The Washington Post published an article over the weekend that shamelessly praised and glamorized the protest culture in Portland, Oregon.
Since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis back in May, violent rioters have taken over the city of Portland, frequently attacking law enforcement and ravaging the city. Protesters have attacked police with bottles, rocks, and even lasers that have possibly left some federal agents permanently blind.
You wouldn’t know about any of this violence from the WaPo article though, as there is nary a mention. The article also never refers to these gatherings as “riots” and to these hostile hooligans as “rioters” despite the fact that documented violence has been inflicted upon Portland by them time and again.
In an article called “Trump sent agents to quell unrest. But protest is what Portland does best,” WaPo paid tribute to several of the protesters with their real name, releasing photos of them in normal clothing as well as in their Antifa protest gear.
Trump calls them terrorists, anarchists who “hate our country.” He’s said the city is “worse than Afghanistan.”
But they wear GOP insults as badges of honor in this city. Teachers, moms and elected leaders say sure, they’re antifa. Welcome to #Portland 👇🏽 https://t.co/cKOZqCicbF
— Marissa J. Lang ✍🏽🗞️ (@Marissa_Jae) August 9, 2020
“In this waterfront city, protests are as natural as the salmon swimming in the Willamette River,” journalist Marissa J. Lang wrote in the article, before fawning over the many alleged accomplishments of these “protesters.” Lang continued:
“The unrelenting demonstrations have yielded real results: City officials have agreed to slash the police budget. An initiative to create an oversight board to review police use of force will be put on the ballot this year. And more than 100 federal agents recruited by President Trump to fortify the [Mark O. Hatfield] federal courthouse have retreated, turning over the task to the state police.”
“Still, the protests continue. Demonstrators say they’re not finished. Getting the feds out was just one item on a lengthy to-do list.”
Lang later praised the protesters’ “stamina and creativity,” portraying them as victims of an oppressive force.
“By the time federal agents packed the [courthouse], the crowds were ready with helmets, respirators, and goggles to mitigate the worst effects of crowd-control munitions,” Lang wrote.
She then included a quote from a middle school teacher participating in the protests who proudly said, “oh yes, I’m an anarchist.”
Many have been roasting WaPo for this article on social media, including journalist Andy Ngo, who has firsthand experience with the violence in Portland.
“As Portland experiences more than 70 days of violent protests, riots, arson attacks, soaring homicides & shootings, Washington Post actually published a glowing photo essay on #antifa riot fashion. What is wrong w/reporter [Lang] & the editors there?” Ngo tweeted.
As Portland experiences more than 70 days of violent protests, riots, arson attacks, soaring homicides & shootings, @washingtonpost actually published a glowing photo essay on #antifa riot fashion. What is wrong w/reporter @Marissa_Jae & the editors there? https://t.co/uiqmwXT9cY pic.twitter.com/lJhrPW6avC
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 10, 2020
Other Twitter users agreed with him.
“The things they are destroying represent other people’s commitment, resources, and work,” wrote one commenter. “There’s NOTHING honorable about it.”
“Washington Post doing the important work of covering riot style and fawning over agitators,” another added, with a third writing, “Absolutely disgusting on so many levels.”
Disgusting indeed.
This piece was written by PoliZette Staff on August 11, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
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