The kids are not all right

As I said a week ago, there comes a time in nearly every Portland protest season when the cause gets lost and the clowns who just like to break stuff take over. If there was any doubt that we have passed that point in the current troubles, this story puts the matter to rest for me.

Meanwhile, over at the O, they're all hot and bothered about the heavy looting that happened downtown four weeks ago when the George Floyd mess was first hitting the fan. They've even posted video of youthful perps helping themselves to $1 million worth of stuff at a prominent jewelry store.

It seems like there are two kinds of protest in Portland – the daytime one with the nice people, and the nighttime one with the jerks. Maybe it's time that we draw a line between the two types, and give the cops a looser rein in dealing with the jerks. My sympathy button doesn't work for arson and looting, especially when it's a bunch of white kids. Plus, all the spray paint! Come on, Banksy, everybody knows your profound message was left there by a person with white privilege. Give it a rest.

If decent people stay home from the protests – and who could blame them for doing so? – the police brutality thing is going to blow over, just as it always does around here. We need more daytime and less nighttime.

Remember the prolonged Portland version of "Occupy"? It went on all night for many nights. And it didn't accomplish much of anything, in retrospect. It would be a shame to see that happen with the cops in 2020.

UPDATE, July 1: A few nights later, events made me rethink some of my opinions expressed here.