggling and failing, the verge of a recession/depression, global climate change, growing authoritarianism and fascism around the world. 

I've decided to repost two poems from this blog. The first was written in November, 2016, just after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. Although I had him in mind when I was writing, the piece has even wider meaning today.  

erosion

Darkness oozes from the widening chasm, 

sulfurous and sinister, 

scorching and obliterating 

as it spreads destruction and fear.

How has it been loosed 

upon this land 

where such hope and aspiration 

newly flourished?

Like spring grain, 

green against the distant hills, 

inspiring such poetic outpourings.

And yet it flows, 

building from some dark place below 

where honest souls dare not 

even imagine.

It builds, 

it solidifies, 

a mass so dark 

so horrible 

it turns hearts cold.

And there it stands, 

a new dominance 

in the landscape of reason and logic 

and truth and kindness. 

Dark, foreboding, 

all light consumed 

in it's shadow. 

Despair... 

Destruction... 

Distress...  

And then the rain, 

drop by drop.

And then the waves, 

breaking, 

breaking. 

The constancy of effort 

eroding 

bit by bit 

grain by grain

the massive monolith 

slowly lessening.

Time

History

Constancy of effort

Will prevail in the end.

Be the rain.

Be the wave.

© paul fishman November 2016

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The next piece was written in 2018 as I fumed over whatever daily insult to humanity The Donald had perpetrated that day. I thought of the American revolution, and the need for another. Again, in the context of today, it is the system, not the titular head, that needs to be reimagined and "overthrown."

THIS IS A CRY FOR REVOLUTION

This is a cry for revolution.

When in the course of human events...

This is a cry for justice.

We hold these truths to be self evident...

This is a cry for equality.

...that all men (sic) are created equal...

This is a cry for democracy.

Governments...deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...

This is a cry for acknowledgement.

That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends...

This is a cry for action.

...it is the right of the People to alter or abolish it...

This is a cry for change.

...and to institute new government...

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, 

pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design

to reduce them under absolute despotism,

it is their right,

it is their duty,

to throw off such government,

and to provide new guards 

for their future security.

...history of repeated injuries and usurpations, 

all having in direct object the establishment of 

an absolute Tyranny... 

To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has started trade wars with China, the European Union and Canada.

He is putting Russia first over America first.

He prefers Putin and other autocrats over our democratic allies.

He has slashed corporate taxes and greatly increased the national debt.

He has denied climate change, walked away from global climate accords, and promoted fossil fuels.

He is removing environmental regulations, causing dire consequences for human health and the environment.

He has broken the Iran nuclear deal and now threatens war with Iran.

He is steadily eroding the Affordable Care Act. 

He has attacked our free press, labeling them “fake” and “the enemy of the people.”

He has appointed the most incompetent people to direct and destroy federal agencies and deregulate corporations.

He is treating immigrants and asylum seekers like criminals.

He has abducted and abused children of immigrants and asylum seekers.

He has condoned and ignored bigotry and hatred of “the other.” 

He wants to Make America White, Straight and “christian” Again.

He is violating every norm of how a president should behave. 

He is basically violating every norm of decency and justice and fairness for which the United States stands.

We hold these truths to be self-evident....

THIS IS A CALL FOR REVOLUTION!  

—-

© pfishman July 2018

PLANT BASED FOODS

I bought a chicken at the market recently that was labeled "vegetarian fed." I also bought eggs labeled the same. 

I guess this means chicken is a plant based food, right? 

And btw, chickens are not vegetarians, which is one reason I buy pasturd raised chickens and eggs from the same.

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REFLECTIONS ON JUNETEENTH

Like many, if not most Americans, especially white people, I had heard the name "Juneteenth" but never really knew anything about it. Well, 2020 is the year that everyone with half a brain, and a willingness to use it, knows that Juneteenth is a celebration of the emancipation of slaves in the United States. There is a huge rush to memorialize this holiday celebrated by African Americans because of the historic moment we are in, what some call the American Spring. A single spark can light a prairie fire (I think Mao Zedong is credited with  that saying), and so the public execution of George Floyd by a police officer has ignited a growing movement in the USA and abroad for justice and freedom, at long last.

Juneteenth is a celebration based on a General Order (Number 3) issued by Major-General Granger of the Union Army in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. The General Order is short and simple:

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, "all slaves are free." This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.

 

The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes, and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts, and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

Slaves in America were actually freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in January, 1863; however, the Texans ignored it. In fact, many Southern slave owners moved their slaves to Texas because it was the state farthest away from the Union and unlikely to follow the proclamation unless forced to do so. The Civil War ended in April, 1865, and General Granger, with about 2,000 soldiers, arrived in Texas to enforce the Union victory.

Freed slaves in Texas established June nineteenth, Juneteenth, as a day to commemorate and celebrate. Over time, the day has been taken up by other Americans as the final day of emancipation, two years after the Proclamation. This is truly a significant day, and it's significance and importance deserve to be understood and celebrated. 

An example of institutionalized racism in America is the simple fact that few people in this country knew anything about emancipation, and certainly nothing about June 19, 1865. This was not taught in American schools. What we all learned was that Lincoln freed the slaves, the North fought the South in a Civil War, the North won, and the slaves were free. Simple. Grossly oversimplified! 

Juneteenth, 2020 has motivated me to study the emancipation and the time afterward in more detail; this I will be doing over time. (For anyone who has not read "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander, it is a good starting point.) General Order No. 3 raises more questions for me than it answers. The subtext, in my opinion, has many facets:

• what "personal rights" did the freedmen gain?
• what "rights of property" did people gain who owned no property?
• did "hired labor'" basically mean the freedmen became wage slaves or indentured servants under the terms of being a sharecropper?
• was the payment of wages enforced?
• what was the reality of "they will not be supported in idleness?" Did freed slaves receive any money or other assistance from the U.S. government? 

One basic question underlying all of the above is: did anyone enforce this General Order? Certainly the white former slave owners had no interest in doing any of this, other than finding some way to use the labor of the freed slaves to continue their cotton or other agricultural endeavors.  Certainly the legal and legislative system of Texas had not much interest in enforcing the Order. So what happened? What did people do who were suddenly, in a moment of spoken proclamation, free people? I already have a basic set of answers to these questions; however, by looking into the details, by finding and reading stories of real people from that time, I will certainly expand my mind and my understanding. 

The failures of Reconstruction, and the establishment of Jim Crow laws were how Southern whites tried, and were mostly successful, to return African Americans to a status in which they were not truly "free." The present movement and awakening in America, emerged from police killings of black citizens, brings a stark reality into sharp focus: slavery in it's many forms and mutations did not disappear from America, it was institutionalized into the very fabric of our society. 

Please don't get the wrong idea from this post, dear reader; Juneteenth is a day to be celebrated by every American to acknowledge the historic official end to slavery, and also to show support of our black sisters and brothers and fight with them, shoulder-to-shoulder, for true equality, justice and freedom for all. It is also important for every American to learn more about slavery, emancipation, and the course of history since that time.

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STEADFAST: THE END OF RACISM

I was scrolling through digital photos today, and found a few from a kayaking day on the Columbia River. Part of Government Island has been used to place sand dredged out of the navigation channel, and the photo below is a pile of dredge sand weathered by water and wind. This photo reminded me of another set of images, so I searched my thousands of photos and found them.  

IS IT OK TO FIND HUMOR IN A SERIOUS SITUATION?

If you know me, you know my humor, and you know that I find it everywhere. I published a book of cartoons, trumpery: some clowns just aren't funny, in which I make fun of the President of the United States and his family and his Republican supporters. Some, if not all the targets of the cartoons are serious matters, and yet I found humor in them. 

I firmly believe that laughter is good, it is a release, it helps us deal with the serious and tragic moments. Certainly, there are times when a joke is not appropriate, and a humorist is usually aware of these. There are, and have been, comics who purposefully tell jokes deemed inappropriate by large numbers of people; however, this is their point. 

And so today I offer another cartoon in my trumpery series. There was a moment of monumental humor in the midst of a horrible scene a few days ago. Donald Trump, the butt of my jokes, was advised that he should make an appearance outside his bunkered White House to demonstrate to his people that he, well, this is where the humor kicks in; nobody can figure out the purpose of his stunt. The Trump people ordered the police to clear protestors out of Lafayette Park so the POTUS and his entourage of butt kissers could walk from the White House to St. John's Church. The police brutally attacked the peaceful protestors and cleared them from the park. Then Trump and his group walked across to the church where the POTUS posed awkwardly in front of the church and held up a bible (some say it was upside down) for a photo op. And then they went back to the White House. So what was the message? "Hi there, dear supporters. I am your President, and I am holding up a bible in front of a church. Love me." 

A reporter asked Trump if it was his bible. He looked at the book, looked at her, seemingly puzzled by the question, and mumbled: "It's a bible." 

And here is my cartoon:

We are in a time of national crises; a pandemic, cops murdering Black people, many tens of thousands of people in the streets of dozens of American cities protesting these brutal murders and the racism of America. And there was the Clown in Chief, beating up peaceful protestors so he could try some ill-conceived PR stunt that made no sense to anyone. I still find humor when I'm not raging against the machine.

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AMERICAN EXCEPTIONAL-RACISM

I've often taken exception to the term "American exceptionalism" because I've not been certain what it means. Being the cynic I tend to be, I often look at the dark side of our exceptionalism. This week is one of those times when I'm not only looking at the dark side, but being swallowed by it. The exceptional form of American racism is a relentless beast that consumes everything. It subjugates entire demographics of Americans in a multi-chambered trap from which escape is impossible. It chews them up, it spits out the bones. One such victim is the Black American male, and, therefore, we are all victims of the beast.

I make a distinction between bigotry and racism, something I've written about previously on this blog. The cop who killed George Floyd in Minneapolis is a bigot; the system that employed him is racist. This is the plight of Black Americans and other Americans of color, their country was founded on white supremacy and continues as such, often in disguise. But today, in the year 2020, with Donald Trump as president and the Republican Party in control, the disguises are gone, and the racism beast is strutting about, feasting freely. 

Black Americans learn the lessons of racism all their lives; not in school, but by living in it. Every aspect of American society is infused with the beast racism; education, health care, employment, transportation, real estate, access to capital, law enforcement, environment...the list is long. Black folks know this; many white folks are just now learning it, if they are open to this particular form of knowledge. 

The murder of George Floyd, a Black American, who died face down on a street with his hands bound behind his back and with a cop's knee on his neck and two more cops holding him down, has ignited protests and demonstrations and riots in dozens of American cities and others around the world. The bystander cell phone videos of this murder are chilling and horrific. The cop seems nonchalant, his hands in his pockets, a smirk on his face when he turns towards the camera as he chokes the life out of another human being. The three other cops seem to just be hanging out, helping hold down their victim (2 of them) or being the "lookout." It is the stuff of nightmares. 

This happens too often - actually, the expression "too often" is in itself telling - this should never happen, ever. But this murder, this public execution, or symbolic lynching, of a Black man has rightfully unleashed a torrent of righteous rage throughout American society; rage within the Black community, certainly, but also in every other American demographic. This murder, and that of Ahmaud Arbery a few weeks ago, were both captured on video, and both became public on social media. Only the most callous bigots can hide their heads in the sand now. This is real. These were public executions of men who committed no crime other than the "crime" of being Black in America. This is a beast, this is a shame from which we cannot continue to hide. This is America, and the disguise of democracy has been pulled away to reveal the beast within.

So much needs to be accomplished in America to kill the racism beast, and with it the individual bigotries of Americans. Certainly, and foremost at this time, the justice system absolutely has to be reformed from top to bottom. Police departments need to be cleansed of "bad" cops, fraternal culture, unions that protect every cop, militarization, out-dated use of force rules, training that stresses use of force first. Police officers are sworn to serve and protect the community in which they work; they are not sworn to harass and murder people of color. Unfortunately, history shows us that the latter is true more often than we think. 

Attorneys General and District Attorney offices, courts, jails, parole services, rehab services and on and on - all need to be reformed so that they serve people justly, regardless of skin color or class or any other metric. This can be accomplished; however, the people who make policy and who work in these systems have to be invested in making these reforms. 

It is heartening to see so many people in so many places standing up, marching, demonstrating, protesting, and speaking out against racism. It is important that we all focus on the message, not the news flash of the moment about vandals or small groups battling the police, or some idiot standing in front of a church holding a bible upside down. It is incumbent upon everyone, including elected politicians, community leaders, chiefs and officers in police departments, employers, business owners, people in communities to listen to the messages coming out of these mass demonstrations. Listen, discuss, then act. 

I often hear the term "allies" in relation to how white people like me can be part of the solution. To be truthful, I don't like the term; I prefer to use the words "brothers" and "sisters." If I'm an ally I might make political decisions about the actions I take. If you are my brothers and sisters, I will always have your back because I protect my family. To me, this is at the heart of the issue of how to end racism and bigotry; we start with love for all our brothers and sisters. 

I certainly have a lot to learn, and this is certainly a teaching moment for all who are paying attention. I have so many thoughts, so many questions. I would be at the demonstrations if we weren't in a pandemic, and so I am frustrated by being home-bound. This is a strange time in so many ways, and yet this is a critical time for revolution, meaning great change. We can do this. We must do this. Together. 

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