No Brakes

I really hoped to be less reactive today...And this is more or less a reprise of a different conversation on facebook. If you've seen that, I apologize for the re-run.

The White House has said that three federal agents in Portland may have suffered permanent loss of vision as a result of being targeted by lasers. If this is true, I condemn it. Period.

Even though I strongly object to the role federal forces seem to be playing in escalating violence, I also strongly object to those among the protesters who are escalating violence. This is literally becoming "an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind." I do not think we should take joy in anyone suffering permanent injury.

I don't particularly trust the White House. But I don't feel like I have enough data to be sure this untrue. And if it is not a lie, I do have have sympathy for people who lose their vision or part of their vision in the course of their jobs. To repeat what I said elsewhere, I think the presence of federal forces is inflaming an already volatile situation, and I fully fault the administration for that. But I do not know the facts of the situation. If the assertion is borne out, I will not celebrate the injury done or dismiss it.

To me, the central problem in Portland at the moment remains that everyone wants to escalate -- Trump because force and deceit seem to be central to how he communicates, and anonymous folks among the protesters that incite violence and are closed to communication because of their anonymity. You wouldn't drive a car that had an accelerator and no brakes, why does it make sense to address public policy issues with no discernable negative feedback/damping mechanism on either side?

At least as far as I can see, the situation in Portland has become a distraction from real police reform and from addressing racial inequity -- but a distraction that is causing real harm. If protesters truly stayed non-violent, did not injure others, and did try to set buildings on fire, then if the feds revealed themselves for the bullies they seem to be -- support for the federal forces would crumble. If the feds and allies gathered around the federal courthouse without arms and body armor and did what the moms in Portland are doing, then public opinion would pretty quickly shift to their side. But they are all chicken-shit -- hiding behind innocent protestors or hiding behind the weight of federal government. It's all the same to me, none of them are likely to bring about a more peaceful society.

We can be better than this. The question is, will we be better than this?