I just got back from the Red House eviction resistance occupation in North Portland. I'm not showing pictures of the interior, so here is a nearby business.
The barricades there are the best I've seen this year. Huge, thick, and secured together through a variety of mediums.
The barricades are an example of defense in depth. Most entrances have multiple layers of barricades. There are a variety of different options to dissuade vehicle traffic and police advances.
The quality of construction is quite impressive. It will be an unholy bitch to remove.
The whole occupation covers a couple of blocks. It looks roughly as large as the CHAZ.
One protester told me: "We started off just trying to occupy the area around the house. But that didn't work. So we made it bigger."
The neighborhood is quite sweet and seemed broadly supportive. One man gave up his fence to the barricades. People moved their cars before the barricades went up. When one person got angry, his neighbors came and deescalated him.
Here is a photo from one of the properties inside, which is being turned into a condo.
There is a good amount of specifically anti-condo graffiti inside. It is revolting to imagine a family cleared out of their (beautiful) home so it can be replaced with an expensive eyesore.
Speaking of eyesores, this just happened to be nearby. We have enough of these in Portland, and also the world, I happen to think.
To close my thread out, here are two beautiful pieces of graffiti from the asphalt inside the Red House Anti Eviction Occupation or whatever the hell people wind up calling this.
In terms of my long term predictions? Ted has already committed the police to crack down on this. The fact that they haven't yet is wild. The infastructure there is significant and with like, 400+ motivated people this would be extremely difficult to dislodge.
Also: here is a running list of needs. I happen to enjoy that they added in a box up top that says "a white board would be nice"
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I have been working with a small group of Portland press to put together an audio documentary about the uprising this year. You can listen to episode 1 now!
I wanted to make a note of something here. Folks haven't really asked me about it, but I want to be clear.
It has been important to me, from the beginning, not to directly profit from what has happened this year. I still have not.
I'm a salaried employee at iHeart, which means my income would have been the same whether or not we did this particular show. I did not owe them an extra series this year. IF this does well enough that I am due a cut of ad revenue, I'll direct it elsewhere.
At the end of the day the Democratic Party- the system and nation it stands for- must all be burnt to ashes. The horror of the last four years will return upon us a thousand fold if we do not break the chains of this system.
Anyway, unbiased journalist here. I never advocate shit.
A very Trump-y 4runner drove past the pro Biden celebration at Pioneer Courthouse Square, dragging an American flag in the muck and slime while a Blue Lives Matter flag flaps in the breeze.
Here we see video of the Trump mobile getting run off.
They came back, presumably trying to provoke something. Protesters armed with AR15s and handguns march around the edge of the event, keeping eyes on them.