Donald Trump, deep into the dementia that has stalked him for years, has declared Portland, Ore., a war zone, so he’s sending in the troops. There’s no evidence here on Real Earth than Portland is anything but the weird, rainy city it’s always been, but it has loomed large in the right-wing imagination since the George Floyd protests in 2020.
Portland’s demonstrations lasted longer and turned more destructive than in most other places, and Trump sent federal agents to the city then, too. Currently, though, the city ranks No. 72 in the FBI’s crime statistics per capita. Even Trump’s racism doesn’t seem a factor – Blacks make up on 6% of the population, Latinos 10%. This lends credence to the theory that Trump’s aim, if he has one beyond beyond proving he’s a vicious asshole, is provoking a violent reaction so he can declare martial law.
I’ve never been to Portland, so my impressions of the city are based entirely on the sketch comedy show “Portlandia,” created by and starring Fred Armisen of SNL and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney as a dizzying array of offbeat characters. Upon its debut in 2011 the series quickly became a cult hit, and given the duo’s musical talents they naturally issued a single featuring some of the music from the show, including this love letter to the city.
Brownstein and Armisen even went on a concert tour together in 2012. They closed each show with “Portland, Oregon, You’re My Home,” then apologized for singing about Portland instead of whatever city they were in.
