Crossing the Rubicon?

[kentuck]

For more than fifty straight weeks, there were protests and violence orientation in the streets of Portland.

Somebody broke the un-aesthetic law and began painting grafitti on the Federal buildings and that gave Barr and Trump the excuse they needed, so they moved in with "Federal agents", dressed in mostly military garb.

(Somebody needs to step in between the protesting citizens and the aggressive agents of the DHS, and possibly others, or it could end less than satisfactorily)

The number of "Federal agents" is limited. No one has identified any active military involved in the action, thus far. The Congress needs to stay atop this situation.

Chad Wolf, who took over the DHS just a few months ago, in November of 2019, has let it be known that they will stand their ground and protect Federal Buildings. There is the eerie sense that they are crossing a point from which they cannot return?

Unfortunately, in this conflict in Portland, there are no adults on either side. Perhaps the Governor, or whomever has the authority, should send in the National Guard to stand between the two conflicting Parties? Would that work? In the meantime, they could order the Federal troops out of their city? (If they need more National Guardsmen, then the persons with authority, could call their fellow Governors, in surrounding states, to supplement the force)

From this perspective, it does look very serious in Portland.

They must work to resolve this situation and not let it deteriorate further, in my opinion.

Could someone persuade me that this is much ado about nothing?

[matt819]

1. If this were almost anywhere else in the world. . .

The US might offer its services as a mediator or some sort of intermediary, possibly with the cooperation of allies. Or the UN might offer to step in in some capacity.

But this is not almost anywhere else in the world. This is here in the USA, where stormtroopers are proactively arresting people. Where there really is no one to step in to mediate. And, so far at least, the courts seem unable or unwilling to act quickly or decisively. And fully half of the American population is hoping that they do act quickly and decisively - supporting the government position.

I'm stumped.

And, kentuck, I'm not going to persuade you that this is much ado about nothing. This is a lot of ado about the fundamentals of who were are (were?) as a nation. And IMHO, the center will not hold. (I'm probably using the phrase incorrectly, but I think it's nevertheless appropriate. There is no middle ground. There is definitely no common ground. There are two very distinct sides who share almost nothing politically or morally.

[kentuck]

2. It does not bode well...

I would agree...