War Zone

The City of Portland has given Occupy Portland participants until midnight tomorrow night to leave the occupied parks and take all their belongings with them. In the meantime, police have been busy removing hazardous materials and potential weapons from the parks. City workers from various agencies are circulating through the encampment offering assistance and making information available regarding social services.

 Police are readying themselves for the forceful removal of all persons from the parks. As they plan, so plan the occupiers.

Occupy Portland has numerous activities planned throughout the day tomorrow. Various groups in support of the movement are expected to march through the city during the daytime. In the evening, an “Occu-Fest” is planned – a “family friendly” potluck dinner with music and dancing in the park, and everyone is invited, from Portland’s 99% to supporters from the region and around the country. The festivities are scheduled to continue until the partygoers face the armed brigade at the midnight hour. Movement spokesmen have stated that they will not leave the parks. A confrontation is inevitable.

There are reports of “as many as 150 anarchists” joining the protest. There are also reports of weapons being collected, created, and readied at the encampment. In rebuttal, organizers insist that they are peaceful and will conduct themselves with passive resistance. The police chief has suspended all leaves and every police officer will be working 12-hour shifts until further notice. Even Mother Nature has interjected much colder, wetter weather.

Our mayor has been taking measures to prepare the protesters, the citizens of Portland, and cities across the country for what is about to happen and why. He has penned open letters to Occupy Portland, given local press conferences, appeared on National Public Radio, and tonight on the PBS NewsHour. His message is clear: the eviction is imminent. David Brooks, columnist for the New York Times and analyst on the PBS NewsHour following the Mayor’s statements, said it best: “You have a right to raise issues, you have a right to protest. You don’t have a right to occupy parts of your city.”

We are 6 blocks from the encampment, and only 5 blocks from Terry Schrunk Plaza where the occupiers have recently expanded to a third camp. With a call for supporters from anywhere and everywhere to join in a show of solidarity, it is unlikely that a confrontation can be confined to just the current encampments.

We will hunker down. As events unfold in the coming hours, I hope that the peaceful view from our living room window remains unchanged.