No. of Recommendations: 11
Doesn't that kinda run counter to Governor Kotek's narrative that the city is safe and totally peaceful? If that were true then why can't Portland spare a couple of cops to defend 1 lousy city block?
I don't think Governor Kotek has argued that Portland is entirely and utterly without crime. No city is. Which means that they still have to make choice about what to do with their cops. Having several on-duty cops devoted full time to standing guard over one property in one city block against the possibility that a protest with a few dozen people might do something? Not a particularly compelling use.
I get to be free of harassment, violent threats, bottle of piss thrown at me, rocks lobbed in my direction and other things. I also have freedom of movement and no one is allowed to hold me in one location against my will.
Can the people that live there say the same thing?
Sure. I mean, I don't think that the ICE building is in a particularly residential neighborhood (it seems like it's in a more industrial/office area, as one would expect) - but even so, the protests are targeting ICE, not any nearby apartment buildings. No doubt it's annoying and disruptive for people who might live nearby, but no more so than the folks who happen to live near, say, an abortion clinic that might be the subject of near-permanent protests.
DeSantis got the laws changed so that he could do something...because he cares about public safety. Kotek cares about making political points to her base.
Or alternatively, DeSantis got the laws changed so that he could make political points to his base (which was upset by the Floyd protests). I doubt very seriously that if there had been massive demonstrations in favor of MAGA, or a March for Life had gotten out of control, you would have seen anything similar.
