Revolution, Moms, and Tear Gas in Portland, Oregon.

This past week much of the English and French-speaking world had its eye on Portland, Oregon, on the west coast of the United States, so that’s where we’re going to focus our energy this week. Protests—originally inspired by the Black Lives Matter Movement—escalated after the American president sent a strange combination of federal American law-enforcement officers to try and quellQuell: (verb) To stop or suppress. Often used to talk about putting an end to a rebellion or other disturbance. It can also be used for quieting feelings, such as anxiety, stress or fear. the protests. Disturbing stories of police-state tactics have since emerged, as protestors were snatchedSnatch: (verb) To take something away quickly or suddenly without permission. off the streets and thrust into unmarked cars by officials refusing to wear any clear identification. President Trump attempted to justify these extreme measures by labeling the protestors ‘lawless’ and ‘anarchists.’ Many commentators believe that President Trump sees a strong response to the protests as his best hope for re-election; he wants to present himself as the ‘law and order’ candidate. 

            There are a lot of reasons Portland is capturing national attention this week. The events in the mid-sized Pacific Northwest city obviously overlap with issues surrounding the George Floyd murder and the Black Lives Protest, but they also have heightened anxieties about the troubling tactics of the executive branch in America and the loomingLoom (verb): The appearance of an unwanted or unpleasant event that seems likely to happen soon American presidential election. 

            By at least some reports, the attempt to quell the protests has not been successful. The protests have, instead, increased and spread support between some interesting groups. Two groups made the news: the “Wall of Moms” and “the Wall of Vets” both attempted to prevent federal officers from breaking up the protests and did so by emphasizing that resistance to federal manipulation is not an extremistExtremist: (noun) a word used to describe someone of extreme political, sometimes religious, views. Often the word is a subjective description that says something about the person describing someone as an extremist. Oil companies, for instance, might well be inclined to describe Greta Thunberg as an extremist from motives that are less than pure. activity. 

 
by Nathan R. Elliott

The Longform Read of the Week: Every week I will highlight a longer piece that I found especially moving or intellectually engaging. This week I was particularly taken with a long read from The New York Times that discussed the failure of Europe’s governments and healthcare infrastructures in the early days of the Covid-19 crisis. The article addresses concerns not only about the pandemic but the rapidly evolving intellectual and scientific infrastructure of the planet.

i.     “ ‘What Choice do we have?:’ Portland’s ‘Wall of Moms’ faces off with federal officers at tense Protests. July 22nd, The Washington Post. Approx read time: 8 minutes (Intermediate +). 

ii. “Trump uses Portland for ‘Law and Order’ Theatrics.’ July 25th, Vanity Fair. 6 minutes (Intermediate+)

iii.       “Homeland Security was Destined to Become a Secret Police Force.” July 25^th, 2020, The New Yorker. 10 minutes. (Advanced-). 

iii.     “Europe Said it was Pandemic Ready. Pride was Its Downfall.” July 20th, The New York Times. 20 minutes (Advanced-)