Society disgusts me

Society and people have been disgusting me lately. For the non-Portlanders, I will fill you in on the gritty details of what’s been going down here lately. People have been bad and cops have been having to shoot them. People are mad cops are shooting bad guys.

Basically there have been two men shot lately. One man was very very late on his child support and refusing to let his ex-wife pick up the kids. She calls the cops. Cops arrive, guy grabs kids, dashes in house with them while brandishing a shotgun and parades in front of the windows with a kid in one hand and shotgun in other. He calls the cops and even makes demands and the cops figure they have a full blown hostage situation. They bust in and the guy runs. They give him the old “Stop or I’ll shoot” and he decides to fight a cop and keep running. They shoot him, he dies.

Second guy is harassing people in a very public park full of joggers, kids, and women with babies. He was homeless and mentally ill and went into the women’s bathroom and started cutting on himself with a large knife. When the cops arrive, he charges them repeatedly with the knife, and it takes four shots to get him to stop. He dies.

To me it sounds like two sad men made some bad decisions and paid for it with their lives. It sucks, but I’m glad no one else was hurt in their parade of psychotic behavior. To the anarchists and college kids of this town? Police brutality! Cops killing innocents! Shooting people is bad, even if they try to kill you first!

So then these people decided to hold a peaceful protest (read: RIOT) downtown during rush hour. They did it in the street with no permit and held up traffic. They all conveniently brought camcorders and cameras and waited for the cops to arrive to break them up. When the cops herd them onto sidewalks..POLICE BRUTALITY! The cops were pushy but the rioter landed the first punches. Several were arrested, they brought in the cops on horses to break it up (No one fucks with horse cops. Period), and everyone is crying even more police brutality over them breaking up the protest. They threw trash cans, broke some windows and doors of local businesses, and threw rocks at a grocery store. Yes, let’s protest violence with violence.

I’m with the cops on this. I don’t feel either shooting was uncalled for. And then they decided to set up the cops further by recording the cops shutting down their protest. Sometimes I dislike being in such a town with hippies and anti-government radicals, and anarchists. Then I eat their yummy vegan food and remember why I love Portland.