Life at a "Swell's" pace

After the death of George Floyd, protests and at times riots broke out here in Oregon. Most of the destruction took place in Portland, but even a lot happened in Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Newport, and smaller cities saw some damage, too. BLM (Black Lives Matter), and federal agencies brought in by President Trump clashed during the day, and clashed a lot at night. Tear gas, spray paint, broken windows, looting, arrests, and police brutality continued through the months of May, June, and into July. A lot of people, that don't even live in these areas, much less the state of Oregon, were claiming that Oregon looked like Afghanistan. Skylar and I decided to go and have a look for ourselves. Besides the plywood blocking off a lot of windows to keep them from getting broken, and spray paint in and around the city, it didn't at all look like a warzone. This post is about our experiences with the protests and riots, and my take on what was going on in Portland, Oregon, on July 24. Side note: I am not a political person, and this post is in no way taking a "side" to anything other than standing up for what is right and showing what is actually happening here over rumors and hearsay.

(These pictures and videos will be from the time we arrived in Portland and found a parking spot, to when we left. Under some pictures/videos I will also add a small comment, if needed.)

**This post is very picture and video heavy

Where the iconic elk statue and fountain used to be before someone set fire to it.

What it looked like before it was burned and removed on July 17, 2020. (Source)

We asked a photographer with OPB take our picture in front of the federal building and in front of the encampment where the protestors were camped. Skylar (when he was on Facebook) posted about it in the middle picture.

Homeland Security vehicles were constantly circling in and around the protestors and taking pictures. It was a bizarre situation. Mostly because, no one was doing anything illegal, other than gathering in large groups.

Random tents set up for different things. Lots of food, art, first aid, clothing, and all of it was free.

The man yelling is Lorenzo and he is an original Black Panther. He started Riot Ribs on July 4 and continued to BBQ in the middle of the protests until he was pepper sprayed. They pepper sprayed him, his food, and his volunteers. Since then, donations and other volunteers started showing up in support of his efforts to feed the community during the chaos. I got to speak to him and in the following videos you can hear his views on the matter. I will say, it was an absolute pleasure to speak to an original member of the Black Panthers. In his words: "The government doesn't like mutual aid."

We left Lorenzo, wished him luck, and headed towards the far end of the protest line to hear Mayor Ted Wheeler give a speech on how he plans to handle the federal agents pepper spraying innocent people, the cleanup efforts for the city, and his take on the murder of George Floyd.

Lots of signage and graffiti in random places. A lot of the signage that we saw was for other groups meeting up in other areas different than the Portland area. It was interesting to see so many different groups standing up for what they think is right.

"White supremacy is terrorism" "Black Lives Matter"

Other pictures from around the web. Not sure the source of these pictures, but if you own one of the ones listed, please let me know and I will give appropriate credit.

Edited to add pictures after the election results. Christmas controversy, and social media issues:

Hello.

The riots here go from calm one night to explosive the next night. I can't blame people that are protesting on how they feel, but with destruction of businesses and people's property, the message is getting lost in the chaos. I don't feel BLM is to blame for all of this. This presidential term has caused so much unnecessary problems. It's almost like watching Biff Tannen ruin Hill Valley. I hope there's changes coming in November. There's just too much going on for the 2020 year. I am ready for some positives and some good vibes. Our fire season started on July 5, too. It's been so dry here that I hope our sprinklers can keep up with everything. The grass is crunchy, so that's not a good thing. The highest numbers of infection rate for the United States hit this week, too. Oregon has had five more deaths, one being a 34 year old man. This brings our state death total to 254 now. We are doing our part and only leaving the house for essentials and necessary items. Let's hope there's some positives coming in the following weeks. Here are five things from this week.

1. The Moon.

We've been looking at the stars, planets, and the moon through Skylar's telescope lately and it's given us all a better appreciation for our planet. The constellations and planet alignments we've seen has been amazing.

2. This Cat.

On one of our walks this cat decided to put on a show for us. It just rolled over and started batting the air. I don't know who lives here, but their cat is extremely entertaining.

3. These Miles.

Two times this week we took the same route for our miles. I haven't had a lot of energy this week, so the .8 miles twice was an accomplishment.

4. This Pizza.

We got lazy one night and decided to have pizza we haven't had in awhile. We used to love this pizza a lot, but lately it seems that the flavor is off, or we've just grown away from that taste. We have been eating a lot more organic and local foods, so it could be that our taste buds have changed.

5. This Question.

Like, what?...

Positive affirmations this week: We must raise ourselves up to be better people. We must raise our children up to be better people. And, we must raise our expectations of others to be higher. Don't ever belittle yourself, or make yourself smaller to fit someone else's narrative. Be better.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

― Maya Angelou