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…
U.S. exceptionalism in Hollywood
Westerners—especially white people from the United States—are always the good guys. At least, that’s what Hollywood wants you to think. Something that people in this country either take for…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
Portland’s mutual relationship with a war profiteer
A growing wave of student resistance against administration actions mirrors broader protests exposing United States military involvement. This involvement is not without profiting, benefiting both those seizing power and those…