Reporting back from the Portland 'riots'

Last weekend, we visited Phil and Tricia in Portland (not that hellhole!) and they were glad to drive us down to the area of the ICE facility. It is separated from the downtown, as I visualize it, and is an industrial looking building that mostly is distinguished by the boarded up windows that must surround it most of the time. 

The ICE facility stands just 50 yards from some high-end apartments and condos, with lots of restaurants and other shops on the ground floors. Phil's company had built some of them, so he could share some details and history (they are quite new). We visited the area around noon on Sunday, the day after the "No Kings" march, so maybe everyone was just worn out, out to brunch, or enjoying a park on a sunny fall day. 

But we saw no protestors beyond the handful sitting in lawn chairs along one block of the street, a block away from ICE. We saw no ICE agents. We saw a lot of trash and tents... but they must have belonged to the "professional protestors" who were on break. All was calm. A mom and dad and two kids biked on the sidewalk and few pedestrians were around. 

Bottom line: much ado about nothing.

There is no emergency in Portland and there are no clear emergencies anywhere else in the country. We have a judicial system that has no idea of how to deal with shameless lying by the president and his sycophants. I'm not sure how many national security "emergencies" Trump has declared, nor do I understand just how long any one emergency can last before it evolves into something else.

Of course, I consider the Trump presidency and all those Republican politicians onlookers an emergency. 

But at some point that emergency starts looking like "normal." At some point, our current leadership vacuum becomes a predicament rather than a problem. A predicament is simply a challenge that has no particular solution and therefore just makes people crazy if they are trying to find one.

Kathleena and I went to a "pub theology" meeting at Rock Bottom... the purpose was to discuss what connects us as opposed to what divides us. There is a "turn the other cheek" propensity among Methodists who gather for such things, so it was no surprise to hear plenty of "just love one another" and "we all need to have a meal together" solutions. 

In other words, not all that satisfying when all around us we see blatant lying and corruption and there seem to be no people with any authority willing to do anything about it. 

I went away thinking that there must be some line, some proclaimed position, some abhorrent behavior that "cross the line" and that leaves us needing to do more than simply turn another cheek or invite someone to a home-cooked meal.

My own solution is mostly to avoid being around people who are rabid Trumpers and when circumstances do plut me around them, to avoid discussing politics. 

I know the common wisdom is to try to keep communication lines open. 

I prefer feigning ignorance and finding the nearest exit.