Originally tweeted by Laura Jedeed (Misanthrophile) (@1misanthrophile) on October 4, 2020
Hi there it’s me again, the person who can’t shut up, coming at you from downtown Portland where maybe 30 protesters are gathering for an action
Not sure it's gonna happen tonight but if it does I'll tweet about it here
#BlackLivesMatter #PortlandProtests #PoliceBrutality
A Black activist addresses the crowd with a megaphone
They acknowledge that, because Portland, obviously a lot of people are gonna be white
That there's stuff that's safer for white people to do
That the people who complain about white people showing up don't speak for them
"We're all out here for one reason"
"Black lives matter!" someone shouts
"That's right"
They stress that they can only speak for themselves
Applause, and a chant of "Black Lives Matter" that's way louder than you'd expect for the crowd size
The crowd moves out, marching towards…
Well, I'll let you know when we get there
DJ LRAD serenades the protest as it marches along Naito Pkwy
Informs us that we must get out of the street and also that "vandalism of the courthouse will not be tolerated"
Guess it's not a secret destination after all
Protest continues to march in the steeet
Marching along just now the protesters spontaneously all screamed for about 5 seconds and I've never felt anything more deeply in my entire life
New (to me) chant:
"Fuck the system, fight the cops
That's our way, we are the black bloc!"
You kind of have to hear it to get the rhythm
The protest arrives at what we think is the new courthouse?
Standing. Waiting. Trumpet Viking accompanies the chants
A debate as to what is and is not the new courthouse
(I have no idea what anything is)
(I should explain that this is a brand new courthouse that opens tomorrow. There's a reason no one's quite sure)
DJ LRAD warns once again of arrest as protesters inspect the building
"I guess we've found the right place!" someone quips
A tiny police line emerges to protect the building
LRAD informs the "snack wagon" (@SnackMamas) that it is committing a "traffic infraction" and orders it to move
It does…slowly
(pic unrelated)
A line of maybe 30 cops pull up on Naito and order everyone on the sidewalk. Protest immediately complied and boy do they look silly pushing no one up the street
They sprint ahead and make an arrest
Then they leave
Cops pose for a moment in front of the new courthouse, then most of them leave
Trumpet Guy plays "taps" as they go
7 cops remain
"How many of you are on cocaine right now?"
"Hey look don't judge, I would love to have some blow. Hey cops! If you've got any, this is a great time to bridge the divide!!"
The cops don't take the protester up on the offer
Standoff
Some freestyling, plus trumpet solo
The protest abruptly turns and leaves
This is the first time I've seen a protest walk away from a cop line. The first, I hope, of many
(To whoever keeps trying to get a password reset code to my Twitter account it isn't gonna work, it's just texting the code to me, knock it off you're embarrassing yourself)
Home sweet home
(Super here for the apocalyptic graffiti)
The protest has moved behind the JC to avoid waking the people sleeping in Chapman and Lownsdale Squares
Just hanging out
The protest takes the street. Small numbers still
A line of cops crosses 2nd on Madison but does not stop
DJ LRAD is back, two blocks up, yelling at protesters for blocking this deserted street
Some nights they care
Some nights they don't
Let's see how much they care tonight
As God is my witness the protest was moving down Morrison towards the river when the cops, for reasons only they will ever understand, came out the back of the JC
Stood there like assholes for maybe 2 minutes and went back inside
What and why
Ok I found out why
I guess someone stayed back to kick the door by themselves
Obviously I don't want to tell anyone how to live their lives but that seems real unwise
They did manage to get away
The protest is on the move again, marching up Main St
At City Hall. It's a Greatest Hits tour
A couple black bloc members ring the bell with a rock.
Others discuss the evening's events
"It's ok to have a night where we don't get fucked up. I mean, were all masochists, but even masochists get a night off sometimes!"
I'm sitting on the curb arguing with chuds in my mentions, surrounded by other protesters sitting and shooting the shit, when the riot van drives by
They point like they're gonna do a targeted arrest but don't
"Tighten up!" The group is back on their feet, no longer relaxed
An activist addresses the crowd. Tells them about tactics in play in Seattle.
Not only do they walk instead of run, they link arms and hold on tight
"Let's try it now!" someone shouts
They do. Protesters pretend to be cops. It's both effective and heartwarming
And just as they're wrapping it up the actual cops arrive
They've conducted several arrests, though the tactic of holding onto each other seems to be working all right
Footage incoming but this shit is still going on so…
The police arrive and circle the group
A fight in the center of the crowd. It's a lot harder to push a crowd that's holding onto each other and that has decided not to move
Looks to me like the cops manage to rear someone away but he manages to outrun them
Cops circle around and pick someone off the side of the group
Another violent arrest
The cops have left
Seattle tactics worked really well. Not perfectly, obviously, but I think everyone feels real good about the results
An organizer announces that people are going to move to the Red House. "Remember, there are many kinds of direct action," they say
Before I close this thread our I just want to emphasize that I saw no reason for these arrests tonight
Aside from two graffitis, no property damage occurred. The protest was 80% seated when they came by the first time, and practicing tactics when they came by the second time
Also: many times this year I have felt like I'm in a movie, but never more than when the cops showed up at the very moment the protesters stopped practicing standing against the cops
This is a movie and the writers are hacks
And with that, I'm gonna go to bed. It's been a long day
Good job, Portland. No one got shot today, and the protest leveled up a little. Let's all get a little rest
Solidarity with everyone still out here ✊
Epilogue: fuck
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