The Crotch of The City

So it was bound to happen. I had my first real bad experience in Portland, Actually its kind of good, now I know its a normal city just like anywhere else in America, just weirder. We we over by VooDoo Donuts. Jenni didn’t have her Sunday donuts so she wanted to go there before we headed down to Eugene. We heard a lot about this place so we looked forward to going there. The first time we went it was on Saturday afternoon when we arrived here. The line was out the door and half way down the block (it actually jutted out into the street before turning back onto the sidewalk.) So Jen decided that she would rather go on Monday before we took the train south. After we checked out of The Jupiter we headed over to Amtrak to get rid of our bags. Then it was over to VooDoo. Smaller line than Saturday and we joined the queue. I wasn’t going to have any (no offense against VooDoo but I’m trying to eliminate that type of food from my diet.) so I sat on a bench outside the shop.

Before I go on I need to explain for those who have never been to Portland. There are a lot of homeless people here and many of them are not mentally sound. The state has no public facilities for the mentally ill. The state is broke. This area we were in is a habitat for them. What makes this even stranger is this part of town is littered with strip clubs and porno theaters. And a bunch of soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless. Its bizarre to walk past tittie bar and then Catholic Charities next door, but hey its Portland. Someone told me (or maybe I read it somewhere) that there are more strip clubs in Portland than any where else in America. Supposedly, its protected in the state constitution (I really need to check that out.) OK, you now can see what kind of place this area of the city is. Think Times Square in the 70s but not as dangerous, although just short of a war zone I don’t know any place as dangerous as New York in the 70s.
Back to Monday morning. So, we’re all on line waiting and we begin to hear this guy screaming. Across the street is this bald guy, I’d say late 20s maybe early 30s, topless carrying his shirt and what appeared to be his coat(?) running up and down the street. He’s screaming and cursing almost like he’s fighting with someone. He runs up the street then shows up next to us by a porno theatre, which by the way specializes in Japanese Anime Porn. He’s screaming and banging on garbage cans. Every now and then he squats down and pounds on his head. He looks to me like he’s crashing off of something, like meth. He’s obviously in a lot of pain. I feel really bad for him but at the same time this is a really scary moment here. He’s probably capable of anything violent. He walks through the line and back again. People are beginning to look frightened. He runs across the street (which by the way is a very wide street) a continues is screaming. I begin to notice that NO ONE makes an effort to pick up their phones and call the police. In fact the police are no where to be seen. Now he runs back toward the store. Right at me. I’m sitting on a bench with my back to the wall. I have my camera bag around my shoulder resting on the bench, Jennifer’s back is at my feet and I have my camera in my hands resting on my lap. I begin to panic thinking, great I’m going to spend the rest of my vacation in a hospital with a broken face or at the very least in jail for smashing his head in with my camera (this is also where I began to think, oh why did I rent a $2000 lens?) He stops about three feet in front of me and does his squat thing, still screaming. About that time the owner, or an employee, of VooDoo comes out and begins to guard us. As Screaming Bald Man comes closer he walks out toward him, warding him off. He has a cell phone in his hand. Obviously he’s protecting his interests: his business and customers. Screaming Bald Man runs off and around the corner. VooDoo Guy walks back toward the door and says: “There is a reason why they call this the crotch of Portland.” Of course he comes back screaming and cursing again and VooDoo Guy protects his turf once again (yeah, this is beginning to sound like a National Geographic Story.) Finally, Jenni comes out with a bag of donuts and walks up to me realizing that I’m upset. She was inside during the charging incedent. So I explain that I just had a really unsettling experience that had left me confused and some what frightened. By the time we get the corner a cop shows up and VooDoo Guy flags him down. I think he might have called him because the cop drove around several times looking intently out of his car. We managed to get out of there, walking about two blocks out of the way to avoid the screaming guy.

I think what disturbed me is no one seemed to lift a finger, myself included, to get help. It was as if we all just hoped he would just go away. Go have your meltdown somewhere else but not here, we’re trying to buy donuts. The owner (or employee) was concerned about the safety of his customers and rightfully so. Which is my point. How did, or does a city, get to the stage where this is an everyday occurrence? A norm that results in one’s business being located in “the crotch” of the city. It was a scary moment for me as I wasn’t prepared for that kind of behavior, even though we’ve seen homeless all over Portland all weekend (they’re not like the bums in New York that harass you at every moment. You might get a few asking for change but generally they leave you alone.) I know we’re in a really bad recession right now, The Great Recession, but there is no excuse for a city or a state to allow people to live on the streets. They, especially the mentally ill, need to taken care of. Thats what you pay taxes for, the ones that fall into the deep cracks of our economy. At the same time when a city is trying to remake itself into a better, more productive and efficient place to work and live this is a recipe for a social disaster. My biggest fear for Portland is that one election cycle they will elect a “Giuliani” that will clean up the city with devastating consequences for those that are really just victims of our economy.
Well thats just my fucking two cents, take it for what its worth. Please, feel free to comment.