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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, July 21, 2020
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
We should demand that they stop
G
eorge Floyd’s death at
the hands of Minneapolis
police in May forced all of
us to examine our attitudes toward
institutional racism.
Protests around the country, from
big cities like Portland to small
towns like Astoria, are a potential
turning point. White people who live
in communities with very few Black,
Hispanic or other people of color are
confronting issues that for genera-
tions have been convenient to ignore.
One of the most difficult is that
the police act on our behalf, using
force derived from the governments
we elect.
We have been fortunate on the
North Coast that protests have been
mostly peaceful.
In Portland, protests over the past
several weeks have often spiraled
into violence. Scenes of vandalism
and looting, along with police over-
reach in attacking journalists and
legal observers, have been shared
across the United States.
The First Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution gives people the
right to peaceably assemble, but in
nightly clashes downtown near the
Multnomah County Justice Cen-
ter and the Mark O. Hatfield U.S.
Courthouse, demonstrators and
police have struggled to find the line
between protest and riot.
We trust Portland — the people
who live there, the police, the mayor
and other city leaders — can find
that line.
Unfortunately, the Trump admin-
istration’s misguided decision to
deploy militarized federal agents has
Dave Killen/The Oregonian
Police respond to protesters during a demonstration in Portland on Friday night.
dragged the entire country into the
streets of Portland.
Last week, a federal agent —
acting on our behalf, using force
derived from the government we
elected — fired a less-lethal round
at a protester’s head, causing critical
injuries. Oregon Public Broadcasting
and other news media have reported
that federal agents are patrolling in
unmarked vans, snatching protesters
who do not appear to be immediate
threats to federal property.
The New York Times reported
that federal agents on the ground
in Portland were not specifically
trained in riot control or mass
demonstrations.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum filed a federal lawsuit
to try to prevent federal agents from
detaining protesters in Portland with-
out identifying themselves or with-
out probable cause or warrants. The
lawsuit names the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs
and Border Protection, the U.S. Mar-
shals Service and the Federal Protec-
tive Service.
The lawsuit alleges their tac-
tics violate the First Amendment
right to peacefully gather, the Fourth
Amendment right against unreason-
able seizures and the Fifth Amend-
ment right to due process.
“Citizens who are reasonably
afraid of being picked up and shoved
into unmarked vans —possibly by
federal officers, possibly by individ-
uals opposed to the protests — will
feel compelled to stay away, for their
own personal safety, and will there-
fore be unable to express themselves
in the way that they have the right to
do,” the lawsuit states.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler
and Gov. Kate Brown have made it
clear the federal agents are not wel-
come. The federal elected officials
who represent us — U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici —
demanded the Trump administration
remove the forces.
Wyden, in an op-ed for NBC
News, faulted President Donald
Trump. “Not content with simply
dropping squads of federal agents
into my hometown to clash with
peaceful protesters, as he first did
in early July after signing an exec-
utive order to supposedly protect
monuments from protesters, Trump
and his acting secretary of Home-
land Security, Chad Wolf, have
now unleashed these agents like an
occupying army — complete with
fatigues, military-style equipment
and tactics that are utterly unaccept-
able in an American city.
“These invaders are mounting this
assault against my city on the flim-
siest of justifications: While Acting
Secretary Wolf rants about law and
order, most of the incidents of ‘vio-
lent anarchists’ he cites are actually
graffiti, or low-level vandalism.”
Portland was chosen as a stage for
the Trump administration to make
a political statement in an election
year. But it would be a mistake to
view what has been happening on
the streets only through a partisan
political lens.
Just like nearly everyone famil-
iar with Floyd’s death saw the injus-
tice, anyone looking at what federal
agents have done in Portland should
see the assault on our civil liberties.
They are acting on our behalf,
using force derived from the gov-
ernment we elected. We should all
demand that they stop.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Blindness
T
wo recent stories demonstrate to me,
and perhaps many others, that The Asto-
rian suffers from gender bias. The June 30
article, “PAC lands on its feet,” highlighted
that bias for me.
It took 26 inches of text before identify-
ing the woman who stepped forward to pur-
chase the Performing Arts Center from Clat-
sop Community College, assuring the PAC
remains an iconic asset in Astoria. That
woman and community leader is Constance
Waisanen.
Further, it took 38 inches of text before
announcing that the PAC was renamed in
honor of another local leader, Charlene
Larsen. I hope readers hung in there to learn
of the gifts of these movers and influencers
in Astoria’s business and cultural scene.
I believe that if a man had done for the
community what Constance Waisanen did,
his name would have been in the opening
paragraph. Further, if an historic and sig-
nificant community treasure like the PAC
had been named after a local man, his name
would have been in the opening paragraph.
It took a combined 64 inches of text to name
Constance Waisanen and Charlene Larsen.
Exactly one week later, a front-page arti-
cle on the marvelous fireworks display iden-
tified the donor in the first two words of the
article. I am not disparaging the gracious
act of this man. I am simply deeply disap-
pointed in The Astorian’s blindness toward
its own journalistic gender bias.
The power of your messaging, the influ-
ence on our youth, historians and the gen-
eral public is being greatly diminished
because of the gender bias shown in your
reporting.
KAREN HAINES
Astoria
Total failure
I
wondered how President Donald Trump
planned to cover his disastrous han-
dling of the coronavirus in America when
the election came around. Well, while it is
beyond disgusting — he apparently plans to
make it all Dr. Anthony Fauci’s fault.
Dr. Fauci is an American physician and
immunologist. He has served as the direc-
tor of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases since 1984. I know you
know that, but suddenly he is being accused
of getting everything wrong.
People seemed to forget who he is, and
how he has been guiding us along with the
truth, while Trump and his administration
have tried to convince the public that every-
thing was fine, and we do not need masks,
and we can open up businesses and schools.
The administration is trying to confuse
the public by quoting Dr. Fauci, but blurring
the time it was actually said, so it sounds as
if he made mistakes.
Trump, who has used the Defense Pro-
duction Act in other instances, has mostly
refused to use it in the pandemic, so we con-
tinue to have inadequate testing and seri-
ous lack of protective equipment for our
health care workers. He seems incapable of
comprehending the problem, or just doesn’t
care.
Trump has totally failed at leading this
nation during this crucial time, and I hope
the voters will show him what they think of
his performance come November.
JEAN HOOGE
Astoria
Pride in Astoria
T
he weather has become so lovely and
warm, and I am seeing more neighbors
and visitors walking through the neighbor-
hood. Some ask directions. Some see me
with my dog, and realizing I’m a resident,
ask if I know any of the history of a certain
home.
We all admire the residences and gar-
dens. But our city sidewalks leave much to
be desired. People walking to the Cathe-
dral Tree trailhead will find no sidewalk east
of 24th Street on Irving Avenue. There is
not even a safe shoulder to walk on. People
speed on this Marine Drive bypass, and the
corners and hills make visibility difficult.
In other areas a sidewalk is present, but
very uneven, with the occasional pothole or
completely overgrown with grasses. Some
sidewalks are in good shape, but obstructed
by shrubs and hedges, making passage
challenging.
I don’t know anyone comfortable with
walking in the street on Eighth Street. Other
people seem to believe the sidewalk is a
good place to have their workshop, with
lumber and tools forcing passersby onto
lawns or into the streets.
The sidewalks are a public right of way
and, as such, should be passable. Prop-
erty owners are responsible for the care and
upkeep of the sidewalks bordering their
property.
We are able to admire the pride of own-
ership when looking at our historic homes
and gardens. It’s so sad the pride doesn’t
extend to the walkways and the safety of the
admirers.
MARCIA FENSKE
Astoria
Angered
Patriotic
I
I
am angered, but unfortunately not sur-
prised, over the Warrenton Police
Department’s decision to clear Officer
Robert Wirt of any wrongdoing and allow
him to return to work.
I’m concerned for the young man who
said he heard him callously mocking
George Floyd’s killing, was brave enough
to report it, and is now receiving death
threats and being painted as a liar.
I’m no detective, but it seems clear to
me that in a case of one person’s word
against another’s, you would consider who
has the vested interest in lying. Who has
more to gain from being dishonest about
this? A police officer whose job is on the
line, and his friends at his local bar; or a
witness who has absolutely no reason for,
or benefit from, making the story up?
I realize that a video has been offered
up as evidence of Wirt’s innocence, but if
it doesn’t have audio, it is useless in deter-
mining what he did or didn’t say. This is
just another example of what I’m calling
performative policing — appearing to care
about protecting and serving all citizens,
while in actuality doing next to nothing for
many of them.
We saw it in the violent attack on
peaceful protesters in Astoria last month
that the officer who was standing right
beside it “didn’t see,” and in the Asto-
ria Police Department’s apparent lack of
action since then in holding the offenders
accountable.
If the police want our trust, I suggest
they start the process by being more trans-
parent and trustworthy.
TERESA BARNES
Astoria
n 1999, Oregon became the first state to
fully implement vote by mail. I was appre-
hensive because I enjoyed going to my poll-
ing place, waiting in line five minutes and
voting.
Presently Washington, Colorado, Utah
and Hawaii also vote by mail. Today, in
many states, waiting in line to vote can take
hours and hours.
Is vote by mail open for fraud? No system
is perfect, but if you research Oregon’s safe-
guards that protect its election integrity, they
are impressive. Every county in Oregon has
to submit its election security plan annually
to the secretary of state. That means better
safeguards, if approved, can be implemented
yearly.
In Clatsop County, vote by mail costs less,
is free of electronic hacking and leaves a full
audit trail. So, we: Receive our ballots; mark
our ballots; mail our ballots. Take that, coro-
navirus. What’s not to like about a secure,
convenient method of voting?
Research shows vote by mail raises turn-
out approximately 10%. At 50% voter turn-
out in Oregon, that equals about 170,291
more votes. I don’t know about your state,
but Oregon is about 170,291 votes closer
to reflecting the true will of Oregonians.
Really? Yup.
However people legally vote, it’s patriotic.
If you live in a state that doesn’t vote by
mail, you might consider calling your legis-
lators and request it. There’s probably a few
states where it won’t be hot, cold, raining or
snowing during elections. Maybe.
Oregonians may have webbed feet, but
we don’t stand in the rain to vote.
CARL DOMINEY
Astoria