Portland

I was watching a news program today that was partly about Portland, Oregon. That city has been so demonized by right-wing extremists that many now believe it to be some kind of liberal commie hell. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I lived in Portland for three years, moving there after I got divorced. I think this is the only photo I have of me (L) and my sister (R) from then ...

It took me nearly a year to find a job there - I almost took a job at a sheltered workshop out of desperation - but I finally did get a job working the graveyard shift as a surgery aid at the Oregon Health & Science University (a hospital) ...

But when not working there was a lot to do in Portland. They have a ton of bookstores, including the famous Powell's Books. They also have a lot of coffee shops and cafes, like Apizza Scholls pissa ...

And the Bread and Ink Cafe ...

There's a lot to do outside too, like visiting Washington Park, which includes the Portland Zoo, the International Test Rose Garden, and the Portland Japanese Garden (where they sometimes hold Go tournaments) ....



Further afield, we would visit places like Multnomah Falls ...

Ot Cannon Beach ...

But of course, Portland isn't perfect. When I was there, there was a lot of poverty - you couldn't be downtown without encountering people, especially the disabled, asking for help. Homeless people lived under the bridges. I don't doubt this problem still exists.

And despite what Trump and right-wing media might wnat you to believe, Portland has a history of white supremacist violence, not liberal protest ...

The Atlantic: The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America

NPR: How Portland's Racist History Informs Today's Protests

CNN: Portland’s liberal image tempered by history as ‘Skinhead City’

Don't let Fox News inform your views of Portland - visit :)