Portland, Oregon used to be a pleasant and beautiful city. Tourists would even go there to enjoy its beautiful nature and good coffee.
In the past few years, however, Portland has become more known for its roving gangs of Antifa lunatics who smash windows, burn buildings, fight with police and seem to have a huge obsession with trying to destroy the federal courthouse.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is a former Republican-turned-Democrat who served as state treasurer from 2010 to 2016 and afterwards as mayor. He’s a smart guy who went to Harvard and has all sorts of big ideas about building the perfect progressive city.
He lists his “pronouns” in his bio and spent years soft-pedalling it on Antifa. After all, as President Biden said, they’re just an “idea,” not an actual group, right?
Many vandalized buildings and injured people would tell you otherwise. And Wheeler is finally starting to get the message.
Wheeler Comes Out Swinging
After yet another weekend of looting, rioting and arson, Wheeler reached the end of his rope. He himself has already run into violent Antifa psychopaths, including while out on a date.
In a press conference addressing the disorder in the city, Wheeler asked normal Portland residents to stand up against Antifa supporters who are causing property damage.
“They want to burn, they want bash, they want to intimidate, they want to assault. If BLM leaders can show the courage to stand up to this mob, then we all should,” Wheeler said in an attempt to pit the two groups against each other.
“Together we can make a stand … and take our city back,” he said, adding that people should report those they see wearing black around the city who could be part of the “self-described anarchist mob.”
Wheeler said that Portland’s state of emergency will be extended and he’s clearly trying to pursue a strategy here of praising BLM in order to isolate and weaken Antifa. The problem with that is that the two groups are far from perfectly separate, and a lot of violence also comes from BLM, not just Antifa.
In addition, Wheeler never actually has the courage to call out Antifa by name, choosing to call them the very wonky “self-described anarchist mob.”
You’re not in a classroom at Harvard anymore, Ted. You have idiotic basement-dwelling drug addicts burning your city down.
Still, you have to acknowledge there’s been a big change in Wheeler since several years ago.
Happy #EarthDay. The City of Portland has made climate justice a central policy goal. We’re working to reduce carbon emissions, prevent displacement, and build resilience to climate impacts. You can read the City’s 2020 Climate Emergency Declaration at https://t.co/Np4h5Nf0D8. pic.twitter.com/nbHgqV9q8Y
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) April 22, 2021
Wheeler Empowers Portland Police
In addition, Wheeler is giving Portland police the power they need to take care of these malcontents. He said they can now make use of “all tactics at their disposal to quell the violence, including the use of kettling.”
The controversial practice of boxing in and surrounding protesters is quite effective and it’s good Wheeler is taking the gloves off here. But he’s been sending nothing but mixed messages, including by formerly defunding his own cops and causing many to leave.
After all, police don’t want to face off against a squad of lunatic extremists every day in their nine to five job.
Still, you have to say that Wheeler is at least doing something. At this point Antifa and BLM extremists are out of control in Portland. They smashed historical buildings and a Church, including wrecking local Boy’s and Girl’s Club buildings around town. Maybe they objected to the gender pronouns.
Either way, it’s time to put Antifa to bed with a swift trip to jail and if Wheeler finally gets that then all the power to him.
