July 30th, 2020

Democrat Jim Hinsvark speaks out
about Portland protests, drawing a sharp contrast with views of his Republican opponent, Fred Girod

By Jim Hinsvark
Where has the “united” gone in the United States of America? Over the past decades divisions have grown between us. Those divisions have been cultured by some elected officials, some news organizations and spread like weeds.
How can Oregon and the USA bridge divides when our elected officials create lies/myths by making distorted representations of what is happening around us? We cannot. We have to speak up against the distortions. My State Senator, Fred Girod, went on the news and distorted the facts on the ground at the Portland protests. It was willful and wrong.
The vast majority of those protesting in Portland are out there exercising their Constitutional rights. In America we have the right to gather, march, speak our minds and demand our government listen and redress our grievances. That is what the citizens across the nation are doing. Last weekend Fred Girod did his own bit of spreading the seeds of division.
The size of the protests has varied in Portland. From the hundreds up to thousands of protesters have been showing up daily and into the night for months. Fred went on the news and singled out the actions of a few rioters in Portland. While saying the protests were long overdue and people were peacefully demonstrating, he went on to say the protests were hijacked by anarchists. He chose to distort the facts about the protests by implying that it had become a full-fledged riot by anarchists. That is not what is happening in Portland. Late at night the crowds diminish and those few folks who want to fight against the police and Federal agents start their “riot.”Make no mistake – those who riot should be arrested, thrown in jail and put on trial.
He spoke about being grateful for the federal troops being in Portland. Punishing the many with flash-bangs, pepper rounds and tear gas – which is against the Geneva Convention in war – for the wrong actions of a few is just not right. Seeking out and loading people into unmarked cars then whisking them away is an act against the very fiber of this country. People holding loudspeakers across the street should not be shot in the head and hospitalized. When we see these actions in other nations, we condemn them. We are shocked and outraged when a government takes violent actions against its own people. Making them disappear, sometimes forever.
By spreading more seeds of distrust and division, my State Senator has shown there is a definite and distinct choice in the election this November.


Jim Hinsvark
Candidate for SD9
jimhinsvark.com

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