Native Americans finally scored a victory in getting Columbus day changed to Indigenous People’s Day and Black Lives Matter hijacked it away from them the very first time they got to celebrate it. What was meant to be a celebration turned into nothing but a fit of rage “sh-t show.”
Part of the rage
Eva Vega was on hand in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday to witness the riots unfold, she was part of the rage. She’s not happy with the way things escalated out of control, insisting that the city could have acted sooner to prevent the mob from ripping down the statues, by removing them first. “I feel strongly that the city should have already acted to remove these monuments,” she declared. The city should have carted away every offensive statue long ago. “I think that even early on in the protests we saw at Jefferson High School, several of our youth took down or toppled the Thomas Jefferson statue there.”
James Buchal agrees with Vega that police should have intervened sooner, but the chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party disagrees on tactics. “We think that law enforcement has a general duty to protect all property, not just the police union headquarters or the Central Precinct and the North Precinct and the Kelly Building. They should be protecting the property of the people too.” He’s filled with rage that the police let the mob run wild yet again, causing needless violence, destruction and mayhem.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell whines they couldn’t protect the public from violent anarchist rage because they were too busy. “They were aware of the event days in advance but a nearby shooting diverted resources.” According to the chief, “we were relieved that last night there were no reported serious injuries and no deaths. What took place was extremely dangerous with just a large number of people downtown clearly intent on doing damage.” With nobody doing anything to stop it.
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day
On Monday, the local citizens got a turn to feel the rage, when they got stuck cleaning up the mess. The defiled statues of Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were carted off, Graffiti is being tediously scrubbed off of everything and the broken glass is being swept away. Happy Indigenous Peoples Day. The Oregon Historical Society took the worst of it after rioters broke the windows and tossed three road flares in. Three people were accidentally arrested out of the hundreds taking part in violence and mayhem.
Native Americans are shaking their heads. Paul Lumley, a member of the Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable, is frustrated. He relates how they “just opened an exhibit that does a beautiful job of showcasing Native American history that has been appreciated by tribes across the Pacific Northwest.” The citizen of the Yakama Nation, pointed out that the Day “is supposed to be filled with celebration.” He never expected to wake up Monday to the horror on the news. “”When I woke up and saw the news, of course I was pretty disappointed. “I felt insulted. I felt like I was vandalized by somebody—another group taking what should be a day of celebration of our vibrant culture into one that is Indigenous People’s Day of Rage, which we do not support at all.”
Portland’s liberal Mayor Ted Wheeler actually condemned the violence for a change. “I think the most important thing we can do as a community right now is make it clear that if you are in our community and you are engaged in violence or criminal destruction, you are not standing with us. You are opposing us. You are working against our values and our sensibilities as a city.” He didn’t want all that rage directed at him so all he would do was beg, “please don’t do it again.”
