Joe, thank you for this public service. Mitch is the poster boy for elitist progressives who ignore the fact that we have access to not only their statements but we can also recognize whose character is suitable to our values.
Step back a bit. The All Cops are Bastards and Death to Cops were familiar tags downtown during the Pandemic. Why is dehumanizing a whole group of people ok? Creating a stereotype that makes us believe they don’t share the same emotions we do. As a liberal I try not to do that to any group. Society has basically three options to maintain order to assure that our actions we do to benefit ourselves do not result in serious harm to others doing the same. Those are Guilty, Shame and Coercion. Guilt is certainly the best because a shared set of values regulated us most of the time. The population self regulates itself most of the time and when it fails, Shame ignited by others takes over. Those of us who have traveled to Japan can see this in action. It is our attempt to use Shame that led to the rise of Trump and MAGA. Us “woke” folk became the problem. Unfortunately, we have become more divided than ever and our value system has taken second seat to our political affiliation. In Trump’s world Democrats are evil. We have completely lost track of a value system. Now we have new means of coercion: attempts to substitute shared human values with persistent social propaganda combined with self inflicted surveillance.
I do not see the Portland Police as a negative. I see them as the best hope we have at this moment in time while we work to rebuild a value system we can share again.
And violence is violence, even against property. Once you start it it has a life of its own with many unintended consequences.
What's wrong with Portland, and what's going to keep the city mired in this far-left dystopia, is that unvarnished critiques like this one aren't in The Oregonian and other local mainstream media as editorials and the business community have abandoned the fight in the front lines of electoral politics.
Joe, thank you for this public service. Mitch is the poster boy for elitist progressives who ignore the fact that we have access to not only their statements but we can also recognize whose character is suitable to our values.
Step back a bit. The All Cops are Bastards and Death to Cops were familiar tags downtown during the Pandemic. Why is dehumanizing a whole group of people ok? Creating a stereotype that makes us believe they don’t share the same emotions we do. As a liberal I try not to do that to any group. Society has basically three options to maintain order to assure that our actions we do to benefit ourselves do not result in serious harm to others doing the same. Those are Guilty, Shame and Coercion. Guilt is certainly the best because a shared set of values regulated us most of the time. The population self regulates itself most of the time and when it fails, Shame ignited by others takes over. Those of us who have traveled to Japan can see this in action. It is our attempt to use Shame that led to the rise of Trump and MAGA. Us “woke” folk became the problem. Unfortunately, we have become more divided than ever and our value system has taken second seat to our political affiliation. In Trump’s world Democrats are evil. We have completely lost track of a value system. Now we have new means of coercion: attempts to substitute shared human values with persistent social propaganda combined with self inflicted surveillance.
I do not see the Portland Police as a negative. I see them as the best hope we have at this moment in time while we work to rebuild a value system we can share again.
And violence is violence, even against property. Once you start it it has a life of its own with many unintended consequences.
Generalizations dealing with our president are not helpful. Politics is not relevant.
Anyone who does not respect the need for the Blue Line is not a citizen who should live in a community.
What's wrong with Portland, and what's going to keep the city mired in this far-left dystopia, is that unvarnished critiques like this one aren't in The Oregonian and other local mainstream media as editorials and the business community have abandoned the fight in the front lines of electoral politics.