Trump's threats have inspired Portlanders to prove we're anything but chicken

[Jilly_in_VA]

Elana Pirtle-Guiney

Since President Donald Trump declared Portland, Oregon, “war-ravaged” in September and threatened to deploy federal troops, residents have responded with creativity, humor and determination. Rather than meeting aggression with aggression, Portlanders have channeled their civic pride and quirky nature into a new kind of resistance.

Portlanders are choosing costumes over combat, showing up to protests dressed as chickens and frogs, while flooding social media with proof of Portland’s strength and spirit. These whimsical images have garnered national media attention and stand in stark contrast to the dystopian narrative Trump is promoting.

The hashtag #WarRavagedPortland has become a citywide celebration, filled with photos of bike riders, farmers' markets and lively restaurants ‒ residents showcasing the decidedly not war-ravaged city they love.

Though the threat of troop deployment is scary, this moment has also catalyzed something exciting: an explosion of Portland pride. For years, our city struggled through multiple complex challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic devastation, the fentanyl crisis, large protests following George Floyd’s murder and other challenges that many urban centers faced were exacerbated by Trump sending in federal agents at the time.

We were honest about those struggles, sometimes brutally so, and went to work tackling them. But Trump’s wildly distorted characterization, which threatens to recreate our city’s narrative, has unified Portlanders in rejecting these false narratives.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2025/10/22/portland-pride-trump-troops-national-guard/86805737007/?tbref=hp

Portland has proved, once again, that the best way to counter Shitler and ICE is with humor, something they are grossly lacking and don't know how to respond to.

[Ocelot II]

1. Tactical frivolity. Humor and mockery can be really effective.

And I think even Trump's thugs are dimly aware that video of them beating up what appear to be cartoon animals won't play as well as video of them beating up "dangerous" brown people. Clubbing a big fake frog or Hello Kitty only emphasizes their thuggishness.