# What would you do if you were the mayor of Portland,Oregon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 7, 2020, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019 "2020-09-07T10:13:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/21 "2020-09-07T20:42:56Z")
I wonder if this has been done. The negotiations, that is. Seems that the rioters are pushing and all they want is destruction. Sure is co-opting the BLM. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/22 "2020-09-07T20:48:25Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > The thing is they release , for the most part, the rioters the next day. It continues the next night. I can’t see an end of it with out some assistance. That’s because they’re being arrested for the “crime” of “unlawful protesting” or “violating curfew.” These are things that people shouldn’t be getting arrested for in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/23 "2020-09-07T20:54:53Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I would run absolute law and order, bordering on martial law. > > No violence, arson, looting allowed. That goes for all right-wingers and all left-wingers. No exceptions. If you claim to be “anti-fascist” but go around terrorizing people, burning and destroying, you are…fascist. If such a thing were to be done, in a fair manner as you describe, I suspect that the vast majority of actual criminals will turn out to be right wingers. This is why I suspect that this hasn’t been done. The police, at least enough of them to make a difference in whether or not law enforcement is fair, sympathize with the right wing and don’t want to arrest them. What happened in Kenosha with Kyle Rittenhouse is a perfect example. In addition, the protestors would have no need to protest if this were actually to happen. The reason people are protesting is because law enforcement is not equal. If the police were enforcing the law fairly and equally the protests would end because their goals would have been achieved. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/24 "2020-09-07T21:23:39Z")
Since capitulation only encourages more demands I wouldn’t give an inch. Criminals would be arrested and prosecuted and when people see that looting, vandalism, blocking highways, and assaulting police and citizens results in prison sentences the problem would mostly go away. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/25 "2020-09-07T21:26:07Z")
Kenosha and Kyle Rittenhouse is a terrible example. For one, Rittenhouse was apparently defending himself from the lawless horde and two if the lawless horde were actually aligned with Rittenhouse he wouldn’t have needed to defend himself. So, the extrapolation that the violence is predominantly right wing has no basis in reality. The truth is that democrat mayors and DAs see some form of political gain in allowing this to happen with no consequence while prosecuting as harshly as possible folks who defend themselves or their property. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/26 "2020-09-07T21:26:28Z")
Not all of them are charged with those things. Some are more serious. That’s why the otheR jurisdictions won5 send their officers there because of the lack of support from the DA. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/27 "2020-09-07T21:43:59Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Kenosha and Kyle Rittenhouse is a terrible example. For one, Rittenhouse was apparently defending himself from the lawless horde and two if the lawless horde were actually aligned with Rittenhouse he wouldn’t have needed to defend himself. So, the extrapolation that the violence is predominantly right wing has no basis in reality. > > The truth is that democrat mayors and DAs see some form of political gain in allowing this to happen with no consequence while prosecuting as harshly as possible folks who defend themselves or their property. This? Do you have a cite that Rittenhouse was not the aggressor? With two deaths to his name, that’s twice as many as the far left criminals have to them, and that’s only if we count this current round of protests. Then there’s David McAtee, killed by right wing members of the national guard for defending his property. If we go back and include the Charlottesville protests then the ratio is skewed even more towards the right wingers being responsible for shootings and murders. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/28 "2020-09-07T21:51:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Assemblies here are explicitly lawful, according to the supreme law of the land. That is not absolute, though. That supreme law of the land also created courts that define the limits of the constitutional right. Courts have decided on limits to other rights to 1st Amendment rights. Shouting fire in a crowded can still be criminal. News organizations can still be sued for defamation. Free practice of religion can be infringed upon in certain circumstances. Similarly the right to assemble is not absolute in judicial precedence. Not all assemblies are explicitly lawful. Assemble in a way that violates the laws that courts have allowed to limit the right and it is an unlawful assembly. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/29 "2020-09-07T22:34:48Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > Similarly the right to assemble is not absolute in judicial precedence. Not all assemblies are explicitly lawful. Assemble in a way that violates the laws that courts have allowed to limit the right and it is an unlawful assembly. Right. But it’s the mayors and city councils of the world that write those regulations into law. If they wanted to they could change those laws so that what the vast majority of the arrested protestors are currently being arrested for is no longer illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/30 "2020-09-07T22:51:43Z")
In other words continue and exacerbate the cycle of violence. I’m sure the best way to address the concerns of a populace fed up with the heavy handed and unaccountable nature of the police is to make them even more heavy handed and unaccountable. The beatings will continue until morale improves! ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/31 "2020-09-07T23:59:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What on Earth is an “unlawful assembly”? Portland is in the US, is it not? Assemblies here are explicitly lawful, according to the supreme law of the land. > **[Your Right to Protest](https://www.aclu-or.org/en/know-your-rights/your-right-protest)** > > You have a constitutionally protected right to engage in peaceful protest in “traditional public forums” such as streets, sidewalks or parks. But in some cases the government can impose restrictions Assemblies that block roads or sidewalks require permits. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/32 "2020-09-08T13:13:55Z")
Is there any one protester that Wheeler could talk to that would be the authoritative voice on what their demands are, and could effectively tell them to stand down once said demands are met? It doesn’t seem to me that anyone on that side really claims a leadership position and would be able to speak for everyone else. Maybe I’m wrong though. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/33 "2020-09-08T14:14:23Z")
Does seem like the protesters/rioters don’t have a fore front “leader” . Just go out and harass police and businesses. I don’t see a way out. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/34 "2020-09-08T17:25:58Z")
I’m not sure if they have one specific leader, but there’s no reason it has to be one person instead of a small handful. As for the demands, I’m pretty sure that one of them is that the police stop being racist, given that racist actions by police seem to be what have triggered the protests in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/35 "2020-09-08T17:52:00Z")
You really can’t help defending violent murdering righty-whiteys, can you? ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/36 "2020-09-08T19:25:13Z")
There’s a Chief of Police, too, so it isn’t all on the mayor’s shoulders. There is a city commissioner, who is black, who has been pushing to have the police bureau delegated to her. I’m not sure how that would go, but it could possibly be a bargaining chip. I don’t really see how you can bargain out of the protests, though. The protests are against systemic racism. It’s not like you can promise to end that. Maybe there could be some sort of agreement to make certain changes, and for the protests to be limited in some way, but I don’t really see it. I’d hope they would peter out on their own, but damned if systemic racism doesn’t just keep rearing its ugly head. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/37 "2020-09-08T19:30:20Z")
I live in Portland. First off, I’d tell the goddamn city council members to stop hiding and get involved in fixing what is wrong with city government. Secondly, I’d end the ‘catch and release’ of people who are violent and destructive and start fining and jailing them. Those two actions alone would help calm things down and relieve the stress on downtown businesses and residents. I’m sick to death of people destroying property and beating each other senseless. If the mayor’s opponent in the upcoming election wasn’t a total flake, I’d help vote Wheeler out of office. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/38 "2020-09-08T19:37:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Secondly, I’d end the ‘catch and release’ of people who are violent and destructive and start fining and jailing them. I’m don’t think the mayor has any control over this. Charging decisions for anything more than an ordinance violation are the DA’s, and courts and jails determine who gets released. Because of Covid-19, people with less serious charges are probably getting released more easily. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/39 "2020-09-08T19:46:37Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > I’m don’t think the mayor has any control over this. Charging decisions for anything more than an ordinance violation are the DA’s, and courts and jails determine who gets released. Because of Covid-19, people with less serious charges are probably getting released more easily. I’m with Chefguy on this one. Looting, setting fires, etc. are not less serious charges. Those are the sorts of things that people should do longer sentences for. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019/40 "2020-09-08T20:16:26Z")
Um, OK. “Less serious” is a comparative. You can’t say that charges are “not less serious” without saying what you are comparing them with. I’m saying people with less serious charges (than others’ in the jail) are more likely to be released under Covid-19 rules. I was not speaking to specific charges. I did not say that setting fires is not serious. I do think “looting” would probably be classed pretty low comparitively, as a property crime, compared with violent person crimes. Regardless, even if you’re “with Chefguy on this one” it’s still something the mayor does not control. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019.md?page=3)