Portland reveals performative authoritarianism in Security Theater: “Trumpster …for President”

So much Tom “Lando” Cotton secession in a three block area of Portland, even smaller than Seattle’s CHAZ/CHOP neighborhood.

Defenders of the Portland operation point to the unrest — vandalism and fires targeting the federal courthouse — as evidence of the need for federal intervention. The government has the authority to protect federal property; and the city, they argue, is enabling anarchists to run wild. “By any objective standard, the violence, chaos and anarchy in Portland is unacceptable, yet Democrats continue to put politics above peace while this president seeks to restore law and order,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called the protesters “insurrectionists” and compared them to Confederate secessionists.

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As a Portlander, I wanted to counter the narrative that our city is no longer safe since it's being overrun by violent protests. So, I made maps for perspective on them.

(The yellow box is the overall protest area while the red is the most recent, headline grabbing protests.) pic.twitter.com/BB7DklYpwI— D Paul Angel (@D_PaulAngel) July 24, 2020

Writing for The Washington Post, Garrett Graff explained his view that Diligent Valor and Operation Legend (a separate initiative under which the Trump administration is sending federal law enforcement to Chicago and Albuquerque) aren’t justifiable, but that they’re probably legal.

But even if they’re legal, these operations stretch the spirit of the law to the point of unrecognizability. They also run afoul of supposed core principles that Republican administrations, including Trump’s, pay lip service to. That’s led to accusations that Trump is using unidentified Department of Homeland Security officers as his personal secret police force, invoking dark imagery of totalitarian governments. “Welcome to the world of performative authoritarianism,” writes the Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum, where the point of violating citizens’ rights and working at cross purposes from state and local leaders “is not to bring peace to Portland. The purpose is to transmit a message” that Trump, the figure at the top, is in charge.

www.washingtonpost.com/…

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No people has found the American lurch toward authoritarianism under Trump more alarming than the Germans. A recent cover of Der Spiegel portrays Trump holding a lighted match with the country ablaze. The headline: “Der Feuerteufel,” or “the Fire Devil.”https://t.co/J9DM6IIRoF— Michiko Kakutani (@michikokakutani) July 25, 2020

— Lanier ”Issa Khari” Lewis (@IssaKhari) July 25, 2020

— Protect Democracy (@protctdemocracy) July 25, 2020

“Quit raising money off Ronald Reagan’s legacy”

Regis said to Trump every time he was on his show, “Trumpster, You need to run for President!”

person Regis Philbin camera television

— Greg Olear (@gregolear) July 25, 2020

— Secret Agent Number Six (@DesignationSix) July 24, 2020

— Young Humanist (@YoungHumanism) July 25, 2020

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