#WarRavagedPortland has become a love letter to a city that’s been quietly but determinedly rebuilding itself through pragmatic collaboration and doing it in our own way.
I live south of Portland. I am happy to read an uplifting article about the progress the city of Portland has made in its quest to regain the vibrancy and liveabilty that it had, unfortunately, lost. There's still a way to go but I am confident it will get back to its old self.
It is hard to see the president try to destroy a city only because it is a democratic city. Presidents are supposed to be less partisan. I have lived here for 72 years and have come to grips with the fact that we aren’t perfect. Who is? But you still can come to a 4way stop and are invited to go ahead. Where else?
Portland's appeal to empiricism makes a convincing case for keeping the military out of the city which, if allowed in, would do more harm than good. But on September 30, Trump publicly stated to America's military generals and NCOS that he intends to turn our cities into war training zones, not to restore law and order but to provoke violence.
There are so many photos and images of Portland out there now if you Google for them. This city has some characters, no doubt, AND it is peacefully going about its weird business of being Portland weird.
The 5 year old in the White House should be told he was watching videos from 5 years ago (after George Floyd's death) when he determined that Portland is a war zone. Of course he doesn't Iike to be "fact checked".
I believe Gov. Kotek had to break the news to him that his TV images deceive him. Those are the films that Stephen Miller wants him to see and I am sure that is what he feeds him.
What should frighten us all is that the President of the United States of America cannot discern such truth from fiction on his own. He actually said to Gov. Kotek "Am I watching things on television that are different from what's happening?" Ummm...are you watching Game of Thrones? Then yeah. Those dragons aren't real either. Are you seriously the one in charge of the nuclear codes?
I came to Portland from Chicago in 1984, so I'm well situated to compare and contrast the two cities as well as how they have changed in the meantime. I was born in South Chicago and am not proud to say that my parents, like so many white people, moved us to the suburbs in the 1960s when the urban Black population grew. As an adult, I moved back into the city for job opportunity and loved the diversity, never questioning it. That diversity, and that alone, is Trump's animating animus. He hates people who aren't pasty or rouged up like him.
I came to Portland to attend Reed College, then an absolute bucolic oasis in a part of town that was much more like a Chicago suburb than an urban center. Many areas of Portland are still like that but have been infiltrated with people living on the street, many of whom have mental or addiction issues. In 1984, the city dealt with the much smaller group of homeless by dedicating shelters and instituting community policing. Downtown, nonpolice "guides" simply walked the streets to counter any menacing presence and to help folks with ordinary questions about getting around town. I was delighted that actual mounted police patrolled, not looking to bust heads or gin up retaliation like ICE and Trump's Guard troops, but to establish good will and a lawful presence.
It worked for a time. Downtown was "cleaned up," the shelters accommodated the mostly male people in need, and my fellow college students never worried about safety when walking around the Reed neighborhood or downtown at any time of night or day. It appears that once again the Planners That Be have identified ways to address the crime and humanitarian problems Portland faces, as the results already show. The vengeful president should let what works, work.
My point is that the life of a city is long and its fortunes come and go. To demonize a city based on one incident, a temporary trend, or a single moment in time is ridiculous. Humans evolved to meet evolving challenges. Humans evolved to live side by side, with civility serving as a deterrent to war. Trump abandons the effective tools we have used over millennia, and that "moment" he keeps harping on? It has passed. He is an old man, living in the past, grasping at straws that have long since disintegrated. Portland will change. Chicago will change. Every city will change. All we have to do is keep up.
I'm definitely left of center, but I believe that you have to be able to laugh at yourself and not take yourself too seriously. So I'll drop the puck and write this:
I've always thought of Portland (and western Oregon in general) as the place where old hippies go to die.
I dunno. About 8 years ago we were in Portland and went into a popular donut shop. In the corner sat a guy dressed up as the Grim Reaper and carrying a sign that said "
Thank you Portland. So encouraging to read about a successful model for how to tackle problems and make lives better for all Americans.
Very thoughtful and encouraging to someone who is considering relocating to Portland in 2026.
I live south of Portland. I am happy to read an uplifting article about the progress the city of Portland has made in its quest to regain the vibrancy and liveabilty that it had, unfortunately, lost. There's still a way to go but I am confident it will get back to its old self.
GO BLAZERS!!! GO TIMBERS!!!
It’s exciting to me in OK!! I’d love to come visit.
It is hard to see the president try to destroy a city only because it is a democratic city. Presidents are supposed to be less partisan. I have lived here for 72 years and have come to grips with the fact that we aren’t perfect. Who is? But you still can come to a 4way stop and are invited to go ahead. Where else?
Portland's appeal to empiricism makes a convincing case for keeping the military out of the city which, if allowed in, would do more harm than good. But on September 30, Trump publicly stated to America's military generals and NCOS that he intends to turn our cities into war training zones, not to restore law and order but to provoke violence.
Very good to have written thus article to show us what Portland is doing and to negate the trash spoken by Trump. Sounds lovely.
There are so many photos and images of Portland out there now if you Google for them. This city has some characters, no doubt, AND it is peacefully going about its weird business of being Portland weird.
I like a little weirdly different.
Don't we all <3
The 5 year old in the White House should be told he was watching videos from 5 years ago (after George Floyd's death) when he determined that Portland is a war zone. Of course he doesn't Iike to be "fact checked".
I believe Gov. Kotek had to break the news to him that his TV images deceive him. Those are the films that Stephen Miller wants him to see and I am sure that is what he feeds him.
What should frighten us all is that the President of the United States of America cannot discern such truth from fiction on his own. He actually said to Gov. Kotek "Am I watching things on television that are different from what's happening?" Ummm...are you watching Game of Thrones? Then yeah. Those dragons aren't real either. Are you seriously the one in charge of the nuclear codes?
I came to Portland from Chicago in 1984, so I'm well situated to compare and contrast the two cities as well as how they have changed in the meantime. I was born in South Chicago and am not proud to say that my parents, like so many white people, moved us to the suburbs in the 1960s when the urban Black population grew. As an adult, I moved back into the city for job opportunity and loved the diversity, never questioning it. That diversity, and that alone, is Trump's animating animus. He hates people who aren't pasty or rouged up like him.
I came to Portland to attend Reed College, then an absolute bucolic oasis in a part of town that was much more like a Chicago suburb than an urban center. Many areas of Portland are still like that but have been infiltrated with people living on the street, many of whom have mental or addiction issues. In 1984, the city dealt with the much smaller group of homeless by dedicating shelters and instituting community policing. Downtown, nonpolice "guides" simply walked the streets to counter any menacing presence and to help folks with ordinary questions about getting around town. I was delighted that actual mounted police patrolled, not looking to bust heads or gin up retaliation like ICE and Trump's Guard troops, but to establish good will and a lawful presence.
It worked for a time. Downtown was "cleaned up," the shelters accommodated the mostly male people in need, and my fellow college students never worried about safety when walking around the Reed neighborhood or downtown at any time of night or day. It appears that once again the Planners That Be have identified ways to address the crime and humanitarian problems Portland faces, as the results already show. The vengeful president should let what works, work.
My point is that the life of a city is long and its fortunes come and go. To demonize a city based on one incident, a temporary trend, or a single moment in time is ridiculous. Humans evolved to meet evolving challenges. Humans evolved to live side by side, with civility serving as a deterrent to war. Trump abandons the effective tools we have used over millennia, and that "moment" he keeps harping on? It has passed. He is an old man, living in the past, grasping at straws that have long since disintegrated. Portland will change. Chicago will change. Every city will change. All we have to do is keep up.
I'm definitely left of center, but I believe that you have to be able to laugh at yourself and not take yourself too seriously. So I'll drop the puck and write this:
I've always thought of Portland (and western Oregon in general) as the place where old hippies go to die.
Actually, according to Portland, it is where 30-somethings go to retire!
I dunno. About 8 years ago we were in Portland and went into a popular donut shop. In the corner sat a guy dressed up as the Grim Reaper and carrying a sign that said "
"Keep Portland weird"