EDITORIAL: Where DSM Stands
Well, we think it’s only right that we acknowledge “the elephant in the room:” we’ve published three new articles since announcing, at the beginning of September, that we would shut down our operations.
Simply put, we felt that we did not have a choice.
When the confrontation with the armed counter-protester occurred during the “Free Palestine Rally and March” on Oct. 21, Double Sided Media’s photographer Robert Scherle captured the entire confrontation, frame-by-frame, through 300+ shots off his Canon EOS-1D X Mark III.
It was all there in black-and-white. What had happened was indisputable.
But, like expected, law enforcement agencies will always have their own unique version of events — and this was no different.
The Eugene Police Department was quick to take credit where, frankly, none was due. They did not stop a masked Jonathan Wisbey from blocking the march with this GMC Sierra 2500 pickup truck nor did they stop him from shooting a reported six-to-seven gel-rounds from a Smith and Wesson M&P paintball handgun towards the pro-Palestine protesters.
In reality, it was concealed-carrying protesters who did so. Not only did the two individuals act swiftly in defense of the 200+ protesters but they also de-escalated the situation. All of this prior to EPD even showing up — even if it may have only been a matter of seconds.
Expectedly, we knew that the local news were going to parrot EPD’s watered-down version and that it was imperative we present—and document—the true sequence of events. So we did.
In doing so, however, we had decided that it would be a one-off with a companion piece covering the rest of the protest.
To say our reporting of what happened was received well is an understatement. The support, and engagement, we received during the following 24-hours was unlike any other during DSM’s entire existence.
At the same time this was happening, we received a half dozen-or-so messages from community members who were validly angry about something else: another noose in Springfield’s Thurston neighborhood and the local media’s KEZI 9’s ignorant and repugnant reporting that attempted to rewrite history as if 2020 didn’t happen.
So, as we were there, we published an article to set the historical record straight.
Naturally, this raises the question: what does all of this mean for the future of DSM? Truth is, we don’t quite know other than we will remain semi-defunct until those moment(s) in which it is evident that we are both needed and have something of value to say.
Until then, be well and be safe.
Hey is there any chance that you could add ActivityPub support for this website? WordPress has an extension that would support this, and it would allow for people on for example Mastodon to leave comments and share articles.
Hi! We will look into this, yes. Thank you for reaching out with the recommendation!