Portland Arrivée
The feeling of arriving into a new place and a new group of friends simultaneously is….Ich habe keine Worte.
My luck delivered me a good friend going in the same direction at the same time. The drive to Portland was a beautiful expulsion from the dry desert of Southern California, landing softly in the colorful pile of leaves that is currently Oregon.
The first day began with a wet and cloudy sky. A cup full of morning. A yearning to explore things. Miraculously, as we went to leave the sun was there to open the door for us. The entire rest of the day was gorgeous, crisp, and blue. I spent the day on a beautiful farm belonging to two new friends and their children who welcomed me in with open arms. The daughter helped me and a friend engineer and construct a totally official ballot box.
As soon as it was finished we raced over to Irving Park to meet whoever was there. We arrived about an hour before sunset. Under the main structure at the park was a sizable Dia de los Muertos celebration with traditional music and dancing. There were a few people with large and wonderful dogs gathered on the grass. The atmosphere was lively and festive.
Around the perimeter, through the trees surrounding the green fields, figures in all black began to slowly filter in. I made my way around trying to offer most people the opportunity to vote for whatever person, group of people, inanimate object, or whatever they think should occupy the leadership role for the USA. I was moderately successful, even with my friend engaging quite skillfully in voter suppression. Some were eager to participate. Others were understandably suspicious of a giant box asking them to insert their political opinions into its chest.
As the sky darkened, the dog walkers departed. The park was now primarily a small group of press and a over a hundred people angry with their local/state/federal government, their police force, their political counterparts, and how all of those support each other in violent action against them.
I had planned to mingle and talk to people. When the police showed up ordering everyone to disperse, I would, as best as I could inside of a box, waddle away dispersingly. But the police never came and everyone started marching away from the park. I felt curious and safe enough, so my buddy and I followed the crowd at a distance. There was chanting, perhaps the loudest from a woman being forced to slowly follow the march in her car. After being told that the crowd was chanting “Black Lives Matter” rather than “White Power,” as she had originally guessed, she joined them honking and shouting support out of her window.
The group moved quickly along their path with individuals darting out to smash the windows of a handful of buildings belonging to banks and large corporations until the sirens surrounded them.
No Arrests, No Surrenders.
There is a feeling that permeates the air when rules are broken and danger is invited in. It’s a wild cocktail of excitement, courage and fear. The atmosphere when these two opposing forces collided was one that I will not be able to convey with words. The voice booming from the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) — a sonic weapon the police use — blasted authoritative commands such as “This has been declared a Riot. Disperse immediately.” Large vehicles with rows of armored police hanging on the sides, ready to quickly dismount, turned the corners approaching them from behind. Their flashing lights reflected off the towering glass of downtown buildings.
Some smoke grenades were thrown, but from what I’ve heard about the last months, this wouldn’t even count. What is a few canisters of smoke compared to nights when so much tear gas was used that cyclones of gas formed in the street intersections, the surrounding buildings became uninhabitable, and clouds of gas could be seen by NASA. The crowd moved and was able to evade the police for the most part. They even lost us, as we were trying to follow along on a parallel street. There were no arrests made.
At no time did I feel unsafe or in danger. The police had no interest in a totally official ballot box and I did not particularly want to ask for their votes. We managed to avoid each other. It seemed as is if everyone managed to somewhat avoid each other. Part of me wonders if both sides walked away feeling like they did a good job. The crowd did their damage and took none. The police responded to the call of a destructive crowd and quickly dispersed them.
Tonight was an outlier. This has not been the norm here. There has of course been an evolution in this conflict since it began in May. Strategies on both sides succeed, fail, and adapt. As smooth as this night seemed to play out, it was apparent that the memories for everyone out there of how chaotic and violent these nights have been in the past marched along side them in the streets.
The People’s Champion
Here you are, what you have all been waiting for, the totally official election results:
President: Teresa Raiford
This was the only name out of more than 30 ballots that had multiple votes cast. It had 2. The remainder of the field was dotted with notable favorites like Bernie, Beyonce, Kanye, Greta T., Tom Hanks, 1000 Years of Assholes, and Just Make it End.
