cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/26445083
Cartwright described for Rolling Stone a years-long struggle to keep kids safe at school. “Munitions and tear gas — we aren’t new to this,” she says. “We’d been next to the ICE building the whole time.” She emphasized that the school has coexisted “harmoniously with the protesters,” but adds: “Our issue is the chemical weapons being used against them that were impacting our space.”
But as the intensity of the conflict rose, it soon became clear that the school would have to make a dramatic change. “We were getting nightly reports that green gas was enveloping our garden — our edible garden — and all of the different chemicals were impacting our soil.” Cottonwood faced the costly prospect of constant testing and remediation, or being unable to use its outdoor spaces. When the bottom dropped out of enrollment, the school chose to relocate to a recently vacant middle-school campus where Cottonwood could take over the lease.
This is happening not far from me and I’ve been watching it play out over the last three months. It’s egregious what ICE is getting away with. The agents are armed and armored. They’re tackling peaceful protectors, slamming them to the ground, sending them to the hospital. The school’s outdoor playground is about 50 feet away from where they’re constantly gassing. It’s not just the school either, there are apartment buildings and businesses across the street from the ICE building where residents are getting exposed as well. There’s a dance school a couple blocks down as well where adults and children come and go.
It’s not even like the gas is being an effective deterrent. The protestors have masks too or simply just don’t give a fuck and tank it. They’re just deploying munitions against civilians because they can and want to.
Iceoutofportland has been regularly reporting on the situation from the front line all summer if you want to see what’s been going down daily since June.