Cops target the "dirty kids" at Last Thursday...

So I went to Last Thursday (an art event that happens the last Thursday every month during the summer on Alberta Street in Portland,) last night with a group of friends, and generally had a good time...I saw a few friends, heard music, watched belly dancing and fire dancing and kapuaria, stole leftovers off of tables outside of restaurants which my friends and I ate, danced a little, had home brew at Patrick's house, which is just off of Alberta Street, generally lived it up...however, one thing sort of spoiled it all...and that was obvious and direct profiling by Portland Police.

Some of my anarchist friends where tabling at Last Thursday (tabling, for those of you who don't know, is selling and/or giving away literature at an event about your group, to raise awareness in the community,) for the Blackrose Bookstore, which is one of the two local anarchist bookstores here in Portland. I used to work at the Blackrose and know that it is, despite perceptions otherwise, a hotbed of love and compassion, not violence and destruction, as people might think. The Blackrose hosts such groups as Books to Prisoners and Letters to Prisoners, has an extremely large free box for the poor in the neighborhood, gives away hot free coffee every day, just generally does good in the community. But the people who work there are radical, and most would consider themselves anarchist, so of course, people assume the worse. (Also, some people who work there dress "punk," "crusty-punk," or don't have the same standards of hygiene that the general public has, so people profile based on those things as well.)

Anyway, as usually happens when a well-liked group tables, a group of people formed around the table, with folks sitting on the ground, (well out of foot-traffic way,) eating dumpstered food, one crusty-punk was sewing his clothes, just having a good time and minding our own business. I had collected a collection of glass bottles for my friend Patrick, who as I mentioned before, likes to brew (and the home brew crowd always needs more bottles.) Cops strolled by, saw the bottles, then stopped to harass us.

"You can't drink in public!" One of the officers took a menacing stance, his hands on his hips, staring down at us. I wanted to yell back "tell that to all the yuppies at every single restaurant on this street," because every restaurant we'd passed had had people sitting outside, drinking alcohol. Everyone, it seemed was drinking. That is what people do at Last Thursday. It was painfully obvious the cops where looking for any excuse to attack us. So I did the meek thing, and said "we're not, I'm collecting bottles for him, " motioned to Patrick, "he brews..." Someone else dumped out a canister which apparently had held alcohol, which I don't think was necessary, since the cops had no idea his metal container held alcohol...but anyway. The cops then asked what the guy sewing, who just at that moment had dropped his needle, and was scratching around in the gravel for it, was doing.

"I have no idea..." I responded, because frankly, it was none of the business of the cops. He wasn't doing anything loud, lewd, rude or disruptive, just looking in the dirt for a sewing needle.

Anyway, I think this is a pretty prefect and frustrating example of what cops do..which is target people, especially here in Portland.

Love ya,
Carrot