4 ms·
>Compare that to the BLM protests on the west coast where unmarked vans of feds were literally rolling up and black bagging people off the street. Let's not lo
by neartheplain 6y ago
>Compare that to the BLM protests on the west coast where unmarked vans of feds were literally rolling up and black bagging people off the street.
Let's not lose perspective.
In the protests outside the Portland federal courthouse building, police held out for weeks while insurrectionists threw bombs [0] and incendiary devices [1], attacked officers with hammers [2] and blinding lasers [3], and tried to breach the courthouse with crowbars and power saws [4]. Nightly arson attempts set fires at, around, and inside the courthouse [5]. The protestors' goal- as stated in their extensive graffiti [6]- was to attack police, breach the courthouse and destroy public property, much as they had done in earlier riots [7]. One stabbed a black conservative journalist in the stomach [8]. Many were arrested carrying illegal guns and ammunition [9].
In response, and after local law enforcement abandoned the courthouse by order of Portland's Mayor Wheeler, federal agents arrested suspects in accordance with the law. They read suspects their rights, treated them fairly, and in most cases- thanks to an extremely permissive District Attorney [10]- released them within 48 hours of arrest.
What happened in Portland (and Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, and other American cities) this summer was also undeniably insurrection, and undeniably much more violent. Despite this, police in Portland never shot anyone in the back, much less fatally.
Call today's insurrection what it is, but be consistent.
[0] https://twitter.com/thetypeofguy69/status/1293088972885962753 https://twitter.com/thetypeofguy69/status/129308897288596275...
[1] https://katu.com/news/local/molotov-cocktail-rattles-portland-courthouse-during-protest-police-say https://katu.com/news/local/molotov-cocktail-rattles-portlan...
[2] https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/portland-man-charged-assaulting-deputy-us-marshal-explosive-device-during-courthouse https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/portland-man-charged-assa...
[3] https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/federal-officers-sustained-277-injuries-while-in-portland-including-temporary-blindness/283-c98ae76e-652c-4664-9693-68101ec8acf9 https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/federal-officers...
[4] https://twitter.com/Clypian/status/1286906816018841600 https://twitter.com/Clypian/status/1286906816018841600
[5] https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-police-less-lethal-munitions-protest-courthouse/ https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-police-less-lethal...
[6] https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/protesters-hit-portland-city-hall-with-graffiti/283-3c8daa0e-25c2-42dd-83d1-02d4babd39e8 https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/protesters-h...
[7] https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/portland-man-charged-may-29-2020-arson-justice-center https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/portland-man-charged-may-...
[8] https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/07/man-knifed-in-back-at-portland-protest-i-was-stabbed-for-being-a-conservative-journalist.html https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/07/man-knifed-in-back-...
[9] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/26/portland-protests-police-detain-2-suspects-after-shooting/5516075002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/26/portla...
[10] https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/no-charges-for-many-arrested-at-ongoing-portland-protests/2020/08/12/e3a3923c-dc59-11ea-b4f1-25b762cdbbf4_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/no-charges-for-many-ar...
- Others 6y ago1) People are calling this an “insurrection” because it’s so directly an attack on country leadership. (Whereas the incidents you’re referencing are predominantly riots and attacks on the police.) There may be hypocrisy here, but I don’t think that word is a part of it 2) I think the major difference in the left’s eyes is that those protests were against police brutality and racism, whereas this is an attack on our democracy and an attempt to overrule a free and fair election. Motives matter 3) Invading the capital building wielding deadly weapons is (pretty objectively) more serious than attacking the outside of a single federal courthouse (not to minimize that of course)
- neartheplain 6y agoLet's not mince words. Insurrection means violent uprising against the government. Attacks on public servants and public buildings for the purpose of overthrowing the government are insurrection. The Portland courthouse siege- OP's chosen example- was led by violent white anarchists. Their motive was to topple the government. Portland's Black Lives Matter activists complained many times that their cause and movement had been hijacked [0][1][2]. The people who invaded the capitol today, at least some, probably thought they were protecting democracy. They may have thought they were defending election integrity. They were wrong. That doesn't mean they are evil or amoral. It means they are misinformed and misled. Using them as a foil to downplay other, much more violent unrest is neither helpful nor informative. I haven't seen photos of armed rioters in the capitol. If you have some, please link them. [0] https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/professor-focus-of-portland-protests-increasingly-frustrating-black-community/283-d15904c0-6e4b-4791-a831-cbb71da9410e https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/professor-focus-of-po... [1] https://komonews.com/news/local/black-people-in-portland-struggle-to-be-heard-amid-protests https://komonews.com/news/local/black-people-in-portland-str... [2] https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-09-04/black-lives-matter-white-people-portland-protests-nfl https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-09-04/black-lives...
- smolder 6y agoThey stormed the capitol, some with guns in hand. Five firearms were seized from the rioters.