Portland Reveals National Problems: From Local to Global, End Militarism!
Published on July, 20 2020
Tear gas from BORTAC and fires at Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse during the 2020 George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon, 22 July 2020. Photo credit: Tedder. Available for editorial use under Creative Commons license.
By Joan Goddard, Program Committee Chair
Michael Ippolito, WILPF US Member
August 2020
Unable to manage the pandemic and the continuing national protests after George Floyd's murder, the presidential administration of the United States is resorting to illegal tactics, sending federal agents in unidentifiable uniforms to detain and assault protestors and others standing up for human rights.
In Portland, secret federal police are abducting citizens, and they and local police continue to gas and attack with batons and projectile devices hundreds of nonviolent demonstrators. In response, the Portland "Moms" stand up bravely to the violence of the local and federal officers. WILPF stands together with the Moms, veterans, and others standing up for civil rights.
While governors and mayors object to these federal invasions, the acting Director of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, ignores them.
The tactics of the federal forces in Portland – violence, the use of military weapons and gases banned in war by the Geneva Conventions, and concealment of their identity – have attracted public attention and condemnation. However, the militarization and heavy arming of civilian law enforcement is not new. Also, in cities starved for federal funds to meet human needs, some mayors are ready to welcome the presence of federal officers to “assist” local police, despite the questionable tactics.
The process of checks and balances appears broken during these brazenly criminal actions, which resemble the acts of Nazi “Brown Shirts” and Mussolini’s “Black Shirts” 75 years ago before and during World War II. WILPF says no to neo-fascism and authoritarianism!
It is a small step that 22 senators united to try to stop this presidential overreach. However, we are in an election year; we cannot tolerate any governmental actions that could lead to suppression of voter turnout for the elections.
With the violent deployment of combative and camouflaged federal agents against demonstrators, the US government seems to have brought to its own people the wars and interventions waged so readily by the US from over 800 US military bases around the world.
WILPF opposes militarism at home and abroad: #DefundthePolice and #DefundtheMiltary! In Portland and other cities, police increasingly are using the military model. It’s past time for the police to be trained with diverse tools and skills to handle situations entirely differently, no longer viewing citizens as "the enemy". Remembering the lessons of history, we know it is up to each of us to hold the line for respect for human decency and basic human rights.
As #StalwartsforPeace, we #StandTogether. We will continue to #StandUp against the culture of militarization. It is #UptoUs.
