Portland is composed of trees, friendly smiles, pride flags and constantly changing weather patterns. I never believed that the National Guard would be added to the list of things that came to mind when thinking of my hometown.
Donald Trump called Portland, Oregon a “war raged city” and instructed 200 members of Oregon’s National Guard to be federalized and deployed to the city Sept. 27.
When I think of a “war raged city,” I think of Palestine and the genocide that has plagued thousands of innocent lives, I think of the cities in Sudan impacted by the countries civil war, I think of Ukrainan cities that have been hit by Russian attacks, I think back to Germany during the Holocaust, I think of so many places that are or have gone through immense suffering due to horrific wars and attacks.
I do not think of the city that planned an “emergency naked bike race” to protest the Trump administration.
Trump called on the National Guard to protect the Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings in Portland that have been met with some protests recently due to the increased national crackdown on immigration.
The ICE facility that is being questioned by the federal government is about a 10 minute drive from where I live. When I was in Portland over the summer, I saw these protests on occasion. I saw about a dozen or so passionate Oregonians with cardboard signs and sidewalk chalk respecting the policy of not crossing federal building lines.
When I saw these demonstrations, I felt pride in my city and my community for standing up against the unlawful actions being done by the Trump administration. I did not, and never will, see a “war raged city.”
The attacks on liberal US cities is a warning – a warning that things will begin to get worse. If the Trump administration can try to turn force against their own people, they can try anything. And worst of all, it seems as though they are trying everything.
As headline upon headline fill my feed, I see more reason to have fear. Fear for my community, fear of my government, fear of the future, fear because we are watching the fall of democracy. We are watching it crumble and though there are people fighting, there are more people that are tired, tired of the fear that has become embedded into the very fabric of our existence. And I am tired. I am tired of fighting for things that have already been won and for the lives of real people who are disregarded due to the hateful words spoken by an unqualified administration. I am tired, but will never give up.
If there is one thing to take away from history it’s that when you stay silent when another community is facing hardship, then one day you will be under attack too. And when that time comes, no one will be there to fight for you, and it will be too late.
This fight did not begin in Portland, and it certainly will not end there. But I hope that the fight for freedom, for democracy, for human decency is not forgotten within the city of roses.
The Portland I know is filled with hope. It is this hope that has made the city what it is today and sees what our collective future could be. Hope is something that feels like a cruel joke right now, in many ways it feels like it’s been destroyed. But hope can never be destroyed.
What Trump wants to find is a city divided by violence. What he and the National Guard will soon learn is that Portland — like most of these democratic led cities that are being targeted — will never be that place.
Keep Portland weird and keep the National Guard out of our cities.
