A memorial to June Knightly at Normandale Park in Northeast Portland. (Sam Gehrke)
Last week, WW examined the effect that a vigilante homicide at a protest march in the Rose City Park neighborhood had on the social media site Nextdoor. In several threads, Nextdoor users expressed outrage at the shooting, the state of the city, and the memorial graffiti left on a Normandale Park shelter. News editor Aaron Mesh wrote that the cognitive dissonance on display stemmed from a conservative narrative that Portland’s homeless camps and protesters were a blight staining the city. Here’s what our readers had to say.
Captain Hamburger, via wweek.com: “Everyone I know, left and right, all think Portland is filthy and needs to be cleaned up.
“As far as the memorial goes: It’s going to get worse. [Portland Parks & Recreation] has already released a statement saying that they are not going to do anything about the graffiti or camp ‘anytime soon.’ So, it starts out with a bit of graffiti and a handful of tents…and then it will explode into an eyesore like these things always do.
“The surrounding residents can be concerned about the shooting AND the graffiti/camp all at the same time.”
Editor’s note, March 15: Portland Parks and Recreation says it has begun cleaning the graffiti from the Normandale Park picnic shelter.
“Portland Parks & Recreation staff began the graffiti removal at Normandale Park this week, and will continue the work to completion,” says spokesman Mark Ross. “We are following the direction of our Commissioner’s office and of our management and staff will work to address the remaining maintenance and repair issues.”
Ross says no tents remain in the park.
BetsyToll, via wweek.com: “How did you feel about the memorial at the bus station when two men died with their throats slit by Jeremy Christian? Did you protest that memorial?
“Why don’t the Normandale women deserve to have their lives and the place where they were attacked honored with a community memorial?
“The difference is that those decent and heroic guys were all white men stopping a racist killer. Thank god. While the good and decent people shot at Normandale were just old white women trying to keep traffic moving safely and help marchers stay safe. Who cares about them?”
A Concerned Reader, via email: “I was disturbed to see you distort the story in a specific way, via an ironic omission. You placed the story in the context of Nextdoor being populated with ‘members on several occasions have threatened to take the law into their own hands.’ That was EXACTLY what some of those Nextdoor posts were complaining about: the calls for violence in the graffiti on the walls. ‘Kill Andy’ was painted in huge letters on the eastern wall (it has since been painted over). That call for vigilante violence [against conservative author Andy Ngo] was omitted from your story, apparently because it didn’t fit the narrative you were crafting. Please do better to report the whole story, even when it gives you complicated feelings.”
Craig Freeman, via email: “’For months, a narrative has grown among Oregon conservatives that Portland is filthy and needs to be cleansed.’
“Are you under the impression that liberals and progressives haven’t held this view for months, also? Is the distinction that they just haven’t talked about it?”
Andy Scott, via email: “If you look at recent polling, including one from the reputable DHM Research, it’s safe to say it’s not just conservatives who believe Portland needs to be cleaned up. Maybe a more centrist tone from you and your publication could help the city and its citizens move forward on a better path.”
LETTERS to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: PO Box 10770, Portland, OR 97296 Email: mzusman@wweek.com
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