DAMEDEESO / GETTY IMAGES Dear sweet, party pals: Transparency, people! That’s what I’m all about. Remember in my last column when I was bellyaching about needing a therapist? You don’t see many other newspaper editors complaining about their deteriorating mental health! Or the time I described how I sometimes process my emotions by “pee-crying” (uncontrollably […]
Opinion
Posted inNews
The Five Stages of Kamala Harris
Biden/Harris campaign When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit and changed everything, I began thinking a lot about the Kubler-Ross model of grief, which breaks the process of grieving down into five states: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The idea is that people work through these five emotions while grieving, and can bounce back and […]
Posted inOpinion
Guest Editorial: Black Lives Don’t Matter in Portland
Liia Galimzianova / iStock / Getty Images Plus Black lives don’t matter in Portland. I know, I know—controversial statement. You ask the “average” white or non-white Portlander that lives a life replete with white privilege (in a city that, according to 2019’s US Census population estimates, is 77 percent white and less than 6 percent […]
Posted inOpinion
Hall Monitor: Fair Weather Wheeler
Mayor Wheeler speaking to protesters on July 22. Nathan Howard / Getty Images Hall Monitor is a regular column on issues related to Portland City Hall and its influence on the community it serves. ___ Now that the federal police have retreated from the front lines of Portland’s nightly demonstrations, Mayor Ted Wheeler has returned […]
Posted inNews
A Journalist in Jail: What I Experienced After Being Arrested by Portland Police
Freelance Reporter Andrew Jankowski Courtesy author If you’ve been to jail before, you might not be surprised by anything I have to say, other than this: I get it now. I get it so much more clearly than I did, and I’ll keep using this knowledge moving forward. Look, I’m not the first, second, third, […]
Posted inCops
I Know How to Cover a Portland Protest. So Why Am I Shaking?
Portland police officers in downtown Portland in the early hours of July 18. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland This essay by Karina Brown, a Portland native and Courthouse News reporter, was first published by Courthouse News on July 21. It’s being shared here with the permission of both the author and publication. Follow Brown’s reporting on criminal justice […]
Posted inMovies & TV
A New, Black Batwoman Brings Out the Trolls
Javicia Leslie (a Black actress) replaces Ruby Rose (a white actress) as Batwoman… what could go wrong? Courtesy CW / Amy Sussman / Getty Images Earlier this month, Warner Bros. Television, the CW, and Berlanti Productions announced that Javicia Leslie would be the new series lead of the CW superheroine action drama Batwoman. Leslie, a […]
Posted inOpinion
Why Can’t I Stop Watching This Portland Police “Support from Community” Video?
PPB UPDATE, July 21, 11:03 am: Less than 24 hours after the publication of this article, PPB removed the video… because of copyright infringement: PPB’s twitter The video is now, sadly, lost to history. But the analysis remains. ORIGINAL STORY: During this time of COVID-19 social distancing, it’s easier than ever to become fixated on […]
Posted inOpinion
A Note from the Mercury’s Editor: Calling Dr. Feel Better
“Now accepting new patients.” Minerva Studio / iStock / Getty Images Plus Hello dear darlings! First things first, HOW ARE YOU DOING? Query: Have you found a therapist yet? If so, yay and good idea! If not, UGH, me neither! Look, I get it… I, of all the people you know, really need a therapist—but […]
Posted inCops
Hall Monitor: Crossing the Line
Federal officers stand in downtown Portland the night of July 11. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland Hall Monitor is a regular column on issues related to Portland City Hall and its influence on the community it serves. ___ In his past three years in City Hall, Mayor Ted Wheeler has proudly positioned himself as a leader in the […]
Posted inOpinion
A Note from the Mercury’s Editor: Restraining the Police
Mercury Staff Hey readers ‘n’ pals! So a few days ago I was talking with an out-of-town friend who was VERY interested in the ongoing Portland protests, and DOUBLY interested that I occasionally cover them on the ground for the Mercury. They had seen the quick, 10-second videos on TV news that depict Portland streets […]
Posted inCops
The Hard Gaze: A Photo Essay Documenting Portland Protests
Hannah Dugan [Editor’s Note: Hannah Dugan is a photographer here in Portland, and has been documenting the many marches and rallies against police brutality. Here she shares some of her more memorable shots, and describes what she sees when she looks at them and the meaning they hold.] Hannah Dugan I am struck by this […]