A commissioner insisted that a contractor remove a “white supremacist” symbol from his truck while he completed a job for the City. Unfortunately, she wasn’t expecting his response.
Despite wasting taxpayer money by calling the police over trivial issues on her off time, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty is brazenly anti-police in the public eye. In fact, she has proudly supported the “defund the police” initiative, smearing law enforcement as a strong arm for white supremacy.
Given her hardline stance, it wasn’t any surprise that Hardesty gave an ultimatum to a contractor when she was made aware of a display she considers “deeply offensive.” However, she was even more perturbed by the company’s response to her demand.
Jay Parasco, who serves as the secretary of a far-left non-profit organization called Street Roots, posted a photo of the truck in question. Parasco notified Hardesty that the Oregon Concrete Solutions truck was displaying a dollar bill-sized Thin Blue Line flag sticker, which he considered unacceptable.
“Want to make sure @JoAnnPDX is aware that @PBOTinfo is using city funding for Oregon Concrete Solutions to work on Hawthorne and 32nd while prominently displaying white supremacist symbols on their vehicles,” Parasco tweeted.
Hardesty and the Portland Bureau Of Transportation acted immediately, asking the contractor to remove the decal before continuing their work for the City, according to Pamplin Media. However, after attempting to force the company into submission, Hardesty quickly realized she had no authority over the speech of a private contractor, and he knew his rights.
“My office and PBOT are aware that the ‘thin blue line’ flag is being displayed by a City contractor doing work for PBOTm” Hardesty wrote. “PBOT reached out to the contractor and asked them not to display the symbol while performing work for the City. Unfortunately, they declined, and we are limited in our ability to address this issue under our existing contracts and policies.”
In her explanation as to why she cannot legally censor a private company, Hardesty threw in some progressive propaganda falsely linking the Thin Blue Line to the racist ideology of white supremacy. Likewise, she deceptively insinuated that opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement equates to white supremacy.
“The thin blue line imagery is viewed by many in our community as a symbol of white supremacy that has been prominently displayed by those that oppose the Black Lives Matter racial justice movement and we understand this is causing distress in the community. You can count me as one of the many Portlanders that finds this imagery deeply offensive,” she wrote.
Hardesty said that her next focus will be “the lack of diversity in City contracts” as well as initiating “a systemic overhaul” to root out hidden racism.
Most disturbingly, Hardesty openly admits that she would censor citizens if not for the First Amendment. She suggests that those who disagree with the progressive agenda must be re-educated for the sin of wrongthink.
“At the end of the day, it is the values that this symbol represents that we must stand up against. If the contractor took down this symbol only as a performative measure after being asked by the City — it doesn’t change the hearts and minds of those who put it up. It is up to all of us to do the difficult educating and organizing so that people can see the world more empathetically,” she concluded.
Despite her anti-police stance, Hardesty has shown her hypocrisy by calling 911 on a Lyft driver who canceled the ride due to the commissioner’s belligerent behavior. Hardesty later blamed her fear of “white supremacists” and “being black in America” for her decision to call the police.
Hardesty continues to spread propaganda about the Thin Blue Line flag. The symbol has nothing to do with race or private citizens of any group. In fact, it has been in use since the 1950s to show support for law enforcement and honor those killed or injured in the line of duty.
It should concern every American, regardless of political belief, that someone in a position of such power is admitting to trying to find a way to circumvent constitutional rights in order to impose their own view.
