This is an article I helped write many years ago after the 1993 Portland Anarchist “Holiday in Beirut” Gathering. What follows are some scans of the article and a computer generated translation of the flyer. Some good times.

Sunday, July 18. 1993

On the last day of the Portland Anarchists Gathering, police confronted a “punk rock” show at the X-Ray Cafe on Burnside for a 2-hour stand-off. Grabbing the banner “No War but Class War,” about 50 to 100 people from the show where joined by 100 to 200 residents from the other side of the street for a march through down town which turned into a riot. About 20 people were arrested) and
another 30 over a period of a week. Charges ranged from Disorderly Conduct to Riot and Incitement to Riot - both felony charges.

The stand-off with police occur ed after people who were unsatisfied with the gathering being too much of a party, went to Pioneer Square to have a meeting and confront some Nazi Skins. They were followed by 6 squad cars back to the show where the cops blocked traffic and started putting on their riot gear. One person went to ask what was happening and was arrested. Throughout the stand-off, police played with their night sticks and mock fought with each other showing their excitement for a chance to beat children.

There are misconceptions to confront about the nature of this riot and the media’s representation of the Youth as “members of a national organization known as ‘The Anarchists’” (said by a news anchor person). The Youth involved where mostly homeless street youth - what the state refers to as “throw aways” or trash - runaways, victims of child abuse and rape. They were not members of any organization, but people who identify with Anarchy because to them it represents the hatred they feel towards all forms of oppression they experience.
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The riot itself was a spontaneous reaction against continued police harassment, not an organized plan; it was only after police made it impossible to peacefully march that rocks were thrown. A hush fell across the crowd after the first window broke as the meaning of what happened sunk in; then the entire crowd began to run, smashing windows of places that wouldn’t let us in, smashing television cameras, and smashing police. The crowd ran across a parking lot ending in another confrontation with police. Most people arrested weren’t prepared for a riot situation.

The action had the effect of empowering many of the Youth. One woman who went to rescue a friend who was being severely beaten by police clubs had a gun pulled on her and was poked with a night stick. She knocked the stick out of her way and dared a cop the shoot her. Other people over turned police cars and one cop had her eye poked out.

Two days earlier, a confrontation had occurred between 2 mounted police and around 12 pan-handlers. The cops backed one person against a wall and tried to arrest him. People started shouting “Riot!” distracting police long enough for the person to pull away. He got away and the police ran.

The riot was also mainly Portland residents who had gathered on the other side of the street to see what was happening and heard that the police were defending Nazi’s. As police surrounded the block, we marched through an open gap and were joined by others.

There were a lot of people (mainly street youth) harassed and arrested who weren’t even a part of the riot. One kid was kicked in the balls repeatedly and arrested on block from the conflict. When he asked the police what he was being arrested for they said; “You have the right to remain silent, so shut the fuck up!” He was then shoved into a paddy wagon with about 6 other innocent youth.

The next day at Pioneer Square, 3 kids were arrested. One for not picking up someone else’s litter and the other two were unknown. They said, however, that police questioned them about the riot, processed them and let them go.

The violent, almost crazed reaction of the cops showed the state and ruling elite’s intense fear of street youth and homeless coming together to discuss their hatred for state-capitalist society. In the words of two older drunk pan-handlers who were around the corner from the X-Ray: “Cops hate it when people like us get together and get along.” Maybe people like us should get together more often. A lot more often.