Portland’s Rose Festival is Decadent and Depraved
“Fight for Health, Housing, Education. Reject Militarization!”
The Starlight Parade is Decadent and Depraved
The Rose Festival is an annual two weeks of a civic festival, a fair-type incursion into the heart of downtown. This year, from the 24th of May, until the 9th of June, we witnessed Portland become the epicenter of travel and the focus of attempts to “clean up” the city’s image, in the sweeps that increased in the central downtown. To accompany this attempt to hide away poverty, a legion of cops swarmed the city like an occupying force.
This year, I avoided City Fair, and instead wandered downtown with a friend to capture the energy of the city, and for him to photograph the night of wild and wacky interactions from Old Town to Downtown. We had also heard about the Starlight Parade, a night-time parade that focused on light displays, while featuring a variety of floats, marching bands, and other groups. This marked the second weekend (and first full week) of the Rose Festival.
What I first noticed downtown was the sheer amount of police. As I witnessed the enormous presence of police positioned throughout the core of the city, I could not help but wonder. Where were the Palestinians?
The occupying army of cops hailed from a number of agencies. Portland Police Bureau flooded downtown in squad cars, motorbikes, and their pathetic bike squad. Sheriffs circled the blocks in their own vehicles and in four-wheelers. Rent-a-cop even had their own battalion at the ready, with Transit Security and Allied Security walking patrols, trying to convince themselves they are just as much a security force as the armed force with badges. Swarms of cops surrounded the entrances to the festival, as they coordinated with event security. Some were walking inside the fenced-off City Fair, scanning for anyone that violated the rules on alcoholic drinks to remain within the enclosed area.
Clearly the police were occupied, policing a public festival. So again I asked myself; where were the Palestinians?
The Starlight Parade was scheduled to begin around 8PM. My friend and I are fans of public gatherings, fairs, and parades, so felt inclined to witness our city’s residents and visitors enjoying a beautiful evening in the sun.
Police proceeded to drive along the route of the march. As they did so, I watched as children cheered them on and stuck their hands out for high-fives, to cops on motorcycles and four-wheelers. It was disappointing. Young children of color that were made to believe these police were not only cool, but wouldn’t hesitate to shoot them with an entire clip if they felt threatened. I wanted to step in and tell the kids, “those people are not your friends, wait until you’re my age and you’ll see the violence they unleash”.
Yet they continued, and after we got pizza, we found a vantage point from which to watch the Starlight Parade. And let us just say, the parade was entertaining, and at times, decadent and depraved.
The first parade car that caught my eye from around the block was a brand new Cybertruck, from Tesla. While enough ridicule has been spread on social media, I knew this was my chance to mock a Cybertruck owner in person. “Boo!” I yelled, over the crowded streets. “Boo! Elon Musk sucks! Boo! That’s a terrible car!”
The man in the Cybertruck proceeded to stick his head out the window and raise his hand as if to ask me what my deal was. I continued to lay into him, as those around me laughed and laughed. “What even is that man, it looks terrible!” I lampooned him.
One man chimed in behind me, “that’s not a truck. What is that?”
“You’re right,” I told him. “That’s not a truck.” Then I proceeded to lead the people around me in a small chant that continued as he slowly drove the monstrosity by, “Not a truck! Not a truck! Not a truck!”.
That was followed by a solid marching band from a local high school, a float for various heritage organizations, and more. Until a car pulled around the corner with none other than Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps. Long-time readers will remember the time when I was able to flip him off leaving council chambers and told him to “eat a dick”.
This time, surrounded by families, I had to keep my comments clean and so screamed out, “Hey! Mingus the Dingus!”. He looked straight over at me, made eye contact, then proceeded to stare towards the other side and wave to his constituents.
Mingus Mapps proceeded down the route, followed by more marching bands, along with a non-profit, all dressed up like DC and Marvel superheroes (no copyright infringement because the characters were clearly purchased from DC/Marvel affiliates).
One float that I found odd was a group of old white men on the back of a trolley. They claimed their music was “Oriental”, and they all held instruments that clearly were original to South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA). They all wore a fez, like the Ottoman Turks, and proceeded to play a windy rendition of “Bennie and the Jets”. Strangely offensive, though I’m sure they meant well.
The march continued with music, dance numbers, and lights galore. I was in a good mood, as I enjoy public celebrations. Then I saw another City Commissioner.
Around the corner, sitting atop a red car was Commissioner Dan Ryan. “Boo!” I screamed. “Boo! You suck Dan!”.
As I continued to heckle him, he waved at me, and said loudly, “thanks for coming downtown”. Some watching laughed and said that at least he heard me.
“Dan you suck!” I continued. “Why did you just vote to give Portland Police a bunch of tear gas?”. He clearly heard my comment, as multiple people around me spoke up to say that I asked a solid question. He waved me off, and proceeded to stare directly ahead with a plastered smile, continuing to wave to the attendees.
Then Dan’s aid stuck his head over the back of the truck, towards me, and said something incoherent. With the noise of the parade, it was impossible to hear his aid, so I shouted, “I cannot hear you, no one can hear you.” With this he seemed to grow upset and tried to yell louder. I could only laugh, and told him, “come on, get out of the car, some say it to my face”. This served to add to his annoyance, and continued, as I yelled, “let’s go, get out of the car, come say it to my face”. Alas, he didn’t want the smoke.
The parade proceeded in light. There were Mexican dancers, high school marching bands, and a float promoting the US Olympic Team, in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer. Olympics that have and will continue to spark uprisings in France, as Macron pushes austerity measures and deportation for immigrants is on the table, their government spends billions to put on these lavish games.
The parade ended just as sporadically as it began. As we sat, expecting another float, police led city trucks along the route. For a second I thought they were featuring our clean-up crews to thank them for their tireless work to keep a city running. Instead, the police officer on a quad-bike proceeded to yell at us that we needed to move.
It was hard to hear over the sound of the trash trucks beeping as they rolled along slowly. He told us that we needed to move because they were going to sweep the street. I asked him sarcastically if it was an order to disperse. “You got to give us an order to disperse man…”
He grew flustered and tried to respond, to which I waved him off. “Go about your day, you can go.”. Another officer rolled alongside to which I yelled, “I saw you at the protests, you look like shit!”. I had definitely seen him at the protest against racist IDF propagandist, Michael Rapaport, and it’s off-putting to watch these men attempt non-violent policing when you know if it were a protest, the cans of mace, rubber bullets, tear gas, and flashbangs would be out in force.
Overall, I had fun, both witnessing a community celebration, and calling out those in power. Those that push a militaristic response to unhoused encampments and refuse to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, because of the moneyed interests of the Tech Association of Oregon (TAO) and the Oregon-Israel Business Alliance (OIBA). Remember that these same councilmembers just voted to award the PPB with more chemical munitions and tear gas, in preparation for the Long Hot Summer of 2024.
Fleet Week is Weak
The next weekend, there were two protests that finally came to fruition. Mind you, some protests had taken place over the last month. But since the encampment at Portland State, things had been quiet, and since the PSU protests (even following Mayday), confrontation remained at a minimum. Yet the militaristic response and mass arrests at the University not only worked to stifle dissent, but also marked the advent of the new “crowd control” unit that commissioners like Dan Ryan and Mingus Mapps voted for without equivocation.
That first weekend of decadence and depravity, I wondered whether the Palestinians would protest the ongoing genocide. It seemed my question was answered. Saturday, the 8th of June, the organizers of Zaytuna, the local Palestinian organizing group, announced a plan to disrupt the Floral Parade.
The floral parade was one of multiple parades that marked the two weeks of tourism and temporary gentrification that descended upon Portland. I had business to take care of, so I took the MAX, and once at the Convention Center, rode around on my bicycle. The fresh air and sun was lovely, and seeing some resistance against the city’s festival was inspiring. Then I crossed the river to take care of things downtown, and wondered what would unfold.
I would come to find out, from sources on the ground, that 8 people were arrested for attempting to disrupt the festival. Bike cops were positioned in the area already, and warned the organizers that any attempt to cause chaos would be met with arrest. So the activists stood in solidarity, as they waited for the start of the parade.
In the course of the parade, as it began to stream from the Eastside, into downtown Portland, chaos ensued. Multiple activists proceeded to lay themselves in the street, like the bodies of Palestinians strewn in Gaza. This caused a mass arrest to proceed, as police swarmed the protesters and placed them in cuffs. The arrest van was delayed, but eventually the 8 were booked and jail support was called.
On a personal note: I know many who were there. I commend those that showed bravery to stand against the ongoing genocide and faced arrest. To the others, unless you are a journalist or reporter; you stood on the sidelines to watch them be mass arrested, then posted it on social media to say you were there.
Either way, the news struck me with hope at the concept of resistance. That perhaps Portland was ready to continue the rally cry to Free Palestine, and to march directly against the passersby and apathetic Americans that cared nothing for Gaza, but did everything to ensure a few colorful parades and a city fair, with the support of the cops, could invade our city.
As I rode the MAX that day, I saw service-members in Navy uniforms. I laughed once they boarded, to which one of them asked me what was going on. I proceed to tell them, “maybe you seamen should learn to build a pier in Gaza.”
One man chimed in to say that wasn’t their work. I pulled up the Wikipedia article about the “humanitarian” pier in Gaza that had broken apart in the rough seas of the Mediterranean, which clearly listed the US Navy as one of the primary parties building the dock. He looked embarrassed, as I proceeded to salute them and thank them for taking all of our money while children and families starve on our own streets. Needless to say, these military personnel were not happy. Yet, I knew, upon seeing the Seamen spilling all over downtown Portland, that Fleet Week was here again.
For those unaware, Fleet Week is the annual visitation of naval vessels from Canada and the US to Portland. Not only does the event glorify the military-industrial complex and encourage young children to worship those serving the American empire…The event also shuts down traffic for days, for working class people trying to go to work. It also brings legions of recruiters to encourage your family members to throw away their life to the military.
Thus I wondered what would happen in response to the military occupation of our city.
The next day, the 9th of June, I awoke early, and wandered downtown. Again, I had business to take care of, and once I was free, I went to the Waterfront. I had been at the previous year’s event, and remembered the legions of ships, military, and bootlickers near Naito Parkway and the Willamette.
This year, I noticed less ships than the year before. My comrade who accompanied me commented that they’re probably prepared to be or already in the Red Sea and other waterways. However, I also noticed that along every entrance to every boat were multiple armed Military Police. The year before there was usually one for every two boats. This time they swarmed the walkway along Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
We wandered around, and proceeded to sit near the Salmon Springs Fountain. That’s when we noticed a large gathering across the bridge, under the Morrison Bridge, along the Eastbank Esplanade. I remember the night before, before I fell asleep, that I had seen some sort of flyer for the day.
I pulled out my phone to find an event put together by “Resist US-Led War PDX”. It listed a number of events, and that they would march by 2-3pm. They advertised a march to take “direct action” against the military’s fleet week. I checked the time. It was 2:15. I figured they would cross the bridge anytime soon.
We sat around for another 40 minutes, watching the bridge, and the decadent and depraved energy downtown. I was beginning to be tired of waiting, until we saw figures on the bridge beginning to cross. It was hard to see in the blinding sun. Then we witnessed the group of around 100 people begin to file across the bridge. It was clear they were lining alongside the sidewalk.
I spotted a single Palestinian flag, flying above the crowd. There were scores of banners they carried. Once they nearly crossed the bridge, the banners began to be strewn over the side of the Morrison bridge. They positioned themselves along the bridge, and proceeded to chant.
“FIGHT FOR HEALTH, HOUSING, AND EDUCATION! REJECT MILITARIZATION!” This was the banner they displayed over the side of the bridge.
Below them, hundreds stood attentive and stood up at the demonstration. We heard their chants, calling for “Money for Housing, Education, Not for War and Occupation!”.
Clearly they organized against the military-industrial complex that made Portland their playground for the week. The passerby cheered them on, while I watched a young white family walk by and tell their children, who could not be older than 7, that “Palestine is bad”.
The majority of people supported their cries for peace. I wondered what they would do next, after all, they had promised “direct action” against Fleet Week. We stood there for a solid twenty minutes. Then we witnessed the march begin turning around.
How deeply disappointing. I had hoped that these activists would cross the river, and disrupt Fleet Week in some sort of demonstration. Instead, with their chants finished and repeated, they packed up and returned to the rally point.
There are multiple reasons that I can understand why they wouldn’t cross the Morrison Bridge. There was an army of police swarming throughout downtown. There were also surely ex-members of the Israeli Occupation Forces admiring the ships, or staunch Israelis that would enact violence on their opposition.
Despite this, I felt like an opportunity was lost. A small march to the end of the festival would have made quite a statement. Also, something that I have been encouraging for months is political education. Instead of seeking confrontation with Zionists, this could have been used as an opportunity to walk the Waterfront, and hand out flyers and pamphlets detailing the war crimes in Gaza and the consequences of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Portlanders don’t support the military industrial complex, and for the families that normally fear Portland but love to see the ships; this could have been the opportunity to urge them to stop pushing their children into military service for the American empire.
One of the things we need to push for is an end to the Rose Festival, or at least a major upheaval of the white “Rosarians” direction of the community event. (I walked by the old people chosen to lead the parade and of the 3 dozen I saw, two were people of color). “Sweeping” a city is not the solution, and featuring the troops that enable the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Portland’s Rose Festival is decadent and depraved.
While I left disappointed, I know more resistance is coming. The police are fully prepared for the Long Hot Summer of 2024, and I will stand against the ongoing Palestinian genocide.
