What is happening in Portland, OR gives me chills.
The people of Oregon, the governor and the mayor of Portland not only didn’t ask for federal LEOs, they have asked for them to leave.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53466718
The local police were handling the vandalism and bottle-throwing just fine; life was normal for virtually everyone in Portland. Not now.
The shock troops cobbled together came not just from out-of-state, but from another world entirely. They are not residents of Portland. Worse, many of them have become accustomed in their real jobs to intimidating and terrifying immigrants, to treating other human beings as not-really-human, certainly not as American citizens, right?
Lord, I hate slippery slopes, but I’m careening down one right now.
In 1989, in China, protesters rallied in Tian An Men Square by the thousands, day after day, demanding democratic reforms to the government. That government was unable to quell the demonstrations or calm the people, had no intention of expanding democracy, and eventually called in troops from rural areas.
https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-tiananmen-archive-1989jun04-story.html
“According to eyewitnesses, the troops emerged from a subway stop at Jianguomen, less than a mile east of the square, and headed downtown. But they became divided on the way downtown and failed to arrive there with force strong enough to move against the pro-democracy demonstrators.
“The seeming inability of the troops to gain control of Tian An Men Square on Saturday left the impression of an army with little leadership and low morale.
“The Chinese soldiers were mostly young men from the countryside. Some of them were unable to speak Mandarin, the government-mandated national language. Some carried food rations whose dates showed that they were at least one or two years old.
“In several instances, there were no squad or unit leaders in sight for the troops during their retreat Saturday morning.
…
“Several witnesses saw young Chinese soldiers breaking into tears as they were confronted and berated by residents of Beijing.
…
“By Saturday afternoon, however, the PLA troops stopped retreating and began to show a willingness to move forward against the pro-democracy demonstrators.
“One contingent of about 5,000 troops emerged from the west side of the Great Hall of the People, the entrance on the opposite side of the building from Tian An Men Square.”
I can’t find the exact article I read many years ago, but I remember well that the point of getting soldiers in who didn’t speak the local language, who had no connection to anyone they confronted, was to make it easier for them to push down and back, to roll right over these strangers who were yelling at them angrily, frightening them with a rage that seemed directed at them.
It worked. And I fear the same actions are taking place in Portland, by unidentifiable uniformed men in rented vans, acting as they have been trained or experienced.
Of course, the administration wants to spread this approach around. Scary pictures, strong leadership, breaking a few heads and breaking wills.
Make it stop.
(Please forgive my ineptitude. I don’t know how to do block quotes, and I don’t know how to insert links that aren’t just the link itself. I don’t know lots, frankly. But this authoritarian move has brought back so many memories, I had to write this diary.)