“Identity Politics”

…This week marks six months since Floyd’s death, and protests continue in Portland. But now, activists in the city are divided as to whether they are still fighting in a racial justice movement centered on Black lives, or if an unfocused, anti-establishment fight against capitalism and state power has usurped the initial cause that brought thousands of Portlanders into the streets.

Instead of mass mobilizations focused on disrupting city streets and educating the public, recent protests draw a few dozen people who have regularly engaged in vandalism against such disparate targets as a Democratic Party office, the Oregon Historical Society and the Mexican consulate.

Their most recent action: a Friday protest that ended in vandalism to 27 businesses in the city, ranging from a smoke shop and food carts to a bank branch and an insurance company.