I am an 81-year-old woman who attended the Jan. 6 Day of Remembrance vigil at Monument Square in Portland. I understood that it was to be a peaceful and family-appropriate gathering. It was not.

As it happened, I found myself linking arms with another woman. We stood between the counterprotesters and an increasingly frustrated group of folks who wanted the deafening swearing to end. The two of us stood, determined to prevent violence. We were, it seemed, the only peacekeepers present.

The vile language continued. We stood determined to keep a counterprotester with a megaphone separated from those who wanted him to stop shouting, but we could not silence him. Did they have a permit to disrupt a peaceful gathering? I was hopeful that at any moment the police would show up and I would be relieved of standing, arms linked with another vigil participant, to prevent physical contact. Where were the police?

In my lifetime I have participated in many rallies and protests. Often, countering voices were present, but never did they swear or intimidate. We were often able to have a conversation. Not this time. These people were uncivilized. We cannot accept this behavior as a norm.

Susan Pastore
Portland