The Portland demonstration

I knew, of course, that one of those "anti-war" rallies was scheduled here in Portland over the weekend. I just stayed right away from it. I had no idea that anything as disgusting as this and this was in the offing.

Well, Portland does not "hate America", whatever Michelle Malkin thinks. A few loathsome idiots throwing this kind of public temper tantrum do not speak for anyone but themselves. No one I know here would sympathize with such behavior. The local paper did not print the worst pictures; anyone who was not at the demonstration would not have known that these displays took place, unless they read about them on the internet later. The supportive letters to the paper should be read in that light.

Update 1 (23 March): Yesterday our main local newspaper, The Oregonian, ran this editorial about the issue. I think they don't quite realize how bad this is.

Update 2 (23 March): Here, also from The Oregonian, is an essay on the controversy, which unfortunately serves mostly to illustrate the bias which often creeps into reportage on such matters. Notice the use of the word "huffed" to cite one quote about the photos, and the emphasis on the hurt feelings of the photographer about the way her photos have been used (as if she could possibly have thought these pictures were anything other than explosive) rather than on the feelings of soldiers, their relatives, and decent people in general at the objective fact of the disgusting behavior the photos revealed.