Short Take: The “Height of Selfishness”

It’s not as if you hear much about it. It’s not good for the narrative. But that doesn’t do much to help the victims of the ongoing destruction in Portland.

A palpably angry Mayor Ted Wheeler today pledged a zero-tolerance policy toward property destruction by “violent antifa and anarchists… rampaging through Portland,” and demanded the Oregon Legislature increase criminal penalties for repeat vandalism offenders.

“My good-faith efforts at deescalation have been met with scorn by antifa and anarchists bent on destruction,” Wheeler said. “It’s time to push back harder.”

Wheeler’s “good faith efforts” are rather awkward at this point. When protesters came after him at his condo, he “apologized” for them.

“I want to express my sincere apologies for the damage to our home and the fear that you are experiencing due to my position,” according to a screenshot of the email sent to The Oregonian/OregonLive. “It’s unfair to all of you who have no role in politics or in my administration.”

Of course, he was running for his second term as mayor then, so perhaps he was less inclined to condemn rioters and destruction. But it’s hard to be quite so understanding of destruction without implicitly enabling it. But now that he’s been re-elected, and destruction persisting despite his channeling his inner Neville Chamberlain, he’s putting his foot down.

The Jan. 1 press conference followed a New Year’s Eve in which several dozen protesters shot fireworks at the Multnomah County Justice Center, riot police deployed tear gas at the small crowd, and masked rioters shattered windows in downtown Portland.

After all, what’s a New Year’s Eve during a pandemic if not an opportunity to riot and destroy? You probably heard about it, or at least saw the videos, right? Oh wait, there were no stories in the New York Times, no viral videos on social media. Odd, right?

In his remarks, Wheeler described the holiday vandalism as the last straw after a year of civil unrest, and pledged to “change the dynamic” in 2021. He expressed bafflement at the actions of protesters, apparently leftists, who repeatedly smash windows and spray-paint buildings after rallies where they demand a reduction of funding to the Police Bureau.

“Why? This is the hardest of all questions to answer. Why would a group of largely white, young and some middle-aged men destroy the livelihoods of others struggling to get by? It’s the height of selfishness.

When people took notice of what was happening in the Great Northwest and cities around the country, it was understood that it was “mostly peaceful” protest. And protest is our constitutional right, so surely this was a valid means of bringing about recognition of our social ills of racism and police abuse. But as some asked during the brief and shining moment anyone cared enough to ask, “what the hell is happening in Portland?” to what end?

“There are just some people on this planet who are bent on criminal destruction,” the mayor continued. “There are just some people who want to watch the world burn.”

There are people who protested with good intentions in the hope of bringing about what in their minds would prove positive change. As dumb as “defund police” might have been, it was not the product of malevolence, but of naivete and ignorance. They meant well, even if their idea of fixing very real problems was to do something very unreal.

Now that Ted Wheeler has suddenly grasped that these “largely white” groups of “antifa and anarchists” are doing actual harm to actual people who did nothing to harm anyone or deserve to be the facile victims of their mindless destruction, he’s become concerned.

Wheeler pledged to convene federal, state and local law enforcement “as soon as next week” to adopt a coordinated response to property destruction. He asked the Legislature to increase criminal penalties for people convicted of repeatedly damaging buildings.

And just like that, we’re right back to where we were before this started. Who would have guessed it would turn out this way?

15 thoughts on “Short Take: The “Height of Selfishness”

      1. Guitardave

        I think you just gave me my tag line if I ever make the mistake of getting on twitter. Thanks.

  1. L. Phillips

    I’m sure local, state and federal law enforcement are tingling all over at the prospect of “adopt(ing) a coordinated response to property destruction” with this weasel in the lead.

      1. LocoYokel

        Other than damage to federal buildings would the feds even care what the kids are doing to Portland or would they just shrug their shoulders and say it’s a local and state affair, deal with in on your own?

        Personally, especially given the treatment last time they tried to prevent the destruction, were I the person in charge of the local branches I would tell them to pound sand, put out a general announcement that continued attacks on federal property will be met with overwhelming and potentially deadly force and just line the marshals up shoulder to shoulder with full automatic rifles behind the barricades and fencing.

        The kids will get the message after the first couple of dozen die. There comes a time when you say “Enough is enough” and deal with the issue sufficiently to resolve it.

  2. KeyserSoze

    Has he finally found a spine and a set of testicles now that he safely installed in office again? Amazing!

    The mayor has been better served by the restraint of the police agencies than he deserves.

    FYI I will be changing my online name-because I can. Steve King

      1. KeyserSoze

        Did you ever hear or read a phrase that just smacked you up side the head with a twenty pound dead carp?

        “The will to do what other men will not.” The Usual Suspects.

        I cleaned it up a bit. But that one line really impacted me at the time.

  3. Pedantic Grammar Police

    Here’s a better question. Why would a group of “liberal” politicians make approving noises while largely white, young and some middle-aged men destroy the livelihoods of others struggling to get by? For the same reason that any politician ever does anything. Because they thought they would benefit from it.

  4. B. McLeod

    So the pusillanimous cockroach allowed a group of around 40 nutcases to terrorize the whole city, and it somehow didn’t work out as the basis for a great new municipal system. Learn something new every day.

  5. JimminyRicketts

    Interesting timing, see the Willamette Weekly article on downtown PDX real estate values. Wheeler was just informed that (gasp) no one wants to live there just a couple days ago.

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