99% of Portland Moms “Not angry, just disappointed”
Portland’s wall of mothers has gotten a large amount of attention and their motivation to protect their own and others’ children has generated high praise. However, most Portland mothers have not attended any of the demonstrations that have occurred nightly in the city since the death of George Floyd. The reasons for this seeming lack of enthusiasm appear to have a common thread.
Marriott is reportedly housing the violent, lawless federal agents who are acting to diminish democratic rights in the USA even as I type this.
Enterprise is supplying the minivans used to disappear protestors, activists, and possibly even bystanders.
We should not let them profit off such crimes without scrutiny. (Indeed, I would like to make sure that they don’t profit off such crimes at all, but rather pay the normal capitalist penalties for abhorrent behavior: loss of customers and loss of money.
One model letter, written by me and sent to Care@Enterprise.com:
I have received what i consider to be credible reports that your rental vehicles are being used in the process of transporting people detained by federal law enforcement officers in Portland, Oregon.
Although LEOs do indeed have broad powers, these powers are constrained by both the constitution and federal statute. As it happens, respected experts in this area of law, including the Attorney General for the State of Oregon believe that these detentions are unlawful and unconstitutional.Should their analysis be correct, then federal criminal statutes 18 USC § 242 would apply and this behavior would be a felony known as deprivation of right under color of law. Not only is this a very serious crime in its own right, but as the behavior gives every appearance of being planned, and again assuming that the Oregon AG understands and is accurately stating the law involved, further felonies of conspiracy would also have been committed.Acts of this grievous nature not only injure the rights of individuals, but also degrade the ability of the public to participate in the democratic process. This is why the penalty for such crimes is so harsh: up to 10 years in a federal prison.My questions to Enterprise.com, then, are these:1. to what extent were you aware that your vehicles would be used in the commission of a string of multiple felonies?2. When did you first gain that awareness?3. What action is your corporation now taking to limit your involvement with this felonious criminal conspiracy and the erosion of democratic rights?Thank you for your prompt attention.
Some lunatic was running around with this on hir back:
Transsexual Perverts 4 Peace
Must have been someone itchin’ for a chance to rumble with the feds is my guess.
There’s a LOT of graffiti. I’m told by multiple people that it’s power washed and/or painted over every single day. I specifically asked if they take weekends off. They replied that the graffiti is erased Every. Single. Day.
Some of the graffiti is artistic. The most artistic, by the way, is also the most long lasting since the people that enjoy doing art enough to become talented at it have saved their better works for boarded up buildings other than the courthouse so as to avoid the daily purge. This graphic is one of those, and may have been up longer than 24 hours because it was on private property two blocks from the courthouse:
Anarchy & Peace are sitting in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
I found myself particularly affected by this one. The image is attractive and friendly. It was also found in many places downtown. But then there’s the statement, “Blue lives murder.” Of course that’s unquestionably true, and the point of the protests, but it can be jarring immediately below the more upbeat image of anarchic, peaceful love. That image of anthropomorphized anarchy & peace, by the way, was not generally accompanied by the words blue lives murder when painted elsewhere in Portland.
Of all the graffiti I saw, this is the single one that stood out the most. I felt this one. I still feel it when merely looking at the photo.
The federal courthouse itself is a site of more chaotic expressions:
Less than 12 hours worth of graffiti.
You can see that there’s some pretty angry, hateful stuff there (“kill all cops”), some humor (“yum, bacon!”), and some much more hopeful thoughts expressed (“I love you mama, papa, babies, but no one taught me how to love you”).