Portland Unrest Grows As Protesters Clash With Federal Agents, Police Union HQ Is Set Ablaze - MSNBC

[Rhiannon12866]

Tensions in Portland continued to rise overnight as protesters clashed with federal agents and set the police union headquarters ablaze, but who is to blame for the city's increase in violence?

[madaboutharry]

1. This is an unfortunate turn.

Violence only gives Trump and his Brownshirts what they want.

[The Magistrate]

2. People Doubtless Will Be Arrested For It, Mem'Sahib

But the headquarters of the police union strikes me as a legitimate target.

The police unions are a very large part of the whole problem of rancidly racist policing.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. This strikes me as yet another attack on this country orchestrated by Trump & Company

But I can no longer be sure what the purpose is, whether it's intended to scare protesters and shut down protests everywhere or another attempt to distract from the other horrific news in this country that assails us every day... And neither choice is good.

[cstanleytech]

5. Since when is committing arson legitimate?

Marching in protest against an injustice? OK.
Handcuffing yourself to a tree, vehicle or door? Ok.
Arson though? About on the same level imo as shooting a Planned Parenthood doctor.
Both of those imo are not the act of a protester but rather of a criminal and they should both be treated as such.

[ZZenith]

6. So what is a population to do when the police refuse to police themselves?

We’re all ears. Nothing short of burning down their union headquarters has worked, has it?

Handcuffing oneself to a tree means nothing to them - they get paid to cut the cuffs and rough you up on the way downtown.

[cstanleytech]

8. A number of pro lifers would probably argue the same thing about killing a doctor

for Planned Parenthood and I would tell them (even though I am pro choice) the same as you.
Vote.
Voting is the best way to change things.
Yes, hurdles can be thrown in your way to make it difficult but if you really believe in something the best answer is really to vote and get others to vote as well because those are the best ways to make changes that matter.

[ZZenith]

9. We don't vote for the police in this country.

And the entrenched white supremacists on the force are apparently beyond the reach of the elected officials.

They have lost respect for and any fear of the population they are supposed to be protecting.

Oregon has a Democratic governor and Portland’s mayor and the city council are all Democrats and yet the cops are in the street tear gassing protesters and snatching them off the street.

The time for voting has passed. Sustained and radical civil disobedience are one shelf above the voting machines, and that’s where we find ourselves.

See you at the barricades.

[cstanleytech]

10. Yes actually we do vote for the police in that

we vote for the politicians that write bills and do things like pass budgets that fund the police as well as define the limits of their power.
So really we have a lot of potential power to influence what kind of police we have in this country we just have to learn to exercise it.

[ZZenith]

11. Uh-huh.

[cstanleytech]

12. You're welcome to believe we don't but we do.

This applies to many things from our police to our criminal justice system and our prison system and how we have far too many people in prison. Why?
Because of the politician that are in office so if we replace them with better people then we can accomplish change.

[ZZenith]

16. Oh look, now the police union president is ready to negotiate.

Looks like they finally got his attention.

https://kval.com/news/local/portland-police-union-president-wants-protests-to-stop-conversations-to-start

[msongs]

4. maybe some people are turning protestor into a profession and night job

one wonders how many of these protestors are legit

[Crowman2009]

7. That's the reaction you get when you snatch people off the street into unmarked vans.

People aren't going to put up with that!

[zentrum]

13. They shouldn't have committed arson.

It gives T all the excuse he needs to declare martial law. Nationwide. To suspend the elections and all the rest of it.

What they are doing is really dangerous to the BLM movement.

[cstanleytech]

14. That assumes its actually BLM protesters and not people looking to discredit it.

[NurseJackie]

15. Correct...

[zentrum]

17. You're absolutely right.

[PufPuf23]

18. Where are the arrested people being taken?

What happens to them?

[Rhiannon12866]

19. That's one of the reasons for all the uproar, no one seems to be able to find out

These "troops" have no identifying uniforms, the vans have no markings and when they pick up people off the streets, no one knows where they're going to be taken. This does not sound like any Democratic Republic I've heard of...

[PufPuf23]

20. As of today I am actually starting to believe that USA

most of us were raised in and its ideals and laws are toast.

[Rhiannon12866]

21. I keep wondering what my parents and grandparents would think

I keep wanting to alert someone! I can't believe that anyone who's conscious isn't as alarmed as I am! How did this happen in such a short time?? And I want to tell someone who is in a position to do something - like the people we elect to represent us - but they already know more than I do and I don't understand why something isn't being done. But then they already tried - the impeachment - and the fact that this failed despite overwhelming evidence has got to turn out to be one of the most colossal scandals in our history...