I guess nobody told Oregon Governor Kate Brown about the old rule regarding snitches and stitches. With the holidays fast approaching and an increasing number of citizens growing tired of government mandates forbidding them from gathering with friends and family to celebrate, Brown is concerned that people may simply ignore her orders and gather around the feast table anyway. So what’s an autocratic executive to do? The answer is as simple as pumpkin pie. She’d like people to keep an eye out for large gatherings in their neighborhood and call the police if they see any suspiciously large, turkey-related activity going on. That’s an idea that’s sure to put everyone in the holiday spirit, right? (Washington Times)
“Look, this is no different than what happens if there’s a party down the street and it’s keeping everyone awake. What do neighbors do? They call law enforcement because it’s too noisy,” the Democratic governor told KGW. “This is just like that. It’s like a violation of a noise ordinance.”
Those committing infractions could face misdemeanor penalties of up to 30 days in jail, fines of up to $1,250, or both, according to the governor’s executive order.
The two-week “freeze” is slated to end Dec. 2 everywhere except Multnomah County, which includes Portland, where the restrictions are in place for four weeks based on the county’s larger population and case numbers.
I’ll start with a brief side note for the citizens of Oregon who may be seeing red right about now. You elected Kate Brown as Secretary of State, allowing her to take the big chair when your last corrupt governor resigned. You then elected her as governor in her own right twice. You asked for this and now you’re getting it good and hard. I have no sympathy for you whatsoever. And no… the fact that some of you tried to recall her twice now doesn’t count. You failed.
With that said, there are plenty of people who clearly have no intention of following the Governor’s orders on Thanksgiving or any other day. A caravan of protesters showed up in Salem on Saturday, honking their horns and displaying signs with slogans such as “Mask = Muzzle,” “Stuff your mandate” and “We will not comply.” Local talk radio shows have been flooded with calls from people basically daring the Governor to send the cops after them.
It’s also unclear if the police will even show up if people start dropping dimes on their neighbors on Thursday. A number of local law enforcement agencies have already announced that the directive is unenforceable and they couldn’t go after all of the people violating the orders even if they wanted to. Of course, there may be exceptions, but how many local police chiefs are going to want to “take credit” for sending their officers out to haul people away for purchasing too large of a turkey?
While Brown tried to compare this snitching as being no different than calling the police to shut down a noisy party late at night, we’re talking about something much more serious. If you’re hosting such a party and the cops show up, they’ll generally just ask you to turn the music down and leave. Brown’s orders carry a penalty of up to 30 days in jail and a significant fine. That’s a serious escalation in the engagement.
This order is also open to some major abuse, assuming the cops agree to answer any snitching calls. If someone has a grudge to settle with one of their neighbors, this is the perfect opportunity to cause them some trouble on what should be one of the happier days of the year. It’s the COVID version of swatting. If you have a problem with someone on your street, just send in the police to bust up their Thanksgiving feast.
This whole situation is turning into a mess, just as it has in New York and other states. Kate Brown appears to be floundering and the natives are growing restless. But as I said, they have no one to blame but themselves.
