marjaerwin

I’m not in the District of Columbia, or in Portland so don’t know all the details. There’s a good overview here:

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2020/07/20/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of-portland/

But Trump and Barr have forced federal police and paramilitary forces into a task force-- “Pactforce”-- and deployed them into Portland, and are threatening to do the same in Chicago, Albuquerque, and other cities. [P.S. Also Seattle.]

In the District, they used thrown bottles, etc. as a pretext to attack protesters, and reporters, and Episcopalian clergy, for his bible photo op outside the Episcopalian church.

In Portland, they’ve used “violent” graffiti as a pretext to attack protesters, and medics.

I think at least 1 reporter was hospitalized and lost an eye from Trump’s violence in the District, and at least 2 protesters have been hospitalized from his violence in Portland.

So they have created a task force for this violence. And the use of generic uniforms without badge numbers, rental cars, rental vans, etc. helps evade accountability. And with groups such as the Proud Boys active in Portland, how are people supposed to know if federal police and paramilitaries are attacking them, or other groups?

I am too disabled to protest these days, but I need to do something about this, so I am trying to speak out.

Now I’ve encountered a few rationales for this violence--

That they needed to enforce a curfew. In the District, at Lafayette Park, they attacked well before curfew. And no curfew is worth maiming people.

That some protesters threw bottles, fruit, etc. So we can’t expect police forces, who screen applicants, can fire people, etc. to police their own. But we have to expect protesters, who come as they are, to do so? No. If it only takes one person to throw a bottle to excuse violence against the rest, someone who opposes the protests can show up, throw a bottle from the back, run, and have the police put down the protest. Especially when protests criticize police or police unions.

That some protesters oppose fascist violence.

That the left have wanted right-wing death squads all along, and we’re finally getting what we asked for. I mean what the frak?

There are plenty on the right who wanted right-wing death squads, but hardly any on the left. For example, many right-wingers use iconography of dropping people from helicopters, or still “joke” about them. Pinochet’s death squads did that.

*headdesk*

When police fire tear gas and concussion grenades at protesters, that doesn’t mean the protesters were or are committing violence. It means the police are committing violence.

I wasn’t able to participate in today’s protests, due to my disabilities, but while peacefully protesting years ago, police attacked the group I was with, and someone knocked me to the ground, and police repeatedly sprayed pain into my eyes and mouth. Judging by photos of the beating, and bruises afterwards, they also beat me with an improvised club. I have severe asthma, and I could have died if it had gone down my throat instead of my esophagus. I don’t have epilepsy, but I had some kind of seizure due to the pain.

Blaming protesters is victim-blaming. Bullying survivors to try to figure out what we must have done to deserve the violence can be triggering for some of us with ptsd from this violence. It’s not right, factually or morally.