Excellently written, hilarious yet potent.

how much r the tickets going to cost?

Wow, how incredibly fucking ignorant. I used to go to low rider shows back in New Mexico all the time, and you know what? It was always a family friendly atmosphere. There was good food, music, cars, and people that love cars, and that's it. There weren't any gunfights, piñatas, chihuahuas, or whatever other stereotypes PPD's imagination would attribute to such an event. Sorry to burst your bubble Portland, but Mexicans really are just people.

By way of explanation for this year's aggressive pre-event police PR strategy: I think there were gang-related skirmishes and posturing at last year's event, which ended up closing early, and afterwards, a bunch of kids piled out onto MLK where there were confrontations with the police.

Of course, it's debatable whether the confrontations were the result of a heavy police presence in the first place. This year, the mayor's gang violence task force even had a special meeting in advance of the event. But does giving an event this kind of press attention and build up really help? Or would a different, more under-stated strategy work better?

Thanks for the history on the event Matt. My first post was based on a knee-jerk assumption, without knowing all the facts. Still, I have to wonder what the differences were between my experiences back in NM, and the boneheadedness that seemed to prevail at last year's event in PDX? Although, I don't recall there really being any significant police presence at any of the events I attended, I can't imagine that the mere presence of cops would be enough to cause the problems you mentioned. Regardless, I too think that perhaps a more nuanced approach is needed, not just in this situation, but in PPD's methods in dealing with the public in general. Somehow, I just don't think sending out a press kit that essentially says, "we're keeping an eye on you" is going to go over too well.

I remember there being problems at last years and when it flowed out into MLK, I believe there was some shootings and I want to say someone was shot, but I could likely be incorrect.

Update: Early reports suggest there was one minor skirmish and two guns were taken from the crowd, but that whatever approach they took, the PPB managed to avoid any serious problems.