rant · moment 13 of 19
Portland Riots, Electoral Politics, and What Actually Works
from #210 - I Am The Most Successful Podcaster In Los Angeles | The Tim Dillon Show · #210
8 min
Tim gives an extended analysis of the Portland protests, arguing the demands don't make political sense, discussing the impracticality of burning things down versus electoral politics, and questioning the motives of people in the streets regarding trans rights and police funding.
- Portland riots: why does a predominantly white, liberal city experience daily rioting?
- Tim distinguishes between what adults want to happen and what will actually happen—the difference between demands and reality.
- Destroying everything until demands are met is a criminally insane position.
- Rioters face a well-funded national security apparatus they'd have to eliminate first—something CHAZ proved impossible in weeks.
- Electoral politics on the local level produces more fruit than national politics, though neither is a guaranteed fix.
- Smashing Amazon windows in Seattle won't enact the social change protesters claim to want.
- Tim on jokes and trans people: no one on the fence about committing hate crimes is motivated by a single joke.
- His navy SEAL joke makes fun of military killers, not trans people, yet gets different reactions in red and blue crowds.
- Defunding police to support social services is a reasonable argument, but Portland protesters burning things have no coherent agenda.
- Stealing an iPad in Seattle isn't going to change a criminal state—real change might come through electoral politics or changing consumer habits.
- Protesters beat people in the street over perceived slights like misgendering or recording, justifying it as political action.