There’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything. Protesters in Portland have continuously proven that they only know how to do things the wrong way.
Every time that the liberals in Portland want to make a point, they choose to shut down a part of the city. They bring out the guns. They get violent.
Why is it that liberals continue to resort to violence? They’re acting like toddlers where parents have to provide the constant reminder of “use your words.”
There’s a Black and Indigenous family on Mississippi Avenue that is being evicted. The home has been named the “Red House.” The home had been owned by the Kinney family since the 1950s. Their mortgage had been paid off but a loan was taken out against the home to cover legal fees following the arrest of one of the family members in 2002.
They haven’t paid on the loan and, therefore, they have been evicted. One of the former homeowners, Julie Metcalf Kinney, explains that they’ve been dealing with “sneaky and illegal foreclosure tactics.” She blames the politicians and judges in the area because they’re trying to “displace Black and poor people.”
The issue is simple. Pay your loan and you get to keep your home. Don’t pay and risk foreclosure and eviction.
Now, the simplest way to overcome this issue would be to talk to the bank, work out a payment plan, and figure out how to keep the home. If protesters are so concerned, they could even start a Go Fund Me campaign as a way to help the Kinney family come up with the money.
That’s not the way that the liberal protesters want to operate, however.
A resident and son of the homeowners were staying in the home. He was ordered to leave by court order. After failing to do so, he was arrested.
Portland Police were ordered to “resecure the home” since the occupants had been ordered to leave. Activists have since formed an autonomous zone at the Red House, though they claim that they have not, calling it an “eviction blockade.” Different words, same idea – it’s all semantics.
This has been going on since September. And now, the number of activists has grown so significantly that they’re now trespassing on the homes located adjacent to the Red House.
Demonstration Liaison Officers are available to communicate with those involved in occupying the public and private property on N Mississippi Ave. Contact them at: [email protected]
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) December 9, 2020
Neighbors are boarding up their homes and erecting fencing because they’re concerned about the threatening behavior and intimidation they’ve received for the past three months, as described by the Portland Police Bureau.
Mayor Ted Wheeler has learned a few things since the last time an autonomous zone was created in the city. He’s ordered the police to “use all lawful means to end the illegal occupation.” He has made it clear that those found violating the laws will be held accountable and that there “will be no autonomous zone in Portland.”
After the day's events, we've issued a statement and an invitation for press to join our press conference tomorrow afternoon: https://t.co/0uzwmhFu7I
— Red House On Mississippi (@RHonMississippi) December 9, 2020
There may be a housing crisis, as Wheeler admits in a statement, and that it even disproportionately impacts Black people. He admits that people need help. He goes on to say that “It’s also true that illegal trespassing, ignoring lawful orders from police, blocking sidewalks and streets, and intimidating neighbors inflame these crises and make them more difficult to solve.”
Essentially, follow the laws. There are right and wrong ways to handle things – and clearly, Portland activists are choosing to do it the wrong way.
Perhaps the hardest part to deal with is that it’s not just about throwing rocks and paint-filled balloons at the officers and their vehicles.
We want a peaceful & safe resolution to the occupation of public space on N Mississippi Ave. We are greatly concerned about the fortification of barricades, stockpiling of weapons, armed sentries, attacks on journalists & threats to kill officers in graffiti in this public space
— Chief Chuck Lovell (@ChiefCLovell) December 9, 2020
The zone they’ve created is also stockpiling weapons. They’re making armed threats. They’re firing shots, they’re committing theft around the nearby homes, and they’re illegally blocking people from getting to their homes.
Protests are not always peaceful – and when they’re not, it’s hard to take them seriously. The Portland activists want to act like thugs but not be brought to jail. It’s up to the mayor to make an example of them and shut the protests down once and for all.