Occupy Portland day 6 update:

[Rabblevox]

The surprising thing is not that Portland had a large and dedicated turn-out, we are pretty good at that here.

The Surprising thing is the amount of civility on all sides. Anyone who knows Portland knows that our police have a well-deserved reputation as some of the most vicious thugs in the nation, especially when it comes to protesters.

But the police are playing nice. I'm a bit shocked, really.

Portland also has an unfortunately deserved reputation for protests being fucked-up and de-railed by a small "anarchist" contingent.

But they have been blessedly absent. I'm a bit shocked by that as well.

Occupy Portland continues to go strong.

Occupy Portland Day Six Update
POSTED BY SARAH MIRK ON TUE, OCT 11, 2011 AT 12:53 PM
Who would have thought that an anti-establishment protest would turn into a love fest for the local police force?

The widespread support for the Portland police is the most striking thing about our Occupy protest as it settles into its tent-city vibe for another peaceful day in downtown Portland.

On the East Coast, Boston police spent the wee hours of the morning arresting 100 protesters and piling the entire camp—tents! sleeping bags! protest signs!—into lines of garbage trucks. In Seattle, Mayor McGinn sent seriously mixed messages, telling police to threaten protesters with arrest, but then not actually arrest them.

Meanwhile, the Twitter feed for Occupy Portland has turned into a stream of appreciation of the Portland Police's cool headed approach to the protests (with occasional interjections from KPAM host Victoria Taft). The Occupiers have also made a bunch of videos, including this one about the interactions with the Portland Marathon:

Full story:
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2011/10/11/occupy-portland-day-six-update

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NxUg53G21-c

http://occupypdx.org/

Urgently needed if you can help. socks, tarps, rain gear, batteries, seal-able storage bins, hand sanitizer, foot powder, extension cords.

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. K&R!

[idiotgardener]

2. Thanks for posting these updates.

I haven't been able to get over there yet.

[gratuitous]

3. From the local coverage

It appears that both the Occupy folks and the City folks are looking for ways to accommodate everyone's wishes as far as possible. The police seem to approach the Occupy people with an attitude of "How can we do this" rather than "All right, you dirty fucking hippies, now hear this!" It's gratifying to see how this works out when nobody feels authoritarian, or bullied, or forced one way or the other.

There's been some public pressure for the cops to wade in and start busting heads, but fortunately that faction isn't being listened to. Main Street is still barricaded, which I wish would change, mostly because it means all the motor traffic follows my bicycle around the corner to my office, and while nobody has gotten pissed yet, I think it's just a matter of time before some motorist decides that his inconvenience in being re-routed can be alleviated only by ramming some bike-riding hippie.

[Arugula Latte]

4. Kudos to those braving the rain.

Yikes, the weather has been sucky.

Also, I'm hoping the change in 'tude in the cops has to do with police chief Mike Reese. I'm acquainted with him and he's always seemed like a great guy.

[Rabblevox]

5. Yeah, Chief Reese actually is a pretty good guy, head-busting just isn't his style...

if it can be avoided. (he also plays a pretty decent guitar in his band made up of other LEO's, "The Usual Suspects")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2DZHpFWuRM

In this video, Chief Reese is on the left playing the red Fender Strat. He's also, dare I say it, kinda cute!

(edited for better link)