Some Tips For Protesting Safely
Photos by Taylor Oishi.
There’s a lot of bad shit going down in the USA.
That is the simplest way that I could think to express the collective feelings of our staff in LA and NYC. Every day, every hour, we inch toward facism, and not hyperbolic or rhetorical facism - not the facism you experience when your high school teacher tells you you can’t go be dismissed until the whole class quiets down - actual, genuine, murderous and vindictive facism. Our friends and neighbors and colleagues and wives and children who are in the legal processes of immigration are being seized by masked men and thrown into unmarked vans, brought to unknown locations, and are never heard from again. American citizens are being sent to countries they’ve never been to or heard of. Rights are being trampled, families are being torn apart, and the United States military has been deployed in Los Angeles to oppress its citizens. This is real, and it is happening, and we are standing up to it, and we know you likely will too, not only in LA, but across the country.
Throughout the week, we have shown up to peacefully protest in Downtown Los Angeles, sitting peacefully and quietly with signs on the sidewalk, and being dispersed with violence. Some of our contributors have been arrested, tear gassed, and maced. Our editor was shot four times with rubber bullets and trampled. Our friends were detained and ziptied overnight. Our families are abandoning their livelihoods to hide for fear of being kidnapped by federal agents despite being in the country legally.
The government is hurting us, here are a few things we’ve learned and thought we ought to share in case you decide to take to the streets this week - especially this Saturday, on Anti-King Day, during the military parade on Trump’s Birthday, when over a thousand counter protests will take place across the country - to keep you just a little bit safer.
Los Angeles is our home and it’s people are our people, and we are happy to fight for them, and happy that you are, too, but if you can’t be out in the streets, we’d like to point you toward JailSupportLA, a non-profit who helped to get us out of jail last night, gave all of us water, food, rides home, and legal support. They are a worthy organization if you can spare any funds whatsoever.
Don’t be a cunt:
Do not destroy things. Do not spray paint things. Do not throw bricks through windows. Do not cause harm. Causing harm and destruction is anti-capitalist and I understand that angry theory, but it undercuts the important message of the protest. The more you destroy, the more the news talks about you destroying shit, the less the news talks about the point of the protest, and this isn’t about you. Peacefully protest.
Wear a mask:
Not only does it protect your identity from potential bullshit prosecution or harassment at a later date, if gas starts flying, having a mask on (preferably an N95, but a bandana or a shirt if you must, just anything - will make enduring that gas a hell of a lot easier.
Wear goggles and ear protection:
When rubber bullets start flying, you do not want them flying at your eyes. Cops are trained to shoot low so as not to hit your face, but tell that to the guy with welts across his cheek we saw pinned to the ground yesterday. Additionally, police tend to use flashbang grenades to try and frighten a crowd and shift them over. Having ear plugs - professional or bits of cotton - will protect your ears from impact and harm, and will keep your head in the game.
Don’t run toward popping noises:
If shit goes down, either sit down peacefully and hold your space with your hands up, or go in the opposite direction of the pops. You are not going to win a fist fight against people with guns, don’t try to be a hero. Live to show up the next day, that is what’s most important.
Don’t use your phone:
If possible, don’t even bring your phone. Phones seized can be kept or destroyed, and there are electronic warrants that can allow the authorities to access your messages, phone calls, and other incriminating data. Additionally, if say, some assholes commit arson and you happen to be in the general area of that asshole when he does it, and your location services are running, suddenly there’s a court case to be made that perhaps you were involved. Leave it in the car if you can.
Say nothing, do nothing:
If you’re being cornered by cops like we were yesterday and you know you’re about to be arrested, do not fight or yell or struggle or do anything that can be twisted into resisting arrest. Speak only when spoken to and deliver only the necessary information being asked of you, and be wary of tricks. For example, if they ask you what you had for lunch, and you tell them, you’re admitting that you had lunch; if they ask you why you were obstructing the sidewalk, don’t say, ‘fuck you, bitch, and fuck your sidewalk I’ll do what I want this is my country I pay your fucking salary with my tax dollars fuck you fascist,’ even though it’d feel good, because you think you are standing up but really you are admitting that you were obstructing the sidewalk.
Don’t throw anything:
Ever. Don’t let anyone else throw anything either. Some cunt throws a water bottle at the cops, the cops open fire. Don’t fucking throw anything. You are there to protest, not to fight.
Help:
Treat it like a mosh pit: if you see someone go down, pick them up then get out of the way.
Bring supplies:
You’ll see people walking around with free bottles of water, masks, ear plugs, snacks - those are good people. Be one of those people, or at least have what you need in order to stand or sit in place for a couple of hours.
Don’t be scared:
For some of us, it was our first time at a protest of this size and scope, and it was petrifying. Being faced down by thousands of people with guns who all look at you like they want to hurt you, and who know that they can hurt you, and who you know that they know they can hurt you, is terrifying. But it is important to be there, and even though it is scary, you simply taking up space is the entire point. One of us asked the other, ‘so what do we have to do?’ and the answer was nothing. Just take up space, show that you care, show that you will show up for your neighbors and friends and family.
Sunscreen:
Sorry, Lizzie, you are a lobster now.
Sit in peace:
The absolute best move you can do in a pinch is to sit down in silence. Sometimes you have to run, and that’s fair, but for the times you can’t, you’re boxed in and the cops aren’t letting you out, sit down with your hands up, refusing to disperse, and be silent. The reason the authorities dress up in body armor and bring ten cops for every one protestor is to intimidate you into either doing something they can arrest you for or to scare you into not protesting ever again, and the way to combat that attempt at intimidation is through disciplined lack of fear. You are unafraid, you sit, you are calm. It not only sends a message to them, but to the world that you aren’t rioters, you are peaceful and are being oppressed, and in a time like this, messaging is important.
