Seeing For Yourself Instead Of Believing The Media

On Friday, PJ Media posted a Portland, Oregon, resident’s account of the protests going on downtown. Gabe Johnson, a 48-year-old black man who served in the Marines, lives a block away from the Justice Center. He thought the nightly protests had been completely peaceful.

The article reports:

Gabe Johnson, a 48-year-old black man who served in the Marines, now says that Portland police should use any means necessary, including force, to sweep the riots off the streets and end the nightly violence.

In an interview with PJ Media, Johnson said he considers himself a patriotic American, and that the United States flag should be a symbol of unity for all Americans. He laments how some have turned it into a symbol of racism and division, especially in Portland.

Last Saturday night and into Sunday morning, Johnson says he was in bed trying to sleep, but the noise kept him awake. He counted 82 explosions disturbing his sleep. Then, with his air conditioning running and bringing in air from outside through the vents, he was suddenly immersed in tear gas from the street below. That’s when he decided to take action.

“You know, so I literally stood up and just yelled,” Johnson said in the interview. “‘Oh my God,’ I actually yelled. ‘Oh my effing God.’ It was just like somebody has to do something. I don’t know what that something is. I didn’t at that time, but I knew something had to be done and I figured I would just sleep on it.”

The article details his response:

When he went down to the protest with his flags, Johnson expected to talk to people. He didn’t expect to be assaulted. Several people stole his flags and stomped them on the ground. One older black man, around 65 years old, grabbed one of the flags and handed it back to Johnson. A protester promptly punched the man in the face and ran off.

Reminder: This all took place in broad daylight, not at a late-night riot.

Johnson says protesters called him a coon, Uncle Tom, and the n-word—”with the -ER, not -a.” He has done several interviews this week because he wants the world to know that when leaders say that the federal law enforcement officers have caused the riots, and that the protests are largely peaceful, that’s a lie.

Protests are legal. Riots and assaulting people are not. The article includes a link to an interview with Mr. Johnson detailing the events. The actions of the anarchists that call themselves Black Lives Matter are not acceptable. Where were these people when black lives ended at the hands of other black people in Chicago and other major American cities? The only way to end these riots is to begin putting those responsible for them in jail. I would also suggest finding the source of their funding and eliminating it quickly. Rioters don’t deserve high-priced lawyers paid for by people behind the scenes inciting the riots.