Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling is touting the nation's second-largest police department as fully prepared for protests ahead of the Democratic National Convention, including on a new mass arrest policy
The year is 1970, the war in Vietnam rages on, and the American Legion annual convention is set to be held in liberal bastion Portland, Oregon.
Portland is known for many things, but protesting is right near the top of the list. George H. W. Bush famously called the town “Little Beirut”. The George Floyd protests ran for over 100 days.
Now imagine that town, during the Vietnam war, with an American Legion convention, and the rumor that President Nixon would be attending.
😳
Oregon Governor Tom McCall came up with a brilliant solution… A state funded rock concert, far away from Portland proper, on the same days as the convention.
In the end, over five days, somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people attended the festival, barely 1,000 people protested in Portland… and Nixon? Nixon never showed up.
One of my favorite true stories…
The year is 1970, the war in Vietnam rages on, and the American Legion annual convention is set to be held in liberal bastion Portland, Oregon.
Portland is known for many things, but protesting is right near the top of the list. George H. W. Bush famously called the town “Little Beirut”. The George Floyd protests ran for over 100 days.
Now imagine that town, during the Vietnam war, with an American Legion convention, and the rumor that President Nixon would be attending.
😳
Oregon Governor Tom McCall came up with a brilliant solution… A state funded rock concert, far away from Portland proper, on the same days as the convention.
In the end, over five days, somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people attended the festival, barely 1,000 people protested in Portland… and Nixon? Nixon never showed up.
https://www.opb.org/article/2020/08/29/oregon-history-vortex-1-rock-festival-1970-vietnam-war-tom-mccall/