[guest post by Dana]

This report, by Kale Williams of Oregon Live, refers to the victim, photo-journalist and editor at Quillette Andy Ngo as a right-leaning provocateur, just in case you were looking for something to justify the violent attack on him. And don’t forget, he willingly went into the potentially violent situation in order to do some reporting, so, you know, shouldn’t have worn that short skirt:

Despite a large showing — left-wing protesters showed up in the hundreds while right-wing demonstrators numbered only a few dozen — Saturday featured only a few isolated flashpoints of violence. Still, one of them has garnered outsized attention with many in conservative circles condemning the mayor and police for perceived inaction in the face of violence.

Andy Ngo, a right-leaning provocateur with online news and opinion outlet Quillette, which identifies Ngo as an editor and photojournalist, went to the left-wing demonstration around noon on Saturday. Around 1:30 p.m., Ngo was attacked by a group of masked individuals who kicked, punched and threw milkshakes at him. He quickly left the scene and was admitted to a local hospital, he said on Twitter.

Pictures he posted after the attack show cuts and bruises to his face and neck as well as what appears to be the remnants of milkshake coating his hair and clothing.

The “milkshake” that landed on Ngo was quite possibly made of quick-drying cement, according to the Portland P.D. Michelle Malkin tweeted late this afternoon that Ngo remains hospitalized. He is reportedly suffering from a “brain bleed”.

And, in what is becoming all too familiar:

Police were lined up along the perimeter of the park before the attack, but no one intervened to break up the fight. Late Saturday, police reported that three people had been arrested, including one for assault, but it was unclear if that person had anything to do with the attack on Ngo.

Here is the “right-leaning provocateur” doing uh, you know, his job yesterday (Photos via Michelle Malkin):

The response from Big Media has been thin at best. A search at the New York Times and the Washington Post links me to a the same AP report. A search of the Los Angeles Times drew a blank. Several mainstream reporters have condemned the attacks:

Even @MrAndyNgo's critics should have no trouble saying this: The assault against him was unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/VLKc4M0P05

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 30, 2019

Anyway, the deafening silence from prominent members of the media who have been raging of late about unfair treatment toward those in their profession, is telling. The danger of assuming the moral high ground is that eventually the smug stance will be tested. This is very often followed by an ungracious tumble down from their vaunted position. Too many people in certain professions just seem to be consistently blind to their own soul-crushing hypocrisy. Journalists, as a whole, respect colleagues who take risks to write stories and report on any number of issues. Yet when a photo-journalist who thinks about things differently, is violently attacked while reporting on a group of dangerous thugs is met with silence from the very same people who are outraged at the mistreatment of those in media, hypocrisy is again exposed. And it doesn’t stop there: The victim is blamed and vile suggestions are made that victimization was his goal all along.

Here are how three news sources framed their tweets about the attack and evidenced that no one at these outlets is aware of the “left-wing” and “far-left”:

Also, here is video of the attack, provided by Jim Ryan of the Oregonian:

First skirmish I’ve seen. Didn’t see how this started, but @MrAndyNgo got roughed up. pic.twitter.com/hDkfQchRhG

— Jim Ryan (@Jimryan015) June 29, 2019

Malkin is spearheading a GoFundMe campaign for Andy Ngo here.

UPDATE: Portland’s Mayor Ted Wheeler addressed the violence this weekend in a string of tweets. Nowhere does he mention Andy Ngo and his sustained injuries, nor anyone else who was also victimized at the “protests”. Basically it’s the standard, toothless string of word vomit that elected officials churn out when compelled to say something. Anyway, I’m sure he feels good about it:

Portland has always been a beacon of free speech. We are proud of that history.

But in the last couple of years, some have increasingly used their opportunity to exercise their 1st amendment rights, as an opportunity to incite violence.

Over the weekend some chose to engage in violence in Portland, which is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

We stand against all forms of violence – regardless of someone’s political leanings.

Portland police officers have the unenviable task of keeping the peace. It’s a difficult job and hard decisions are made in real-time.

While we continue to learn more about what transpired over the weekend, we will keep you informed.

We will do everything we can to make sure that those who have committed violence are held accountable.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

It is the third Sunday after Pentecost. Today we have a Bach cantata, and then a special treat: an offering to God written by yours truly, many years ago, but newly transcribed and turned into a MIDI file.

It’s probably a bad idea to put my own offering up in the same post as one from Bach. But my piece was inspired by Bach, so it’s appropriate even if it makes the contrast in quality too obvious.

Let’s start with today’s Bach cantata: “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen” (Weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing). This is a lovely live performance:

Today’s Gospel reading is Luke 9:51-62:

Samaritan Opposition

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

The text of today’s piece is available here. It contains these words:

Cross and crown are bound together,
struggle and reward are united.
Christians have at all times
their suffering and their enemy,
yet their comforts are Christ’s wounds.

I follow after Christ,
I will not let go of Him
in prosperity and hardship,
in life and mortality.
I kiss Christ’s shame,
I will embrace His cross.
I follow after Christ,
I will not let go of Him.

Bach used the beginning of first chorus for the Crucifixus portion of the Credo in his Mass in B minor:

That makes for a nice tie-in to my piece, which was inspired by Bach’s Mass in B minor.

The current setting of my piece is for string quartet. It’s a piece I always envisioned being sung by a choir, but I would have to transpose it to a different key (which I may do in the future) for that purpose, as the notes don’t fit the usual vocal ranges of a church choir. I warn you that it is somewhat rhythmically monotonous, but I like the various resolution of the different dissonances — and I hope that for a 2 1/2 minute piece, you find that it has an arc to it that makes up for the dirge-like rhythm.

Here is the score:

[pdf-embedder url=”https://patterico.com/app/uploads/2019/06/Offering.pdf”]

And here it is as performed by a wooden MIDI string emsemble:

I always saw it as a Kyrie, since the very beginning was inspired by the Kyrie from Bach’s B minor mass. Here are a few seconds from the Kyrie from Bach’s B minor mass so you can see the similarity of the opening:

Happy listening! Soli Deo gloria.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]