I feel like starting with Portland was a tactical move based on the tough guy mentality that it’s just a bunch of hippies and soccer moms, so it should be quick and we’ll look like we won almost immediately.
But the tactic backfired because if they can just outlast you, then you just look like an asshole who beats up hippies and soccer moms.
If he’d chosen some other city, they might have reached a flashpoint quickly and then you can quell the violence and you also win that way.
The error was underestimating the strength of people who don’t choose fighting as a first response. It often takes more strength to turn down a fight, especially in a society like ours that glorifies combatants and the victors.
This, by the way, is my observations that were validated by my Marine Corps Veteran husband.
Brook Art Human. A story, a yarn, a line, a shape 
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