My hometown of Portland, Oregon had a good night on Monday. Local NBC affiliate KGW reports that, once again, thousands congregated downtown to protest systemic racism, specifically the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The demonstration, which involved two marches across the Burnside Bridge and a large rally at Pioneer Square was peaceful.
So, nothing to see here.
Not that the evening went without incident. After legitimate demonstrators disbanded of their own accord, a group of approximately 100 went rogue. Projectiles were thrown at officers, including rocks and bottles. This “unlawful assembly” necessitated the police use of crowd control munitions and resulted in a dozen arrests. But, all in all, as compared to the level of vandalism and looting the city suffered in previous nights, Portland survived Monday’s protests without suffering major scars.
At last, some good news. But, why was this night so different? What tactics had changed? What attitudes had been adjusted to affect such an outcome?
“Thank you for keeping this event peaceful,”
Portland Police Bureau Chief Jami Resch told demonstrators.
“Your efforts to police the event yourselves created a safer environment for all.”
It began with protest leaders requesting a meeting with police representatives. The department responded by sending out a police liaison officer to speak with them. Bureau spokesperson Lt. Tina Jones later told reporters...
“It was an opportunity for police to hear from demonstrators about the changes that need to be made to combat racial injustice.”
What? Law enforcement is welcoming “an opportunity” to learn something from folks who had assembled to express their pain, their grief, their frustration that systemic racism still pervades in the United States of America, that human beings are still being harassed, brutalized, and murdered — sometimes even on camera, in the light of day — simply because of the color of their skin?
Yes, Oregon Governor Kate Brown called up the National Guard to back up the local constabulary. And, yes, every available uniformed officer had been deployed — for the fourth night in a row. But, it was made clear to the participants that the responsibility of policing the gathering was theirs. And, a direct, immediate line of communication was established between police and demonstrators. Thus, thousands of passionate protestors managed to remain orderly and disciplined while crossing a bridge twice en masse and during a boisterous, hours-long rally.
Yesterday, the President of the United States lectured governors. If they didn’t “dominate” protestors, he told them, they’d look like “jerks.” More military force, he bloviated, would “quickly” eradicate the problem. As if protests that have erupted in a hundred American cities are no different than an invasion of pesky ants into the nation’s kitchen.
The protests are not the problem. Neither is the vandalism, or the looting. The problem is that those who are supposed to protect and defend the public are too often allowed to continue to do just the opposite. The problem is that those whose job it is to uphold the law, are too often exempt from it. The problem is that too many “thugs” — using POTUS’s word — don uniforms every day in America to take out their shameful racial hatred on innocent human beings.
It’s become obvious that the American people can no longer be policed by authorities for whom they have no respect. So, for one night in my home town, the authorities tried a new tactic. They decided to start winning back that respect by lending an ear and by offering people authority to discipline their own behavior. They refused to treat people like ants, but chose instead to treat them as the reasonable adult human beings they are.
No night sticks. No tear gas. No flash bangs. No intimidating phalanx in combat gear. Zero domination. And, it worked.
So… Who looks like a jerk now, Mr. President?
Rand Bishop (Gimpy Ol’ Norman) is the author of the memoir, TREK: My Peace Pilgrimage in Search of a Kinder America.