The things you see in Downtown

David "Rev Oni" Brown
Jun 24, 2017
3 min read

There are a few things you learn how to deal with when walking in Downtown Portland, panhandlers, canvassers, bar hoping bridal showers and street preachers. The later of these normally just stand there and speak their peace to anyone willing to listen and to be fair try not to be aggressive, there are exceptions of course. I had seen this individual in the Starbucks at the square where I had been waiting for a friend to arrive after an uneventful job interview and I noticed the large red bearded man with a gopro harness on his chest that made me chuckle because he looked like a submissive from a audio/video S&M club. With the recent attacks of White terrorist in Portland and around the country I was wary of him because I didn’t know what he would do, he kept looking around and every time he reached into his bag or into a back pocket of is camo cargo pants I steeled myself because I had this feeling he might be going for a gun or a knife and why I thought this of him I cannot pin point but all I knew is he had triggered warnings in my head.

I waited for my friend, I faced both him and the front door so I could see anything happen while I drank my overpriced Americano and practiced painting kanji in my notebook and read the Bushido shoshinshu . After a fair amount of time my friend had said that she would not be able to make it down to the café and suggested I go meet her at her apartment for refreshment and company, I packed up and as I was getting my bag packed the red haired man had a friend of his own come and sit by him to which he greeted the bald black man in jeans and a sweat shirt with a warm greeting and they sat and talked if each other was ready for the day. I had wondered what they would do for the day since I didn’t see a bike or skateboard that normally goes with the gopro cameras the gentleman had strapped to his chest I forgot about it for the rest of the day and went to go spend time with my friend and her two attention seeking cats.

After good company I again headed through Downtown to my MAX stop and passed a street preacher with grey hair, his bible and leather blazer, and as I laughed to myself not standing on a soap box but a step stool. He was non aggressive and smiled and greeted those that walked passed and even posed for me while I got a few pictures of him, seemed a gentle bloke.

Then I heard it.

The slightly distorted voice, the echo, that signaled cheap amplification and the words the destroyed me as a child and young adult, a fire and brimstone street preacher. Turns out my instincts where right about the Redbeard A/V Sub, there he was on the corner of SW 6th and SW Yamhill right across from potbelly sandwiches calling all of us sinners and law breakers while the bald black man stood guard by him. I was mesmerized by this; I apparently have surrounded myself with agnostic leanings and compassionate philosophies for too long because I forgot people like him still exist. I was reminded of myself when I was younger and still projecting my hatred of myself out towards those who were the dreaded nonbelievers but I still could not really get behind the words I said, Compassion is the only thing that matters not the right invisible man. I recorded a bit of his accusations posing as “The good word” on both the Zoom and my phone which you can here with a bit of my commentary on the podcast.

Happy news! Beer is still cold and I had a dark saison for the first time called The city that never sleeps and rather upset that it’s a limited release, GIGANTIC BREWING MAKE IT INTO SIX PACKS GAWDDAMMIT!!!!!!

Working out a few things for the Sunday show and also the format for the mid-week show since I do want there to be a distinction between the two and not always me ranting about how the world is screwed. Look for more beer reviews, comic book musings and perhaps and audio play, we’ll see.

I would like for you all to take a few moments to look at a few of the links here, one is for a go fund me for a dude down in San Diego that got paralyzed by a speeding douche bag and the other is for a band called Confess out of Iran, they are in a scary position with the theocratic legal system so if you can please raise awareness of their persecution and their music.