Marking 100 days of violent street protests in Portland, Oregon over the May 25 police chokehold death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, police announced 50 arrests for hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, something denied by 77-year-old former Vice President and Democrat nominee Joe Biden and his 55-year-old running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Not one mention was made during the four days of the Democratic National Convention about violent street mayhem in American cities, calling the demonstrations “peaceful protests.” When the narrative after the DNC convention began hurting Biden’s polls, Joe condemned riots, looting and arson as “lawlessness” Aug. 31. While it’s good that Joe’s sending a different message now than he did during the DNC convention, it’s clear that the street agitators are not listening. More violent street protests are not helping the Democrat ticket.
Portland’s 58-year-old Democrat Mayor Ted Wheeler, Portland’s 47-year-old black police chief Chuck Lovell and Oregon’s 60-year-old Gov. Kate Brown have done little to stem the violence until now. Threatened with 74-year-old President Donald Trump sending in the National Guard, all three Oregon officials resisted federal interference in local Portland affairs. Portland’s leaders took their lead from Seattle, where aggressive protesters seized six blocks of downtown, calling it Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone [CHAZ]. Seattle’s 62-year-old Mayor Jenny Durkin and 69-year-old Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee did nothing for nearly a month to retake Seattle’s city streets. Public officials in Washington State and Oregon made more political statements about Trump, rather than doing their jobs. Racial protests around the country morphed into Election Year grandstanding.
Portland police called the street violence “tumultuous and violent conduct,” leading no ambiguity for Democrat officials think they could chock up the violence to legitimate racial protests. Democrat Party officials, mirroring the summer of racial unrest, refused to acknowledge that legal First Amendment protests were hijacked by professional anarchists, looking to topple the U.S. government. Watching a Portland resident set ablaze by an incendiary device and a police sergeant hit by fireworks underscored how peaceful protests got out of control. “Fire bombs were thrown at officers, injuring at least one community member,” Portland police said. Portland’s street violence directly relates to elected officials and local police letting violent criminals control the streets. Portland’s 100-plus days of anarchy has now hit Democrats with a black eye as they make their case for November.
Peaceful citizens around the country, living in cities, towns, suburbs and exurbs, have all watched otherwise peaceful communities transformed in into lawlessness, as groups like Black Lives Matter demand de-funding police departments around the country. What’s most ironic is that the deadly coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 crisis have sent local, county and state governments into insolvency, slashing police budgets, not because of new budget priorities but because of necessity. When you look at violent street protests around the country, it reminds peaceful citizens of the fine line between order and chaos, something police ordinarily maintain. Black Lives Matter has taken isolated cases of police brutality and amplified their significance, without evidence, calling America a “systemically racist” country. No country on the planet offers more opportunity to minority groups than the U.S.
Groups like Black Lives Matter hope they can railroad the government into more concessions to he black community, ultimately leading to federal legislation for reparations. Whether that happens or not is anyone’s guess. With the government running a possible $5 trillion budget deficit or the national debt approaching $28 trillion, it’s doubtful there’ much chance of reparations for slavery anytime soon. Watching Portland police fire tear gas into violent protests couldn’t be more ironic, after letting the violence get out of hand for over 100 days. Whatever racial disparities or social injustice exists in the United States, violent protests cannot restructure society over anytime soon. When a Trump supporter was shot and killed Aug. 30 in Portland, elected officials realized that they let thing go too far. Ordering Portland police to respond to violent street protests changes the dynamic.
When President Trump signed an executive order Sept. 2 to de-fund lawless cities, suddenly local authorities have taken the street violence more seriously. Telling the police to stand down for over three months allowed Portland’s violent protests to spiral out of control. While fingers point in both directions, it’s clear that there’s a political agenda behind the violent street protests, not one advocating racial justice. U.S. law enforcement is messy business when it comes to policing high-crime inner cities, where citizens and police are threatened on a daily basis. With Chicago plagued with 105 murders and 584 shooting in July primarily in the black community, groups like Black Lives Matter can’t seriously blame white police departments or a racist society for all the violence in America. Letting violent street protests get out hand does not help the cause of racial justice.
