ETA: Title for proximity

Interesting commentary from organizers, city and police who state they can't guarantee safety.

Pretty clear who's actually in charge. The parade is part of the annual Portland Rose Festival and not the major Rose Parade.

Protestors Threaten

Organizers cancel 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade, after protesters threaten to shut it down

By Jamie Hale | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on April 25, 2017 at 4:59 PM, updated April 26, 2017 at 12:50 PM

A threatening email has derailed one of the Portland Rose Festival's signature events, and spurred new debate about the ongoing political protests in Portland.

Organizers of the 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade announced Tuesday that the event will be canceled, for fear that the east Portland parade could be disrupted by "the type of riots which happen in downtown Portland."

Originally scheduled this Saturday, April 29, the parade is meant to highlight the local community and businesses along Southeast 82nd Avenue, aiming to turn around the negative perception many people have of the area. It started in 2007 and has since become a popular event on the Rose Festival calendar.

This year's parade was once again set to feature the Multnomah County Republican Party as one of the many groups slated to march, but that inclusion drew ire from some of the city's left-leaning protest groups.

At least two protests were planned for the day of the parade, one by Oregon Students Empowered and another by Direct Action Alliance. Both events were mentioned in an email sent to parade organizers on Saturday, threatening to shut down the event with hundreds of protesters in the street.
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"You have seen how much power we have downtown and that the police cannot stop us from shutting down roads so please consider your decision wisely," the anonymous email said, telling organizers they could cancel the Republican group's registration or else face action from protesters. "This is non-negotiable."

The parade is organized by the 82nd Avenue of Roses Business Association, a part of the neighborhood business organization Venture Portland. Representatives from neither organization returned calls for comment.

The cancelation isn't necessarily a win for the protest groups. Jacob Bureros, an organizer with the Direct Action Alliance, said the organization - which intended to speak out against fascism and white supremacy during the parade - is sad to hear the news.

"We are disappointed that the parade was canceled," he said. "We're members of this community and this is an awesome parade."

James Buchal, chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party, said his group was ready to march despite the protesters. He said the party had no hand in cancelling the event, and was taken by surprise when they heard the news. After seeing the email last weekend, they had no plans to back out.

"We weren't willing to just walk away quietly," he said. "The next thing we knew the whole thing was canceled."

Organizers pulled out after contacting Portland police, according to Rich Jarvis, spokesman for the Rose Festival Foundation. When police said they couldn't offer any additional security for the parade, organizers decided to cancel it due to safety concerns.

"The showdown was imminent," Jarvis said. "They were boxed into a corner, they simply had no choice. In order to avoid a violent outbreak, they had to cancel the parade."

He said the festival has received other threats from local protest groups, who voiced displeasure about the annual Fleet Week event in particular. While it would be significantly more difficult to disrupt an event of that magnitude, it's within the realm of possibility.

"It's all about safety for our fans, first and foremost. If we can't provide safety for our fans, there's no use in trying," Jarvis said. "Our official position is we're extremely sad about this."

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB


Threats of Political Protests...

82nd Avenue of the Roses Parade Cancelled after Threats of Political Protests, Violence
by Doug Brown • Apr 25, 2017 at 5:31 pm

A statement from Direct Action Alliance, which had been planning a protest of the right wing marchers:

We are disappointed that the Avenue of Roses Parade has been cancelled. As members of this community, we prize our neighborhood events and support events that promote community.

Known members of neo-nazi and anti immigrant hate groups planned to attend the group that was being hosted by the Multnomah County Republicans at the parade. We intended to stand between them and those who they wanted to intimidate. We intended to block out their hate and shut down their violence.

They want to march in a family parade and normalize a man who bragged about sexually assaulting women; they want to march in our diverse community and normalize a man who wants to ban Muslims and build a wall between us and our neighbor, Mexico. They want to march as the Republican Party, but in their ranks are groups like the "Bible Believers", who have already come to this neighborhood to intimidate a local Latinex church and who were filmed assaulting an injured activist on the ground in Berkeley last week and were also filmed attacking a woman at PDX in January.

No Portland child will see a march in support of this fascist regime go unopposed.

We will always stand with our neighbors, we will always defend our community.


***Original post, 3:52 pm***

The 82nd Avenue of the Roses Parade scheduled for Saturday has been called off "following threats of violence during the parade by multiple groups planning to demonstrate at the event," the 82nd Avenue of Roses Business Association announced this afternoon.

"We can no longer guarantee the safety of our community," the group said. "We are deeply disappointed that the agendas of these outside groups have so regrettably impacted our community."

The conflict appears to surround the Multnomah County Republican Party (MCRP), which planned to march in the parade, the local "antifa" planning to disrupt them, and right wingers planning to thwart the the lefty protesters.

The MCRP, in the Facebook event page, called for people to join them in the parade while chastising left-leaning protests here in the Trump era (emphasis ours):

March in the parade with like minded citizens. This is your opportunity to show your support and do something positive in the Portland area. Bring your flags and signs and show the citizens of Portland where you stand.

Tired of property damaging riots in Portland? Tired of ever increasing taxes, deteriorating roads, government sponsored resistance groups, and crime?

Mark your calendars for April 29 and join us in the first parade of the Rose Festival season.

Plan to join us at 900am in the Eastport Plaza shoppng center.

Yesterday, the 82nd Avenue of Roses Business Association announced that they "recently been made aware of a discrepancy between our entry process and Rose Festival policy. As an official Rose Festival-sanctioned event, we will no longer allow electioneering at the parade."

An anarchist/antifa sent an email on Saturday to the business association putting on the parade about the Republicans in the March: "We promise there will be no harm to anyone but we will shut down and prevent them from marching using non-violent passive blocking of their movement," if the MCRP registration isn't revoked, the email said.

The emailer said if the MCRP is allowed to march, "then we will have two hundred or more people rush into the parade into the middle and drag and push those people out as we will not give one inch to groups who espouse hatred toward lgbt, immigrants, people of color or others. In case the message was not clear to you this is a sanctuary city and state and we will not allow these people to spread their views in East Portland."

Here's a Facebook event description for the protest:

Fascists plan to march through the streets of Portland in the Avenue of Roses Parade on 82nd.

The fascists know that we'll keep shutting their marches down, they are now planning to march within other parades to protect their message of hate and white supremacy - it WON'T work. Nazis will not march through Portland.

The group we're disrupting is #67.
It is registered to the Multnomah County Republicans, but these infiltrators are the same folks from Lake Oswego, Salem, Vancouver, and even Berkeley. These are the folks that attacked a woman at PDX, they harassed Latinx parishioners with slurs and threats at a local church, they spew hate, threaten and curse young women at women's health clinics. They seek to intimidate and harass our Latinx, Muslim and LGBTQ+ neighbors and friends. Their Trump flags, their red MAGA hats and their hate group badges are all intended to normalize support for an orange man who bragged about sexually harassing women and who is waging a war of hate, racism and prejudice against our Muslim, Latinx, Black and Native neighbors.

They will attempt to march from the Eastport Plaza to Yamhill, but nazis will not march through our city.

This event is not in opposition to The Avenue of Roses Parade, it is against the fascists who intend to march through our neighborhoods and intimidate our marginalized communities.

Last night, after word of the antifa protest spread, local antagonistic Pro-Trump street preacher Allen Wesley Pucket, who was filmed kicking a person at an April 15 alt-right rally in Berkeley, made a call for "Christian men, Patriots, and those who just love freedom" to "stand with us against tyranny, and the oppression that Antifa has imposed on the citizens of this great nation. The Fight for freedom requires action! Rise up men! Be there this Saturday."

Yeah, it probably would have been a mess.

Here's the full press release announcing the cancellation of this weekend's parade:

11th Annual 82nd Avenue of the Roses Parade and Carnival Cancelled Due to Public Safety Concerns

Portland, OR – For more than a decade, 82nd Avenue of Roses Business Association, in partnership with local business, residents and community groups, has hosted the 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade and Carnival. This event, created to celebrate and promote the diverse community that lives, works and plays on 82nd Avenue is also the first sanctioned event of the Portland Rose Festival.

Following threats of violence during the Parade by multiple groups planning to demonstrate at the event, we can no longer guarantee the safety of our community and have made the difficult decision to cancel the Parade and Carnival originally scheduled for Saturday, April 29 at 9:30am. We are deeply disappointed that the agendas of these outside groups have so regrettably impacted our community.

While the formal Parade and Carnival are cancelled, we strongly encourage Portlanders to visit the great businesses on 82nd Avenue of Roses on Saturday and in the future.

as a former Portlander very pleased with the city some 40 years ago, IMO this is example as much of the leftist flakes inhabiting City Hall in ever greater droves the past couple decades.

It's become Berkeley North in too many ways.

82nd street: used car lots and hookers. I guess they want to keep it that way.

Keep Portland weird....and violent

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
used car lots and hookers

...or used hookers named Carlotta...

I want to create a farcebook and twatter persona who, whenever there is an anarchist/commie/democrat/LGBTQ/socialist event, promises to unleash khaki 5.11 cargo pocket trouser clad, bearded, mask and MAGA hat wearing, anti-illegal, baseball bat toting, Christian, conservative, gay-bashing, gun owning, Islamophobic, Milo-loving, misogynistic, nationalistic, pepper spray and stink bomb throwing, pro-life, Republican hordes to delay, deny, and disrupt the event.

quote:

promises to unleash khaki 5.11 cargo pocket trouser clad, bearded, mask and MAGA hat wearing, anti-illegal, baseball bat toting, Christian, conservative, gay-bashing, gun owning, Islamophobic, Milo-loving, misogynistic, nationalistic, pepper spray and stink bomb throwing, pro-life, Republican hordes to delay, deny, and disrupt the event.

We can promise it all we want, but they know we can't actually do it because we've got to go to work n' shit.

quote:

Originally posted by bionic218:

quote:

promises to unleash khaki 5.11 cargo pocket trouser clad, bearded, mask and MAGA hat wearing, anti-illegal, baseball bat toting, Christian, conservative, gay-bashing, gun owning, Islamophobic, Milo-loving, misogynistic, nationalistic, pepper spray and stink bomb throwing, pro-life, Republican hordes to delay, deny, and disrupt the event.

We can promise it all we want, but they know we can't actually do it because we've got to go to work n' shit.

Wrap the baseball bat in barbed wired and call it Lucille.

Bill the protest organizers for the monies already spent to organize the event and spent on the various floats; add in the expected loss of tourist income because the event will not be held. If the organizers cannot be found, raise the city taxes enough to cover it, publicizing the action as a result of the promised protest. We'll see how well the rank and file in the city like having their taxes raised because protesters shut down a big scheduled event.

flashguy

More fascist behavior in a liberal controlled stronghold; who'd have thought it possible?

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Bill the protest organizers for the monies already spent to organize the event and spent on the various floats; add in the expected loss of tourist income because the event will not be held. If the organizers cannot be found, raise the city taxes enough to cover it, publicizing the action as a result of the promised protest. We'll see how well the rank and file in the city like having their taxes raised because protesters shut down a big scheduled event.

flashguy

It's highly doubtful that the protesters pay any significant portion of the city taxes.

Just another example of liberal pussies being ruled by liberal bullies.

quote:

police cannot stop us from shutting down roads

Yes they can, they just choose not to.

It was strange when I saw this on the evening news a couple days ago; I've lived in this area for 35+ years and I've never heard of this particular event before. There are about three other parades that are always really big deals, but I've never heard of this one. Then again, I don't spend much time on the east side.

The lefties have been throwing a more or less continuous temper tantrum ever since the election, and the anarchist assholes take any opportunity the lefties provide to cause trouble. And the Mayor - who is also the Police Commissioner - won't do anything about it.

What will these fascists learn from this when a threat of violence eliminates their target du jour?

quote:

Originally posted by Perception:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Bill the protest organizers for the monies already spent to organize the event and spent on the various floats; add in the expected loss of tourist income because the event will not be held. If the organizers cannot be found, raise the city taxes enough to cover it, publicizing the action as a result of the promised protest. We'll see how well the rank and file in the city like having their taxes raised because protesters shut down a big scheduled event.

flashguy

It's highly doubtful that the protesters pay any significant portion of the city taxes.

I know that. But if the residents get hammered by the protest's consequences, maybe they'll be more active in shutting down the protests.

flashguy

As a long time resident of the PAC NW, I always looked at Portland as being a "JOKE".

Guess things have not changed much.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
And the Mayor - who is also the Police Commissioner - won't do anything about it.

Is this the same Mayor who had an affair the male intern, but only kissed him until he turned 18

Between Neil Goldsmidt (raped a 14 YO girl, well documented) and the current guy, Portland really knows how to choose a mayor.

Organize a big Republican rally right down town, and invite the Hell's Angels.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
And the Mayor - who is also the Police Commissioner - won't do anything about it.

Is this the same Mayor who had an affair the male intern, but only kissed him until he turned 18

Between Neil Goldsmidt (raped a 14 YO girl, well documented) and the current guy, Portland really knows how to choose a mayor.

Nah. That was the Sam Adams...Beer with a bit of head. Then there was Charlie Hale, and now the Mayor/Police Commissioner Ted Wheeler.