Stepped into this beautiful art gallery today, only to have to leave because the white boomer female artist in residence was accosting customers with bs right wing talking points about why Portland is soooooo dangerous because of "defunding" the police which was a push to transition SOME funds to intervention teams specially trained to deescalate mental health emergencies without shooting (which would solve the problems she says she has faced in her response below - mental health services ARE a medical and social service, thus they are inherently political), and decriminalizing "everything" (she was referencing the political Measure 110 - which failed due to the lack of partnership with mental health professionals which would have allowed for the creation of an appropriate diversion program vs a program that depended on the working memory, organization, and executive functioning skills of those with mental health needs), and only giving people who kill their wives two years. Mind you, this artist is located in the Albert District and lord knows she is NOT oppressed. As someone who works in the field of disability, disability IS inherently political. Our mentally ill and unhoused neighbors are struggling due to the fact that social services have been UNDER funded for decades. OR is a mental health dessert, for those severely impacted and those who need lower levels of support. This IS a political issue.) AND crime in PDX has steadily declined in the past few years. Violent crime in Portland, including areas similar to the Alberta district, has dropped significantly in 2025—with homicides down 51% in the first half of the year—following a, sharp, multi-year, pandemic-era surge that peaked around 2021–2022. Crime is a typical part of any large city, sharing space with people different than oneself is a typical part of any large city, and she should find somewhere that better matches the single minded reality she prefers. There are THOUSANDS of artists in PDX to support that DO care about human life and addressing ACTUAL issues instead of the GOP bs line that everyone is running the same race and that crime is is only influenced by someone being a "good or bad" person.
