"keep portland weird" bumperstickers to promote a town is like shopping at Hot Topic to promote punk rock...it's just wrong...as a native portlander i've seen this city get more and more crowded and snobby over the years...portland isn't "weird", it's now becoming just a bit smaller than seattle and, like seattle, overrun with those who think that growth is a good thing. i'm with tom mccall on this one - visit but don't stay! the reason portland has the personality it does is because of its size and individuality of its people...it breaks my heart to see longtime icons like saturday market being pushed out of their longtime home and virginia cafe forced to move after so many generations to accommodate an unnecessary eyesore of a highrise...all the money spent on areas like the pearl and south waterfront, yet still in my woodlawn neighborhood of ne portland, it takes the police 2 hours to respond to a 911 call because there just aren't enough of them to patrol the area...we need to remember our roots and fight to preserve the personality by limiting growth and spending money on the communities we already have and the schools we already have and the environment that is being polluted by those who think they can't live without their gas guzzling SUV's...new bridges? good grief! let's show real love for portland by taking care of our own instead of pimping our town out to attract more outsiders. get out of your cars, get on the bus or your bike (or use your feet!), support your local businesses, take personal accountability for your schools, your community, your environment. one step at a time, it can be done.
stop the "keep portland weird" marketing
"keep portland weird" bumperstickers to promote a town is like shopping at Hot Topic to promote punk rock...it's just wrong...as a native portlander i've seen this city get more and more crowded and snobby over the years...portland isn't "weird", it's now becoming just a bit smaller than seattle and, like seattle, overrun with those who think that growth is a good thing. i'm with tom mccall on this one - visit but don't stay! the reason portland has the personality it does is because of its size and individuality of its people...it breaks my heart to see longtime icons like saturday market being pushed out of their longtime home and virginia cafe forced to move after so many generations to accommodate an unnecessary eyesore of a highrise...all the money spent on areas like the pearl and south waterfront, yet still in my woodlawn neighborhood of ne portland, it takes the police 2 hours to respond to a 911 call because there just aren't enough of them to patrol the area...we need to remember our roots and fight to preserve the personality by limiting growth and spending money on the communities we already have and the schools we already have and the environment that is being polluted by those who think they can't live without their gas guzzling SUV's...new bridges? good grief! let's show real love for portland by taking care of our own instead of pimping our town out to attract more outsiders. get out of your cars, get on the bus or your bike (or use your feet!), support your local businesses, take personal accountability for your schools, your community, your environment. one step at a time, it can be done.