A protester tried to emulate Kendall Jenner by giving the mayor a can of Pepsi... and got arrested
Shockingly, that ad might've had it wrong
Just a day after Kendall Jenner showed the world that its differences could be solved if you gave Pepsi to police, a protester has been filmed being arrested for doing just that.
Portland mayor Ted Wheeler can be seen shouting “Not a good move!” as a young minority protester approaches the city council dais with a can of the international cola of peace. Two city security officers rapidly rush in from the wings and escort the man away, evidently worried he’s trying to draw a weapon.
Carlos Enrique, who identifies himself as a former journalist for the Boston Herald, said he was making an attempt to translate “the language of resistance” to the council, which has been subjected to months of innovative protests at the American city’s perceived lack of help for the homeless.
Dozens of activists have been protesting Portland City Council meetings for months, longer than Wheeler has even been in power. But while previously the protests had been raucous affairs designed to shut the meetings down, last month the mayor decided disruptive individuals would be removed by council security, forcing protesters to change tack, using poetry readings and organised silences as new weapons.
It’s not accident that Enrique attempted to give the mayor a drink – yesterday, Pepsi launched and then withdrew a major new advertising campaign staring reality TV star Jenner, in which she could be seen diffusing police hostility with a refreshing stash of soda. The campaign was roundly attacked on social media across the world for its insensitivity, especially in the face of the police brutality that is often a fixture at protests.
