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Did a little looking into what is behind SPAZ/RHAZ (Second Portland Autonomous Zone/Red House Autonomous Zone). https://twitter.com/Flickalooya/status/1337027132166385669
You will see images of a red house with boarded up windows & front door. A sad story. A family lived there, who had to pay big 
for legal representation for a family member. To afford this they took a 2nd mortgage.
for legal representation for a family member. To afford this they took a 2nd mortgage.
They had trouble making the repayments & after a series of refinancing arrangements were still unable to clear the debt. Something shonky happened and the debt was âsoldâ to a different financial institution who then decided to forclose.
The property has been purchased by a big developer who has plans to develop this block in this rapidly gentrifying area. It sounds to me like this family who were vulnerable in a number of ways have probably been exploited by powerful financial interests.
SPAZ has now galvanised around this issues which has been brewing resentment for months. As is common a legitimate protest against corruption has evolved into something serious & potentially very dangerous.
There are reports now of weapons stockpiling and the usual undisciplined anarchic behaviour that we saw in the previous attempts at autonomous zones. Sociopaths are drawn to these events as much as idealistic but naive revolutionaries.
I really hope the outcome is the financial institutions involved in this event are raked over the coals & the family in question is given every assistance to hold onto their property. Even if it gets in the way of city plans for gentrification.
I hope the details of the origin story of this protest are not lost to the ridiculous chaos & potentially dangerous antics we are about to see played out by lawless individuals.
The financial institutions involved & the Portland-based developer with Urban Housing Development LLC need to be kept in the spotlight.
