Greetings,
Fury. Absolute, blinding fury. That’s the only word I can find to describe my feelings that my home of Portland is currently occupied by illegal, unidentified, paramilitary pseudocops. In the short time they’ve been here, these mercenaries have picked up American citizens off the streets of an American city without justification or authority, have shot unarmed and non-violent protesters in the face, have beaten non-resisting protesters with clubs, and teargassed children, adults, vets and the elderly. Even our Mayor has sampled the hospitality gasses of an ongoing assault on Portland, and the President promises we’re just the first, and it’s going to get worse.
We’ll have much more to say about the specifics of our Portland protests in our Feature article this month, but right now I’d like to address an ugly truth they’ve uncovered. I’m furious because my City, my rights, my freedoms are threatened by faceless, unaccountable thugs. I’ve spoken out about many injustices over the years, yet it’s somehow different this time. … maybe it’s different this time because it’s my ox being gored.
The Black Life Matters movement attempts to peacefully highlight major injustices. Everyone’s aware of a myriad of injustices faced by others. We may get angry enough to hope justice prevails or even work for change, but humans get angriest when we face personal threats. Societal problems aren’t ‘real’ problems until they affect ‘us’, and ‘White America’ hasn’t been concerned with the pain of ‘Black America’ because it hasn’t been a personal threat to White people. Black neighborhoods and cities have been systematically occupied and oppressed by police and government since slavery ended, so for them the threats have always been very personal and very real. Each daily affront was another personal threat, another day of dismissal, another year of ignored pleas, another decade of stifling outrage, until Derek Chauvin crushed it all like the larynx of a defenseless man.
A ‘return to law and order’ isn’t possible because there is no law and order to return to. Street beatings are not order, especially when the beaten have no appeal to the law. There was no justice before, so there is no peace now. We must realize and internalize the truth that the problems of ‘Black Americans’ aren’t separate from, but part of the problems of ALL Americans. If we want ‘law and order’ it’s up to us to create it, not go back to when we pretended it existed.
The Black Lives Matter protests have shown an ugly truth, and it’s not that radical leftist mayors are trying to destroy the suburbs. The truth is that ‘Black problems’ ARE ‘White problems’, and white America is only now waking up to accept it. I’m ashamed that, angry as I have been, I haven’t been angrier about the systemic persecution of Black people. Any division that makes Black oppression “their” problem is a lie… when any American is threatened, it’s a personal threat to us all.
Yes, I’m furious that we’ve been invaded. The only bright side is that Trump has unified the interests of ‘Black America’ with ‘America’. They were never separate, but now the illusion can never be restored. Let’s try justice instead.
Make a great day,
