Deleted all the stupid comments. Here’s some practical advice from a actual street medic who spent a chunk of 2020-2021 in jail for protesting:
1 never use plywood or anything so heavy/splinterable for signs or protest shields. Invest time in making a battlejacket, arm shields, and shin shields.
2 you cannot stop a police horse by pressing on its chest. Get out the way. I don’t care what that pink haired rich white kid on tiktok said. Those things are trained to bowl you over and trample you; get out the way.
3 if you wanna trash the cop shields and masks, mix sand, finely crushed (used up) light bulbs, and paint and fill heavy duty water balloons with them (or condoms). If you’re good, these projectiles can be launched from a t shirt gun. When the cops go to clean their gear, the sand and finely crushed glass gouges the face shields/riot shields beyond repair. They must now spend money and time getting new ones, and meanwhile, they’re in short supply for the next riot. Be warned that if you get caught with these (in the USA), they will likely try to charge you with domestic terrorism. Be smart.
4 cover your face and all distinctive tattoos/birthmarks/scars. Don’t post pictures of yourself or others at the protest. It’s not a block party. They arrested a woman who set a cop car on fire because they had a pic of her tattoo and traced her unique shirt from an etsy purchase. Read “In Defense Of Smashing Cameras” and tell photojornos to fuck off; break their cameras if you have to. They will get people killed
5 cops lie. If you get bagged (again us centric advice), keep your mouth shut. It’s “I invoke the 5th” and “I invoke my right to legal counsel” on repeat no matter what they say or do.
6 stop dumping milk in people’s fucking eyes for tear gas. Not only do this mark darker skinned people for arrest, it’s inviting infection. Use only sterile water or saline solution on the face and in the eyes. (Likewise do not dump baking soda solutions in people’s eyes; while this is good for skin below the neck that has been affected by tear gas, it can scratch the cornea of the eye)
7 DO NO HARM. if you are not trained in CPR, how to use a tourniquet, how to intubate someone, tal tal tal, don’t try. Never try to treat people above your skill level because you could seriously injure them instead.
8 riots are often outpourings of grief, anger, built up resentment at oppressive systems. They are truly the language of the unheard but the riot is not where the majority of the work happens; don’t wait until people are rioting in the streets of your town. Plug in to your local outreach; find something to get passionate about, whether it’s feeding people, gardening for sustainability, legal aid for immigrants, housing and rent relief, etc.
discoholicmusic
2087
snowghoul
stormborns
janainaart
gummygunk
