There are protests happening all over the country as a response to Donald Trump being named the next president of the United States. Portland, Oregon is one of those cities. As many have probably heard by now, we are possibly one of the first cities to see rioting since the election — though Oakland and Los Angeles have seen some as well. During last night’s peaceful protest downtown (the third night of it), there were some people present with other motives in mind. Donned in The Purge-like masks and other things covering their faces, they smashed windows and vandalized the area. Some lit fires and fireworks as they walked down the streets.
It’s important to note that these “anarchists” as CNN called them, were not the peaceful protesters that have been marching the past few nights. Images of group of seemingly all White men can be seen in their article, as they kick in store windows, sit on cars in the street, and wave baseball bats in the air. The crowds were forcibly dispersed by the Portland police/riot police with tear gas and rubber bullets.
There are already so many people who believe the protests are just a result of overreaction and people “not getting what they want” (I wonder where they got that from… it’s not like Donald Trump played the song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ as he left his acceptance speech or anything). But it’s important to realize that it is so much more than that — and that these rioters do not represent what was supposed to be happening. Often times rioters are completely unaffiliated with the actual protest. According to all of my friends who were at last Thursday night’s protest, that was the case with the “anarchists.” The problem that followed was, the police targeted the protest as a whole instead of those who were doing the vandalism. There were hours of peaceful protest before this occured that the media is failing to show, they’ve told me.
Protesters are marching for a reason far bigger than being simply unhappy with the election results. They are marching in solidarity with everyone who will be negatively affected by Trump’s presidency and a Republican Congress (together). When I hear people complaining about the protests, saying that they aren’t right, ridiculous, etc. I wonder if they know about the spike in hate crimes against minorities in the twenty-four hours following the election. I wonder if they know that Trump wants to repeal the Marriage Equality Act or that there are reports that this new administration is moving to privatise Medicare and possibly dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I wonder if they know that Trump said he wanted to ban an population of people from the USA based on their religion. Or that he called Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists, and said that African-Americans were lazy. I wonder if they know about the fact he has been accused of rape and sexual assault on numerous occasions. People are marching because they cannot fathom the idea of someone like this being the face of our nation. Because they cannot just “be okay” with someone who wants to repeal acts that protect or give minorities certain rights, and who encourages violence against minorities and those who oppose him.
(seen in Wesville, New York within the first 24 hours after the election)
Peaceful protests and freedom of speech are our First Amendment rights as American citizens. There is nothing wrong with these protests. The riots are not the same thing — though unfortunately, they often come hand-in-hand as people take advantage of the situation. People are marching for a cause, trying to make their voices heard after more than half the nation made it clear they hadn’t heard them before (or that they didn’t care). And, Portland activists have already raised more than $10,000 to pay for the anarchists’ damages. The protesters are not “the bad guys” if you will, they are working to make a difference. The work cannot stop simply because Trump won the election. If anything, it’s more reason to continue forward. It is important that we really try to understand what is happening (rather than assuming mainstream media is delivering the full story) and realize the rioters/riots and protesters/protests are not synonymous.