The downside of weird – by Jeff Eager – Oregon Roundup
But because weird is a relative term, there are, or should be, limits. And those limits should apply when the weirdness negatively impacts other people in a material way. It is unusual – weird – to tolerate and, in the not-so-recent-past tacitly encourage mass homelessness that hollows out downtown Portland. It s weird to have roving mobs existing somewhere on the protest-riot spectrum for months on end, a trail of property and human damage in their wake. It s weird to violently besiege a federal courthouse, to deface an elk statue, to allow some Portland streets to resemble a crossover project between Fast & Furious and The Road.
Lassiter writes that Portland Weird is how we build a city that chooses tolerance, supports marginalized communities, combats hate and bigotry and leads to better understanding of one another. I might quibble with the efficacy of weird in achieving those admirable goals, but that s beside the point. Lassiter deserves the tolerance she seeks, because what she does doesn t hurt anyone.
But the weirdness in Portland, the departure from normalcy, now regularly delivers negative results for many of its residents. Safety and security of person and property are, or were, normal. Weirdness – criminality, really – infringing on that normalcy does not deserve tolerance. That way lies chaos, and the last thing Portland and all of Oregon need is more chaos.