The violence in Portland is indeed localized to a few blocks in the city center.
But that only tells part of the story. The rest of Portland is hardly a utopia. Families do not feel safe to walk around at night. Even if they were safe, their shoes might not survive the human feces.
And while Oregon might still feature trees on its license plates, you will not smell douglas fir while in the Rose City -- you’ll smell urine.
I’d advise against visiting a park or walking along the river alone. You’re likely to be accosted by any number of drug addicts, transients, and homeless people.
There is less and less to see, anyway. Businesses are fleeing the city, and who could blame them? It’s like a zombie apocalypse: Slow-moving street people are constantly trying to capture your attention and your spare change. At night, it’s apt to call it a war zone. Even Portland’s police chief admitted that gun violence is “skyrocketing.”
And while reasonable people would use Portland as a cautionary tale, countless cities have emulated this left-wing mecca for decades. Portland has had the opportunity to aid its homeless and support its businesses, but the city government has long neglected both.
The issues persist - only now, it’s much worse. The violent, radical Marxists have joined the fray, “terrorizing families with children.”
And that’s not a quote from the Proud Boys or from right-wing radio. It’s a quote from their hard-left mayor. The same mayor has been repeatedly targeted by these violent goons.
The mayor’s solution was to move. Lucky him for being able to afford the luxury of multiple homes! But what about those he’s supposed to serve as mayor?
The inevitable result is an environment where aggressive transients know there are no consequences for their actions. Law abiding taxpayers -- or “suckers”-- must wear masks and adhere to open container laws. But several feet away, you’ll see the addicts flouting the mask rules and shooting heroin. Somehow we are to believe that the world would crumble if I drank a beer on the sidewalk. But opiates? There clearly isn’t an “open container” restriction enforced on those.
Similarly, those who seek to exercise their Constitutionally protected right to self defense must follow laws and apply for permits. But those who seek to physically assault law enforcement officers with deadly makeshift weapons aren’t subject to any waiting period at all.
It takes an extra-special level of entitlement for Marxists to attack both conservatives for supporting concealed carry and the police for using tear gas, while using their own fire bombs. Even the most hardened NRA member would be unlikely to lobby Congress for the right to “open carry” Molotov cocktails.
Yes, the radicals are primarily localized to one area downtown. But that area cannot contain the fires they set or their hypocritical rhetoric.
Adam Guillette is the President of Accuracy in Media, www.aim.org.