Althouse: The lack of human agency in this WaPo headline is a pretty good clue about whether it was the left or the right side of the Portland protests that got violent.

June 5, 2017

The lack of human agency in this WaPo headline is a pretty good clue about whether it was the left or the right side of the Portland protests that got violent.

"In Portland, images of knives, brass knuckles, bricks show viciousness of protests."

61 comments:

Michael K said...: Sort of like the way guns shoot themselves.; 6/5/17, 10:50 AM
Unknown said...: Amazing how inanimate objects are violent all by themselves when it's time to bloody a few Christians or conservatives, isn't it?

--Vance; 6/5/17, 10:51 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Leftwing fascists want to be known as the "anti-fascists". #Media approved
That's why they show up with weapons and masks.

The D-left, under Oligarch Hillary, would have banned wrong-speech. or - you know, speech.

Citizens must unite against leftwing anti-free speech fascism. Citizens have the right to assemble peacefully without mask-wearing leftist violence and intimidation.; 6/5/17, 10:52 AM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Yep. Bricks, knives, and brass knuckles -- all storied features of the Right through the ages. Wait, what?; 6/5/17, 10:53 AM
Mark O said...: A fully partisan press is a massive loss for this country.; 6/5/17, 10:55 AM
Unknown said...: By the way, let me short circuit lots of this thread:

First, we'll have lots of snark about leftists. The first few leftists remarks (Inga, et al) will all be about how these "pansys" couldn't even have a pro-Trump rally without violence.

Lots of mocking of conservatives/Trump supporters.

Only when directly pressed as to whether they will criticize the idea that the left should not use violence, will some useless platitudes like "I abhor all violence in the name of politics" will be issued, but no direct denunciations of leftist violence are ever given.

Blame will be placed on the right--how DARE they oppose Sharia law! They deserved to be punched in the face for it. If Toothless ever gets here, we'll get a post about the moral bankruptcy of Conservatives who defend themselves--violence is never, ever no matter the circumstances ever justified by a conservative (not even to defend yourself) and any suggestion otherwise is proof positive of your evil amoral nature. In the same post he'll praise "punching out fascists and Nazi's" as a moral good thing. And who's a fascist or Nazi? Why, anyone he disagrees with, of course.

--Vance; 6/5/17, 10:57 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: I don't know about this one. I think the headline is correct because they are only reporting what police found. They are not reporting where the items were found or if only one side was armed.

Now it would be nice if the press dug deeper (and I think o know why they didn't) but that is a different critique.; 6/5/17, 11:00 AM
Francisco D said...: Some of the WAPO comments are as expected.

It's Trump's fault, doncha know?; 6/5/17, 11:02 AM
walter said...: Ruh-roh..potential Knife Violence.; 6/5/17, 11:04 AM
Unknown said...: Yes, some of the excuses offered up by the left lately are just like the Jihadis: "If you hadn't voted for Trump we wouldn't have to cave your skull in! It's all your fault!" "It's your fault you showed that ankle while you tripped, so we had to rape you to death! Totally your fault!"

--Vance; 6/5/17, 11:05 AM
Todd said...: It’s just this war and that lying son of a bitch Johnson and…I would never hurt you. You know that.

Dontyaknow...; 6/5/17, 11:09 AM
eric said...: Maybe WaPo has the new theme, "Democracy dies in darkness" because it's their goal.

Take this from the linked article;

Together, they offer an unsettling glimpse of the violence that has seeped into Portland’s protests as the city has drawn extremists on the left and right in increasing numbers, becoming something of a proxy for the country’s ideological battles.

Violence comes from extremists on both the left and right.

As though 50% of the violence came from the leftist things and 50% came from the pro Trump people.

And yet according to local reports, the police only got attacked by and clashed with antifa.; 6/5/17, 11:10 AM
n.n said...: It's the same way the press excludes "color of skin" when it does not bolster, or worse, undermines the consensus narrative. Supposedly, this is about remaining true to the lefts' principle: environmental stability, but that is an elective, selective thing that, like climate change, follows the prevailing winds.; 6/5/17, 11:11 AM
robother said...: Buried lede:

" It’s not clear whom they came from, but police and local media said some weapons were taken as officers cleared Chapman Square, a park where antifa activists had gathered."

Probably planted there by Trump supporters just to make the peace-loving antifas look bad.; 6/5/17, 11:12 AM
John said...: Bill, Republic of Texas said...
I don't know about this one. I think the headline is correct because they are only reporting what police found. They are not reporting where the items were found or if only one side was armed.

As I read the article earlier, I was surprised that it suggested the 'weapons' were primarily in the hands of the Antifa. The alt-right was portrayed as have 'defensive' paraphernalia like vests and helmets. Ultimately, of course, the article did point out that the cause of all of this was Trump's election. So it got the primary message out.; 6/5/17, 11:17 AM
Brookzene said...: "I don't know about this one. I think the headline is correct because they are only reporting what police found. They are not reporting where the items were found or if only one side was armed.

Now it would be nice if the press dug deeper (and I think o know why they didn't) but that is a different critique."

Respect.; 6/5/17, 11:18 AM
Big Mike said...: One has to read down a bit to discover that the violence was initiated by the "antifa" and most (all?) of the weapons confiscated came from the park where the antifa had gathered. It would be interesting to discover what the relationship is between legitimate Democrat officials and the antifa. Do the Democrats quietly encourage them in their violence? Or do the Democrats just stand by expecting to control them later, much as German intellectuals and legitimate politicians thought they could harness and control Hitler and his brown shirts? Lotsa luck with that!; 6/5/17, 11:21 AM
Brad Punch said...: Regarding Eric's comment about the Washington Post - I think "Democracy Dies in the Darkness" is actually their mission statement.; 6/5/17, 11:25 AM
rhhardin said...: You can't criticize the violent left because it's too close to violent blacks.; 6/5/17, 11:50 AM
Virgil Hilts said...: Oregon and Wisconsin are interesting because they both claim to be among the most progressive states and yet treat blacks arguably worse than any other states. I lived in Oregon for a year but was still shocked by the exclusionary racist history reminder re Oregon that ran in WaPo last week. http://wapo.st/2rZehTM?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.c5ad8ce4a99c; 6/5/17, 11:50 AM
hombre said...: The "Free Speech" demonstration was not a "protest." It was an attempt to exercise a constitutional right. The Antifa "counter-protest" was an effort to deny the civil rights of others, a federal offense.

WaPo journalists and commenters who mischaracterize the confrontation give themselves away as apologists for criminals and, therefore, good Democrats.; 6/5/17, 12:00 PM
walter said...: re: Wisconsin treatment of blacks.
How so?; 6/5/17, 12:00 PM
Mountain Maven said...: Communists are more dangerous than so-called facsists.; 6/5/17, 12:02 PM
Known Unknown said...: "No Platform For Hate"

You could probably build a pretty decent one with all those bricks.; 6/5/17, 12:06 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: It's true that Milwaukee (which, as Inga has proudly noted, had socialist mayors at one point and is firmly under Democrat control) is one of the most segregated cities in the US.

The black population in Milwaukee grew due to Wisconsin's generous welfare benes. It's a pretty white state outside of the SE corner.; 6/5/17, 12:24 PM
rcocean said...: Yeah, I'm getting so TIRED of the way the MSM misrepresents these 'Protests'. They did during the campaign with many of the Trump rallies too.

Whenever you saw a headline "Violence Breaks out at Trump rally" you knew it was the MSM trying to cover up the fact that the Left/liberals had attacked Trump supporters.

For the Portland Protest, I actually had to go on Twitter to find out really happened. All the violence was between the Left and the Police - and was due to the Leftists, refusing to obey lawful police orders, attacking the police, and/or hand over their deadly weapons. All 14 arrestees were Leftists.

Condemnation from the Democrats and Liberal MSM - nowhere to be found.; 6/5/17, 12:25 PM
rcocean said...: "The Antifa" should be investigated by the DoJ as a criminal organization that is trying to suppress the Constitutional rights of American citizens through violence and intimidation.; 6/5/17, 12:27 PM
James Pawlak said...: 1. The stories do not indicate from which group the weapons were taken.
2. Unless used in the commission of a crime, is such "taking" a violation of The Second and Fourth Amendments?; 6/5/17, 12:33 PM
Bob Loblaw said...: "The Antifa" should be investigated by the DoJ as a criminal organization that is trying to suppress the Constitutional rights of American citizens through violence and intimidation.

This. Legally and morally ANTIFA is a twin of the KKK and should get the same treatment from the government.; 6/5/17, 12:39 PM
Virgil Hilts said...: Walter said "how so" re Wisconsin being bad for blacks.
http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/12/09/the-worst-states-for-black-americans/5/
Wisconsin is number one! - "the worst state for black Americans" The index looks at household income, health insurance, death risk, incarceration rates, educational outcomes." Contributing factor is that Milwaukee may be the most racially-segregated of all U.S. cities.
Also, I think exiledonmainstreet is correct. The migration of a number of minorities to WI may have been driven by overly generous welfare programs rather than available jobs.; 6/5/17, 12:49 PM
Once written, twice... said...: These idiots should be IDed and prosecuted. They are Trump Chumps. Trump wants to sow chaos and tear down our political norms. You have to be a dumb asshole to give him what he wants. There are leftist Hillbillies too.; 6/5/17, 12:50 PM
Jim S. said...: I lived in Portland for most of my life. I moved overseas 12 years ago, and it seemed like the next day it became popular. I came back a few years ago and suddenly it starts imploding. I really hope I'm not the cause of all this.; 6/5/17, 1:01 PM
walter said...: I get that, Virgil.
Just was curious about the use of the word "treatment". There's also the issue of concentration in Milwaukee vs the entire state.; 6/5/17, 1:10 PM
walter said...: There's also Milwaukee's proximity to Chicago.; 6/5/17, 1:11 PM
walter said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/5/17, 1:17 PM
walter said...: Once,
That's classic "appropriation" of reality. Were the folks beating up on Trump rally attendees "false flag" ops as well?
With all the various false hate crimes unraveling and exposing the left, you have a lot of balls to level that accusation.; 6/5/17, 1:19 PM
ccscientist said...: I am sure the Antifa were just there to protest peacefully, and all the bricks and fireworks and stuff just walked there on their own...
A big problem with the Antifa is that they are funded by Soros (check out for example the nice buses that bring protesters to Occupy or ND or other places, and the nice identical signs) and approved by e.g. the mayor of Berkeley who is also in their facebook group. They are violent astroturf, just like Mussolini's brown shirts.; 6/5/17, 1:19 PM
Anonymous said...: "Police formed barriers between the groups — and indeed many people in the crowd demonstrated peacefully — but the day was disrupted by flare-ups. After some antifa counterprotesters began throwing objects at police, officers in riot gear responded with a volley of flash grenades and pepper balls, according to local media."

"but the day was disrupted by flare-ups"

Not "but the day was disrupted by left0wing violence", which would be honest.; 6/5/17, 1:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Bill, Republic of Texas said...
I don't know about this one. I think the headline is correct because they are only reporting what police found. They are not reporting where the items were found or if only one side was armed.

A stenographer reprints someone else's press release. A reporter digs into the details and finds out what's really going on.

So long as they claim to be reporters or journalists, they have a duty to dig into what really went on, and not merely repackage someone else's press release.

So no, that's no defense; 6/5/17, 1:33 PM
Earnest Prole said...: Mistakes were made.; 6/5/17, 1:50 PM
Matt Sablan said...: The level of weapons being confiscated is rising. Used to be bottles and little things. Someone brought a hatchet in one of the confiscated weapon pictures I saw.; 6/5/17, 1:58 PM
Sam L. said...: As a clue, this is a dead giveaway.; 6/5/17, 2:03 PM
donald said...: It takes exactly zero balls to lie on the internet.

Just that type of character.; 6/5/17, 2:04 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: "Antifa" means "Anti-First-Amendment".; 6/5/17, 2:09 PM
Sebastian said...: "lack of human agency": the fact that the left still feels some need to obfuscate is slightly encouraging. At least they assume there are enough Americans left who despise them and their tactics so much as to make the ideological veil worthwhile. Of course, a part of the left is already past that: they are proud of their violence. As O's buddy Bill memorably confirmed on 9/11.; 6/5/17, 2:24 PM
Alex said...: We will not allow these events to disrupt our lives. Everything goes on as normal, nothing to see, move along.

Flowers, peace out.; 6/5/17, 2:26 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: I wish the media would stop accepting the term "anti-fascist". They are not anti-fascist. They are the fascists.; 6/5/17, 2:37 PM
PackerBronco said...: Yeah, the same way that politician of an unnamed party is charged with corruption.; 6/5/17, 2:56 PM
DanTheMan said...: When confronted with violent armed leftists:

Run
Hide
Tell

That will certainly work. For them.; 6/5/17, 2:57 PM
BarrySanders20 said...: Gunfire killed several . . .

Violence erupted today . . .

An airplane flew into the tower . . .

A truck ran down parade-goers . . .

A van drove into pedestrians . . .

Shit happens.; 6/5/17, 3:23 PM
hombre said...: The lefty Portland mayor would prefer to have the police stand down and let Antifa brownshirts attack a la Sacramento and Berkeley.

He knows, however, sooner or later the brownshirts will end up in the hospital as they did in Sacramento and the Democrats need all their activists for the next "counter demonstration.; 6/5/17, 3:28 PM
Martin said...: I just wish that WaPo wouldn't brag so much about what they are doing.

You know, "Democracy dies in darkness." Right on the masthead and all. I mean, if that's your goal, so be it, but do you have to rub it in?

You can be sure that WaPo took every opportunity to tar the pro-Trumpers--the fact that they had so little to show for it tells me what I need to know.; 6/5/17, 3:48 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Remember all of those years when SUVs were running rampant across America?; 6/5/17, 3:58 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: Just like when there is a Democrat scandal it is frequently described as political process story where Republicans 'seize' on a political opportunity, or when a democrat politician goes to prison or is arrested the party affiliation is left off, or when anyone on the right protesting is described as angry but the left is described as passionate, it is almost as if there is political bias in the main stream media reporting, with all the group think increased by selection bias in hiring at these companies.; 6/5/17, 4:13 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Once you see press bias for what it is, Althouse, you can't unsee it, you can only lie to yourself.; 6/5/17, 5:53 PM
Anthony said...: "Mostly peaceful"; 6/5/17, 6:53 PM
Big Mike said...: @Onsie, if you want the antifa "IDed and prosecuted" then get on it. They're your people, after all, not ours.

Hillbilly.; 6/5/17, 7:09 PM
Unknown said...: WaPo is owned by Jeff Bezos, who also owns Amazon. Purchase accordingly.; 6/5/17, 9:47 PM
Tom in SFCA said...: Here's what happened in Portland, Oregon yesterday. Hundreds of well-meaning, law-abiding, patriotic Americans gathered peacefully for a pro-America, pro-Liberty, pro-God Patriot Rally. This rally was well-publicized long in advance, and was held at a federally-controlled park for which a legal use permit had been obtained.

Rally organizers clearly communicated a unifying, uplifting, and patriotic message leading up to the day's events. They asked attendees to come unarmed and in a spirit of positivity and peace. Organizers vowed there would be no platform given to anyone fomenting division of any kind. The organizers, speakers and attendees delivered on these promises 100%. The rally took place just as advertised.

By contrast, the Democrat Mayor of Portland impugned the organizers, slandered the speakers and attendees, and (unsuccessfully) implored the federal government to revoke the permit. Failing to get the event cancelled, the Portland Mayor (joined by the Democrat Governor of Oregon) goaded leftists to go to the rally explicitly for the purposes of disrupting it and denying attendees their rights to assemble and speak.

Numerous violent leftist groups answered this call. For weeks leading up to the Patriot Rally they declared the rally a "Nazi" event and urged their fellow leftists to join them in physically attacking the Patriot Rally. Yesterday, hundreds of armed, masked, violent leftist criminals surrounded the Patriot Rally on all sides and began assaulting the various law enforcement officers present. Police held the leftist rioters at bay and prevented disruption of the Patriot Rally. After the rioters threw bricks, rocks and other projectiles at police the leftists' gatherings were declared unlawful and the commie miscreants were ordered to disperse. Police used flash-bang explosives and pepper-ball munitions to enforce these orders. At least 14 commies were arrested.

Thanks to the stalwart efforts of the Portland Police Department, assisted by numerous officers from other county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, the Patriot Rally was held uninterrupted to its full completion. All of the speeches are now posted on YouTube, as is extensive independent coverage of the Patriot Rally and the surrounding leftist rioting. All with eyes to see can observe for themselves that the conservative side was lawful and decent while the leftists were hateful, violent and criminal.

Truth notwithstanding, today the leftist media (led by the Oregonian newspaper) are going to every length to ignore, minimize, and mislead in their coverage of yesterday's events. Don't be fooled. We're right, they're wrong, and they lie.; 6/6/17, 8:40 AM
mtrobertslaw said...: Is there a link between democrat public officials and the antifas? Time for a special prosecutor.; 6/6/17, 9:35 AM
Anonymous said...: Hi Democrats, welcome to the new Catch-22:

1: You provide no police protection, the "antifa" ( which as Char Char Binks said, means "anti-First Amendment") show up, the good guys are ready, and we beat the thugs into a bloody pulp.

Win for us

2: You provide police protection, the antifa attack the cops, get arrested, we have our rally.

Win for us

Enjoy!; 6/6/17, 11:53 AM