In late September of this year, President Trump officially announced that he would be sending US troops to Portland, Oregon. In his words, Portland is “war-ravaged”, and he is sending these troops in order to “protect” the city from violent protests. In addition to the protests, Trump has called attention to a concentration of illegal immigrants in the city (around 13% of Portland’s population being immigrants), further stating the importance of the presence and protection from the ICE agents.
In order to better understand the events leading up to this situation, The Ravine interviewed one of Kilbourne’s AP Language and Composition teachers, Mr. Cecutti.
“Portland has always had progressive views, particularly on drugs. But it’s less about the actual physical drugs and more about how we deal with the problem in society as a whole and the actual people involved. . .It’s not so much that they want all drugs to be legal, it’s that they have problems with the way that drug charges have been leveled against citizens. . .[The officials of Portland] believe that many of the people who are abusing drugs and being punished for it through either heavy fines or jail time, are already some of the most disadvantaged people in society. . .So decriminalization is a response to this, saying that instead of punishing people, we should try to help them. . .The people who would oppose such a measure would say you’re encouraging them to do drugs and that you’re admitting that this is a hopeless situation in which we are not trying to get these people off of drugs.”
Having a grasp on the background and context of the current issues in Portland, as with any other issue, allows for a more in-depth analysis and understanding on the thought processes of politicians on both sides. Mr. Cecutti went on to further explain the current situation and what exactly President Trump’s current plan and overall goals are for Portland.
“There’s more to the current militarization than just the drug issue. . .And so President Trump’s other concern with Portland is with the ICE presence. People in Portland are professional protestors compared to a place like Columbus Ohio and so the people have been very active in protesting against the ICE detentions. . .so the so-called militarization is the President’s way of handling both the protests and the drug issue.”
As for the current opinions of Portland’s political representatives, while there has been a decrease in support for the previous “decriminalization” efforts regarding the drug problem, there is little support towards President Trump and the idea of militarization. Largely the consensus among those already working in Portland, such as the city’s own law enforcement, is that the protests have been mostly entirely peaceful and that the deployment of the national guard in the city is completely unnecessary.
The issue in Portland is ongoing and developing further every day with new statements from both President Trump and the local government of Portland continuing to surface. As citizens, it is incredibly important to stay up to date on all major current events as best as possible in order to remain a knowledgeable and critical member of society who is capable of forming their own well informed beliefs.
