There comes a time of year when Shen Yun cookie-cutter advertisements sprout up around the city in the same pose with dace ribbons attached to their arms mid-split leap, the…
Global genocide and anti-Blackness
From Palestine to Hawai’i, Indigenous people all over the world suffer at the hands of neocolonialism and ethnic cleansing, with Rafah facing a ground invasion while those in the United…
Children at work
Children should never have to do a grown-up’s job. However, unfortunately, this is not a reality even in the twenty-first century. According to the European Union, 152 million children…
Capitalizing on catastrophe
For private, profit-driven companies, disaster exists for the sole purpose of making a profit. Disaster capitalism is the opportunistic infiltration of capital into disaster-affected, socially vulnerable communities. In their…
TurboTax? More like TurboTyranny
If George Washington were around today, he would take one look at the United States tax filing system and say, “Dying is easy; doing taxes is harder.” Now is…
Criminalizing substance use does not help
It’s been over three years since Portland passed the now infamous Measure 110 on Nov. 3, 2020. Measure 110 gained popularity with what started as the potential to end the…
What happened to peaceful protests?
As we see an increase in political activism—especially with younger people taking to the street and demanding not to be ignored—the people who want to ignore them will be angry….
Navigating banned books and gun violence
When envisioning a conducive learning environment for our children, one hopes to find a safe environment for productive and comprehensive learning. However, with the rise in gun violence in schools,…
The trash is out of control in PDX
You see it daily in Portland—trash piling up on the streets and litter covering sidewalks. The easiest people to blame for all this litter are houseless people. Yet, are…
Satire: Cars are the future
After eight years of driving experience, it’s hard for me not to appreciate the most innovative style of transportation, especially for mass populations. Just the bustle of the city, traffic…
The culture of victim-blaming is pervasive
Victim-blaming is pervasive across various societal arenas, creating an environment that empowers the privileged while stripping power from everyone else. This perpetuates a cycle that hinders personal empowerment and reinforces…