I had other plans for today, but I woke up with a notification about this on my phone so I figured I’d go take some pictures around my “war ravaged Portland”.
On my way down town, I stopped by to see Portlanders doing/watching what seems to be everyone’s favorite sport.
I parked near the south waterfront which has been the site of many protests. (Protesting is protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, in case you were wondering.)
I then wandered over to Pioneer Courthouse square which is another place people like to gather.
I then decided to go to the site of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Portland. If you don’t live in Portland, the story you heard about Portland might have been that these destroyed the city. The reality was far from that. They took place in a 3 block park in front of the Multnomah County justice center and the main lasting damage was the smell from the tear gas used by police.
While I was sitting there enjoying the park, a woman walking by stopped to comment on how lovely it was and how she had promised herself to get outside every day to celebrate our beautiful city.
Some more photos I took while walking through downtown.
The line in front of the Apple store:
About these big protests at the ICE facility that supposedly justify the authorization of “full force” by the military?
This shot includes the full site of the ICE protests.
There were 2 people in lounge chairs on the closer block in the above photo, but this is the rest of everyone protesting.
The line in front of the Apple store (above) has more people.
As for any nearby property damage, this is what I saw.
As I was waiting at the light to leave this area, I did see 12-15 unmarked SUVs with dark windows where the two people in the front seat were all wearing something covering the majority of their faces pulling into the ICE parking lot.
There ARE lots of other protests happening all around town. They involve mostly white or gray haired individuals, many of them sitting on mobility devices, decrying authoritarianism. Is Trump sending the military with authorization for full-force after those people? I suspect many more people would be out there if they didn’t have to work in order to support themselves and their families.
Is this what a war ravaged city looks like?
