Latest news with #MikeGonzalez
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
What Fueled the Revolution
Mike Gonzalez writes that we 'must not forget what happened in the months after' George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020 ('George Floyd's Death Almost Consumed America in Revolution,' op-ed, May 24). We shouldn't forget what happened in the months prior either. In March the government ordered virtually every American to cease all normal human interactions. After more than two months of this, terrified Americans were shown a seemingly endless replaying of the terrible last moments of Floyd's life. Mass protests, contrary to the stay-at-home guidance that until then had been insisted upon, were then permitted or encouraged. This witches' brew of relief from months of isolation, fear of a new disease and fury at what people saw repeatedly on TV, undoubtedly contributed to the ensuing violence that Mr. Gonzales describes. The revolutionary moment didn't occur in a vacuum.
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
A Ruinous ‘Summer of Rage'
Mike Gonzalez's op-ed 'George Floyd's Death Almost Consumed America in Revolution' (May 24) evokes what Portlanders suffered during 100 days of Antifa and Black Lives Matter riotous mayhem. But it isn't over. Encouraged by a feckless city government that tolerated lawlessness, Portland's fiery summer of love spawned revolutionary harm still felt today. In 2020 Portland lost its former pleasant appeal and entered a doom loop cycle. It has one of the lowest office occupancy rates in the country. Skyscrapers are for sale at a fraction of their previous value. Many buildings remain boarded up and tents clutter sidewalks, while their drug-addled occupants wander around like zombies threatening bystanders. Regular pedestrian traffic has plummeted. Victimized businesses have left with few replacements in sight. All this in a city once called 'America's most liveable.'
