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If you watch Fox News or related media, you probably think that the protestors are a bunch of anarchist-communist-Democrats out to wreak havoc on an innocent city. If you watch CNN, listen to NPR, or read the New York Times, you probably get inundated with stories like this one about Portland police smashing the windows and slashing the tires of a woman with a spine injury, even though the car was a Prius (not exactly a threatening car) with the words “Press” written on it in several places.

Portland has been protesting for more than 60 straight days after the death of George Floyd. While other cities’ protests have slowed down, Portland’s has gained steam, not only because their demands to defund the police have not yet been met, but also because the protestors fear that their First Amendment rights are being infringed upon. Cities around the nation have gathered in solidarity with Portland.

PBS News Hour has a brief video describing the protests, which have been generally peaceful but have drawn violent responses from local and federal police. But is that really the case? In perhaps the most 2020 moment of 2020, a satirical news channel on YouTube, All Gas But No Brakes, took to the streets in Portland to actually talk to people and do the real journalistic work that all of these other goons should have been doing all along. This video is long, but it’s essential that you watch the whole thing:

Although Trump claims he wants to stop the unrest in Portland, city officials say the troops are only making things worse. One wonders if that’s what Trump wants, given the debacle at a press briefing last week, when White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany played a supercut of the worst moments the recent nationwide protests, including one woman wishing death on the police. The video was such a blatant attempt to cherrypick the ugliest parts of an otherwise overwhelmingly peaceful movement that even Fox News cut away from the briefing. But the administration’s goal is clear: try to get the protestors to look bad. Unfortunately, some protestors seem to be obliging.

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