Protests in Portland, Oregon, have been going for nearly five months. Last week, protesters-turned-rioters overturned large bronze statues and vandalized the Oregon Historical Society. The monuments are the latest statues to come down in a wave of removed monuments sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Demonstrations in Portland over Floyd’s killing (“George Floyd Protests”) began in May 2020. Cities around the world have also held protests. Such public demonstrations are not wrong, if held peacefully and lawfully. Free people must be allowed to express concerns over injustice, wrongdoing, and the need for positive change.
However, many of the Portland protests have turned violent. They’ve involved rioting as well as clashes with police and other citizens. Arson, looting, tear gas, vandalism, and weapons have been part of many rallies. At least one person has died.
Protest organizers call the most recent Portland event the “Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage.” It was intended as a declaration of anger toward Columbus Day, which is named after 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Some Native American advocates say Columbus spurred centuries of massacres of indigenous people in the Americas.
The destroyed sculptures in Portland were of former presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The group threw chains around Roosevelt’s statue, officially titled Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider. They splashed red paint on the monument, wrote “Black Lives Matter” on Roosevelt’s face, and used a blowtorch on the statue’s base.
Historians say Roosevelt expressed hostility toward Native Americans, once saying: “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are. . . .”
Protesters spray-painted “Dakota 38” on the base of Lincoln’s statue. The tag references 38 Native American Dakota men Lincoln approved to have hanged after a violent conflict with white settlers in Minnesota.
The crowd also smashed windows at the Oregon Historical Society and later moved on to the Portland State University Campus Public Safety office.
Police arrested three people after the protests. Officers say multiple businesses were damaged, including a restaurant with at least two bullet holes in its front windows.
A quilt sewn by 15 black women from Portland was among the items damaged at the Oregon Historical Society, says executive director Kerry Tymchuk.
Each square of the Afro-American Heritage Bicentennial Commemorative Quilt honors a black person or moment in history that impacted African Americans. The quilt was found a few blocks away. It is being assessed for damage.
“As we clean up broken glass, scrub paint, and make plans to ensure safety in our building, we also, as always, welcome critique of our work,” says Tymchuk. She adds graciously but clearly, “We would be grateful to have constructive feedback.”
Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways. — Proverbs 3:31
(A statue of former President Abraham Lincoln lies on the ground in Portland’s South Park Block following a night of protests. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
1st Comment
Would people just stop being dumb! Like seriously, it has been about six months; chill! I wish people would stop vandalizing all the statues and such. It is so ridiculous.
Also about covid...... The CDC said that out of the 220,000 deaths that are said to be from covid in the US, only 6% REALLY HAPPENED FROM COVID!!!!!!!! CDC said that! Which means that covid only killed 6% of those people, the others just died from age or other things that people normally die from!
Ok, I know a lot of people
Ok, I know a lot of people are going to say "oh, they did the wrong thing, Abraham Lincoln was the best president ever! He freed the slaves, he was so amazing!" Yes, he freed the slaves, and for that I am thankful for. But did you also know that before Lincoln was planning to SHIP ALL THE BLACK PEOPLE BACK TO AFRICA?! They would've probably not survived for less than a year! Yes, Lincoln didn't do that, but he was still one of the worst presidents we ever had. Because of civil war, we were in a bunch of debt, he approved many hangings of people who didn't deserve it like you just read, and apparently there is a rumor that said he had a few courrupted advisors who tried to control him. I know I am probably telling this to deaf ears, but understand that jus because a person does one amazing thing (that they weren't even planning to do at first) it doesn't at ALL make up for the bad things he did. And of course the protesters shouldn't have torn down that statue that was a terrible thing to do but in my opinion just because that is property damage (not because Lincoln was "the best president ever!")
.
I, personally do not understand why people want to destroy the statues of our Founding Fathers. Yes, a good deal of them did own slaves, and yes, many were unfriendly to Native Americans, BUT get this: when they were first writing the Constitution, they were nearly torn apart SEVERAL times because of the issue of slavery, between the northern states and the southern states. In order to keep the United States of America united, we had to leave that detail for later. If they had abolished slavery way beck in the 1700s, we may not even be standing on U.S turf. (sorry if I offended any one)
@Carys M
There probably won't be a 'best' president ever. And yes, Abraham Lincoln was not perfect, but no one is. Everyone does bad things, but that doesn't make them bad people. And Carys M, I had thought the African Americans wanted to go back to Africa.
caroandtommy
Possibly, no one every really said what the black people thought (like always back then) but Africa was (and still is) so different! Not many people who were stolen from there were alive! If they were just dropped there in this hostile place, with proabably little or no supplies, could they have survived long? Maybe, if some of the tribes helped them or they worked together. But I suspect that some of the tribes in Africa might not have been friendly, so I don't know if they would've survived or not.
that is it!!!!!!!(sound of
that is it!!!!!!!(sound of computer shattering on the ground)
XD XD XD
The government seriously
The government seriously needs to put a stop to these riots. We as American citizens have the right to PEACEFULLY protest, not break stuff, and the government is letting these people get away with it. At least, some people in the government are. On top of that, people are considering de-funding the police. So, wait, not only are we going to vote for a guy named Biden who doesn't know what he's doing and already has one foot in the grave, we are also going to de-fund the group that is supposed to be here to protect us. Politics can be soooo stupid and weird.
trump 2020
When President Trump is reelected, he will put a stop to these riots
Oh......boy..............
Still??? They're still trying to destroy this country?? This is really frustrating!! Not all history is pretty because its history and bad things happen, but we learn from that. I dont think its right to destroy things just because you are mad at history! I agree with Riley!! This is a disgrace! And idc what anybody says these are not peaceful protests!! (Sorry about all the exclamation marks xD)
@HESPERUS D
I agree.
Did you hear about how the
Did you hear about how the Washington Redskins had to change their name because it was "racist" now that is ridiculus
Come on people! Can't you do
Come on people! Can't you do protests peacefully!?!?
Oh by the way, today is my
Oh by the way, today is my dad's birthday. :-) ❤
@Kiara
Happy Birthday!!!!
Happy Birthday N&M's dad!
Happy Birthday N&M's dad!
Also, this is really, really, really stupid. Sure, Lincoln and Roosevelt may not have been the best, but they were in arguably the hardest position in the world! And all of us are human and sin, it's just a part of life. Those things they said should have been corrected, but it does no good to tear down their statues!!! That's what I think anyway...
@Carys M
Abe Lincon was not the best president ever. The best president ever is Donald J Trump!
I agree that just because
I agree that just because they are not perfect, you should not dishonour them. I think that President Lincoln was a hero because he kept our country together and stopped slavery.
today is my older brothers
today is my older brothers birthday too!!
brother, i mean
brother, i mean
@Porter
It's my dad's birthday........................???
yes i meant you when i said;
yes i meant you when i said; too!!!!
It doesn't even make sense
It doesn't even make sense now. Just because you disagree or dislike someone doesn't mean you can do these things. What if someone disagrees with what some Native Americans did to some settlers, do their feelings about them make it right to vandalize the statues of their chiefs?
Also I don't think that
Also I don't think that Abraham Lincoln was a bad president. I know there are some bad choices he made while in office, but then aren't all humans (including me) bad and sinful?
@Above
I don't think that Lincoln was perfect, but I believe that he was on the better end of our presidents, as is Trump. Yeah, we all do and say things that we shouldn't, including the two people I just mentioned. But there are things that they did or are doing that really helped our country.
@EY: yeah, and now not only do people want to destroy their statues, they sure are acting like they want to destroy the whole Constitution and Declaration and Bill or Rights and all that sort of stuff!
25th comment
Bill of Rights, right Riley? Not Bill or Rights?
P.S. That was me (Caro)
No offense Riley! :)
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are yummy
@ Curtis
I've never eaten a question mark. What do they taste like? ;-)
@Above
Candy Canes?? xDD
Ok, I'm confused with the
Ok, I'm confused with the birthday thing....
@ N&M.A
I think Kiara said it was her dad's birthday, and Porter accidentally wished your dad happy birthday instead of hers.
i think i got some birthday
i think i got some birthday stuff mixed up too
@N&M
Oops. I meant Kiara.
LOL Okay xD
LOL Okay xD
Sorry N&M!!!
Sorry N&M!!!
@Porter
You're fine!! LOL ( And btw this is Nadia)
repetition
so if this whole George Floyd thing happened months ago, then when are these riots going to stop. they are just getting worse and people are going to start fighting back against these riots. People who actually have any sense left should see that this is madness.
This is stupid. It’s history!
This is stupid. It’s history! We would never know the things we do know like it’s wrong to have slaves if we never even had slaves in the first place. Things have to happen for us to see what’s right and wrong. I’m not saying that I support slavery No no no I don’t but it had to happen.
@Ethan
Most of them probably don't care about George Floyd, they are just jumping on an opportunity to steal kill and destroy!
@RILEY D I heard that too, so true!
It's so bad when people violate other peoples property ,and in this case public property. Just because of covid OTHER PEPLE SHOULD NOT WORLD DESTROY OTHERS THINGS!!!!!!! And now people DESTROYING presidential statues is just NOT okay! there's that . all we can really do is pray that these things will stop.
@CaroandTommy
Yeah, I meant Bill OF Rights. Thanks for catching that!! Sorry!
@Nadia A
Exactly
Trump 2020 keep America Great!
I hope Trump gets reelected ! we all have to pray for this election. put <> if you are praying! <>
<>
<>
everyone matters
George Floyd's death was a tragedy, but that doesn't mean we should damage property or take other lives, that cop made a mistake, but we can still forgive him and mourn for George. we can protest peacefully, not in the form of a riot. those statues mean no harm there is no reason to destroy them, there were mistakes in history we learn from them in order to not repeat them. there is nothing we can do about the past exept learn from it. cops are hear to protect us. the least we can do for them in return is respect them.
@ ASHER R
I totally agree with you ! :)
@Asher
I agree!!!
I agree with Asher. Well put.
I agree with Asher. Well put.
This is getting out of hand!!!!!!!
Covid-19 started approx. 9 months ago. People are still angry about George Floyds death. But I think they have gone to far this time. You can't bring somebody back by showing how angry you are and vandalizing, raiding, protesting, and other things. What you can do is honor his death and seek justice in a not-so-violent way. What this country does not need is a war over a death that happened, what, 6 months ago.? I agree that black lives matter because I am black, but racial issues have been going on for over 100 years. Even in 1960 when the first black child went to an all white school people protested, so this is nothing new.