Who killed whom in Portland? Mum's the word.
We had a mass shooting at a political protest on Saturday night in Portland. One person is dead, five more were hospitalized. It's more than 24 hours later. In any city with an even marginally competent and trustworthy police department, by now the public would know, at a minimum, who died, whom the police have arrested (if anyone), how many suspects have or have not been arrested, and if not, why.
But this is Portland, and we do not have an even marginally competent and trustworthy police department. And so the rumors swirl, the tensions mount, and we face the prospect of even worse violence in the weeks ahead.
Part of the police's job is to try to calm down potentially explosive situations. The Portland cops either don't know how to do it, or don't want to do it. I think they don't want to. It's all part of the constant mindscrew we get from those guys. As they all get their big fat raises and bonuses.
The media in this town can also claim some of the blame. If they knew what they were doing, the police wouldn't dare stonewall them on information like this. But the reporters and editors around here are as weak as the cops are bad, most days.
From what I have read between the lines, the peaceful protestors are not talking and may have tried to remove evidence from the scene. I think that if they were completely innocent, you would be seeing videos and statements from their side. My guess is that they pushed someone too far and that person reacted way beyond what is appropriate. But if he had called the police, what would that have accomplished?
ReplyDeleteI know that area well and play softball at the park there. I think I know what apartment the shooter lives at because it is right where they say the shooting happened. I think that the PPD needs to at the least go undercover during these unlicensed marches just to keep these people in check. If they had, this likely wouldn’t have happened and a woman would still be alive. And I don’t care about their liberties.......those groups have already proven themselves to be bad actors. And that is putting it lightly.
Good Lord, read the Oregonian item about this today. The deceased is named and described in detail. "Bad actor"? That is absurd.
Deletehttps://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2022/02/victim-of-deadly-shooting-at-normandale-park-identified-witness-said-shooter-fired-immediately-on-unarmed-group.html
And exactly whose ‘hearts and minds’ are they trying to win over at 8:00 PM in the middle of winter? Face it, these groups have accomplished zilch the past few years.......except for alienating most of Portland and giving the city a bad name. And why the need for rifles within the group? So don’t try and tell me how benign these groups are, as even the ones that might have been initially have been co-opted by radicals.
DeleteI had a bad feeling all the chaos was going to go full Charles Branson. From what we know now, totally deranged and complete lack of impulse control, but this wont be the last vigilante shooting.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you seem to be right on the money. The news is saying that it was some loner “Furry” (whatever that is) who was increasingly upset with the protests and the homeless. Which he had a front row seat to as the park across from him has been taken over by people sleeping in cars and RV’s.
DeleteLike you, I am really surprised that something like this didn’t happen sooner. Not that the dude was in the right if what they are saying is true, but the whole ‘US vs THEM’ thinking that is prevalent on both sides of the spectrum breeds resentments and can lead to things like this.
Like I said earlier, I put a lot of blame on the leaders for allowing the chaos to go on as long as it has. All that accomplishes is to leave one side feeling empowered and the other side feeling helpless. So in their own twisted way they take matters into their own hands.
I really hope that this will be a turning point for the city but I kind of doubt it.
As Kissinger said about the Iran-Iraq war, it's a pity they can't both lose.
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