June 6, 2020 - Protests and Parks -

Remember at the beginning of the pandemic, when I was (and maybe you were, too) getting emails every day on the theme, “What We’re Doing in Response to COVID-19,” from both likely and unlikely organizations? (Likely = the bank, saying, “We’re not going to let folks in the door without an appointment, and we’ve made it Easy For You to learn how to deposit checks using your phone, you hopelessly lazy Luddites, so now is the time to start actually DOING it.”  Unlikely = I dunno, you pick one. For me it was mostly that I heard from places where I had never once done business, but yet they had my email.  Had I been a customer of the tree-pruning service, the tattoo parlor, or the cat-grooming center, I might have wanted to know what they were doing. Maybe. Maybe not even then.)

Now I’m getting all those emails again, but the subject lines have to do with our most recent American cataclysms around systemic racism, injustice, inequity, and the killing of black people, and about the current wave of protests. The little deli down the way, which usually sends out a weekly newsletter honoring a special cheese, has decided to instead talk about how Black Lives Matter. (They did a nice job.)

There are a lot of these messages, some more platitudinous than others, some honestly a bit weird (We at this online learning organization don’t discriminate about who can pay for our courses! Noted.) They are all heartfelt, written by people who clearly feel they have to add their voice on the side of justice. I’m not getting any hair-on-fire-let’s-crack-down-on-protest messages, which is nice, but I live in Portland, and in a bubble.

The one from Portland Parks and Rec, with a subject line about “standing with you,” was unexpectedly moving. Here’s the end:   

We'll clean up any litter, graffiti, or vandalism - these are temporary. But the change these protests may generate can be a lasting civic legacy that all Portlanders can be proud of.

We are experiencing a time of unity, and Portland Parks & Recreation is here for our City.

A few days ago, my mask and I walked a few blocks to one of the parks where people have been gathering every night, but I went in the middle of the afternoon, partly because I wondered if people were hanging there all day, or just gathering in the evening.  Turned out to be the latter. 

At four in the afternoon, there were a few folks with their dogs, and a tiny sprinkling of litter, mostly abandoned signs.

It was all very human. I waved at the few people I saw, and they waved back.