Portland solidarity protest

(Speech by Misty Rowan 7/24/20)

Solidarity from Minneapolis to Portland

We are here today to stand in solidarity with activists in Portland, Oregon who have been rising up against police brutality only to be met with more brutality. In the latest escalation of government repression, the trump administration has sent federal officers in to do -essentially whatever they please- to quell the protests. A move that is meant to strike fear, and to assert power, as even the Mayor of Portland was recently tear-gassed by agents that are expressly unwelcome in the city. These tactics are unconstitutional and alarming. And even though people all over the country have decried the move, trump and his goons have no intention of stopping, in fact, they have outright promised there will be more to come. We are here to speak out against this aggression, and to stand with the protesters being attacked and detained. As the whole country is now grappling with the reality of living in a police state, and asking themselves “could we be next?” the question we all should be asking is “What are you prepared to do about it?”

Because we are not here today because we are worried that Minneapolis might be next, frankly, we expect it. We expect it because the current nation-wide uprising against police brutality started here, after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of 4 Mpls police officers. And though the initial fires have since been put out, the fire lit underneath this movement has only grown. There are actions almost every single day here in the Twin Cities, as the movement locally continues to win victories big and small. 

But we also expect it here, because we have seen this kind of repression before. In 2008, when the RNC was held in St Paul, we saw these kinds of tactics being used in our streets. Soldiers in full military fatigues driving around in unmarked vans, conducting themselves as though the rule of law does not apply to them. Helicopters, tanks, and lines and lines of riot cops. We said then it was a police state. Then in 2011, the Anti-War Committee office and the homes of several members of our group were raided as part of a government “investigation” into peace and solidarity activists across the country. Subpoenas were issued to appear before a grand jury on the accusation that we were “supporting terrorism” in a blatant revival of the McCarthy era scare tactics. But of the 23 activists called to testify, ultimately ZERO would comply. We said then that the case was “the canary in the coal mine” as to what our government was capable of and willing to do to silence dissent amongst its own citizens. 

I bring these examples up for two reasons: 

1. This is not about trump. Yes, he has the audacity to create what a lot of people see as another political stunt to try to get reelected. But we can trace this legacy of repression all the way back to 9/11 when those attacks were used as justification for curtailing our civil liberties, and a pretext for war. Even then, as our country was reeling from the sheer loss of life, we knew that the government would use these events as an excuse to go after political dissent. 

And to spy on Muslims and eventually anyone they deemed “suspect”.

And to hold people indefinitely without ever charging them with a crime. 

And to go after journalists and their sources. 

It’s been almost 20 years of chipping away at our rights, and politicians on both sides of the aisle have participated. Anyone who thinks Biden is the solution must have forgotten what 8 years of Democratic leadership recently accomplished.  President Obama expanded his executive powers by leaps and bounds, all while assuring us that he could be trusted to use those powers responsibly- even as he drone bombed and deported more people than any president before him. And then he handed all that power over to trump. So yeah, we gotta get rid of the cheeto in chief, but I just want to be clear that getting rid of trump is not enough. This struggle will not be won at the ballot box it will be won in the streets, and while it is important to vote, this crisis cannot wait until November. It needs to be dealt with right now.

2. The second reason I bring this up is to give you all a bit of hope. Because despite these attacks, we have continued to fight back. Even though the feds and the raids were meant to shock us into compliance and stop us in our tracks- the opposite happened. People came out in droves to support us. And we have seen a similar response in Portland in recent days. Every time they try to shut us down, it only fuels the movement. 

I have a lot of friends who don’t consider themselves to be political who have been outraged and dismayed by what we have seen in recent days, and I welcome it. I have had more radical conversations with coworkers and casual acquaintances in the last few weeks than I have had in years. People have questions. People are struggling with their disbelief and my message to them is “you better believe it.” They say that for every riot cop in the street, a hippie is born. So to anyone who came to their first protest ever in 2020, I am happy to welcome you to what may very well be the fight of our lifetime. 

We must push further, and challenge the people in our lives to look closer. Anyone who is upset that US citizens are banned from travel right now because of covid should consider the injustice of the Muslim ban. Anyone upset by the idea of being detained without cause and held indefinitely without charges should think about the detention centers overfull with children dying of disease and neglect. We need to start acting like all these things are connected because they are. And local governments have been just as much of a roadblock to change as the federal one has.

It is a mistake to think this is just about DHS agents coming into our cities. The local police are just as much still the problem here. I’m sure you have all seen or heard about the billboards recently put up around the cities by the MPD? They say shit like “bullets sprayed through the park” and other incendiary things to try to scare people into believing they need the police. Because they have always used fear as their main tactic for control. There is little difference between trump sending in federal agents and Walz sending in the national guard. They are just different flavors of the same repression, and people need to understand that these people don’t work for us. 

This is not just about Portland, or Minneapolis, or New York, or L.A. Some version of this awakening is playing out in cities big and small all over the country. And it is our job to take this opportunity, to take this momentum, and run with it. The more out of control our government behaves the more ground we stand to win! 

We must continue to fight, continue to stand together united, and demand justice for all. So I am asking you- what are you prepared to do? When the secret police show up in your city, when the concentration camps are already built and already full, when people are dying and facing financial ruin due to government inaction amidst a pandemic, but they only ever seem to have money for WAR- what are you prepared to do? 

I, for one, am ready to fight for this country, a country that only ever made good on its promises when people stood up and demanded their rights. That struggle continues. And I believe that we will win. 

When our civil rights are under attack, what do we do?

Stand up. Fight back.