I truly do not understand why multiple people are coming out with REALLY antagonistic responses to what was a genuine question. I haven't encountered white supremacist agitators at protests and wouldn't know how to respond, I said "humor me" because seasoned protestors ALWAYS RESPOND LIKE THIS...
Your second mistake being equating the concept of a peaceful protest with the advice of “sitting when violence escalates”— those two things aren’t synonymous.
You can protest peacefully and also defend yourself and others if things go awry.
This advice is all over social media. I am not the one who wrote it. I asked because I've been to peaceful protests, including sit ins, that I'd consider successful. I get that it won't apply in this scenario. There are many comments to that effect. I'm annoyed because people are being assholes...
...about a genuine question. From experience I know this will turn off those who have the same question and want to protest but now feel like more seasoned protesters don't have their backs and would rather they not be there. This holier than thou attitude is NOT how you get more people involved...
"'Humor me' is a phrase used when someone asks another person to indulge or tolerate their request, even if it seems unnecessary or silly. It implies that the speaker is looking for a little understanding or cooperation, often in a lighthearted way."
Like I'm so stupid for thinking a strategy that peaceful protests employ might work in a different scenario. Thanks to those of you who kindly explained why that's not the case. Everyone else, could you maybe read a little further on in the thread before you bite my head off? Please and thank you.
Sitting or kneeling puts you in a great position to eat mace and less-lethals because you can't dodge and have less body mass to aim at, so a lot of that shit's going right to your head
You know, the place you really *don't* want to take a rubber ball going near Mach speeds.
I didn't consider how sitting could change the lethality of rubber bullets and other weapons used by the police/national guard/etc. Thank you for bringing it up. I think the main takeaway is that peaceful protest tactics have just fully gone out the window, at this point they're a bad idea period.
I mean, obviously, you don't want to go antagonizing the cops, because that's gonna bring shit down on you even faster, but you should expect them to assault and detain you pretty much regardless of what you do and plan accordingly
I hear that. I live in a "safe" blue state where peaceful protests (like sit ins) HAVE been successful, in my lifetime. That's the only reason I asked. My takeaway is that I shouldn't expect this protest to be anywhere near peaceful. I'm honestly more worried about the national guard, but we'll see.
Chump? I'm asking genuine questions so I can learn from people who've been in dangerous situations at protests because, while I have protested, I've never been worried about white supremacists purposefully causing issues. I said "humor me" because in my experience seasoned protesters think those...
...of us who aren't as experienced are SO STUPID for asking genuine questions that we don't know the answers to, just like you're doing by calling me "chump." It makes us really REALLY not want to go out and protest because it's the people on OUR SIDE who are being condescending and antagonistic.
Bud, if you are running away from a fight against fascism because of being called 'chump', then we may not want you in the frontlines. Go work at the dem party campaign. You sound exactly like one of their political campaign consultants.
Who said I'm running away? I'm a disabled WOC and former kindergarten teacher. I'll go to every fucking rally and protest I want. GOD FORBID I ask a genuine question before attending what's bound to be the most dangerous protest I've ever attended. What I take issue with are the antifa nuts who...
...can't fathom that others come in with a different set of experiences and might want to have a friendly discourse (key word FRIENDLY) to learn from others and try to stay safe. Please stop doing this. It truly turns people off protesting and that's only hurting the cause. Have the day you deserve.
Everyone including me just answered your question. Now go and sacrifice yourself to the fascist pigs. I hope they will appreciate the easy target practice dummies.
That's it!? That's how far your solidarity goes to, my lib friend? Well, thank you for this nice conversation. Hopefully you folks don't throw a new minority group under the bus for personal gains. Bye and good luck! 👍
But those are cops (or feds or whatever) and the person who posted is suggesting using this strategy if proud boys or the like show up. Would it be an effective strategy to use if other civilians are the ones trying to incite violence (if you can even tell)? Or is it just never a good idea, period?
Providing a clear and stationery target is never a good idea. If there are any agent agent provocateurs in a protest, the best solution would be to isolate them by moving away from them.
No, they're saying use this tactic if the proud boys do a false flag and the police start kicking people's asses. This is instruction on how to commit suicide by cop.
Thanks for clarifying. I also saw someone post the "kettle" scenario, which says if police try to surround/trap you, to immediately turn and go back the way you came. But there are other situations/things to consider and I really would like to hear as many as possible before we head out on Saturday!
As someone who was on the front lines of the George Floyd protests take it from me, if cops start getting violent, they will beat the shit out of anyone in front of them, and if you're sitting prone on the ground they're gonna kill you like they did that reporter lady up here. Stay mobile.
If this is your first time doing anything like this, I do think there's a smaller chance for violence at the no kings stuff, but it's not zero. And I still wouldn't recommend bringing any smart devices.
Sitting down in a mass crowd of people is simply *incredibly dangerous* from a "getting trampled" perspective. It's like telling someone to sit down in the middle of a mosh pit.
I think that may be part of the disconnect between myself and some of the people responding to this question.
Obviously sitting down in a throng of people with cops etc on horseback or w/ riot gear is a terrible idea. The thing is, our local protest is sadly not expected to become a "mass crowd."
Protests here have seemingly had success by using pacifist strategies. Now that I'm thinking about it, probably BECAUSE they're small. But I've no idea what will happen this time or if we're even going to stay local so I appreciate your perspective, it helps me plan for other possibilities. Thanks!
I was only thinking "peaceful protests have successfully used this tactic, why wouldn't it work?" But that's been thoroughly explained. I don't want to be rude but the onslaught of comments with a "you're so dumb for asking this" tone are getting to me. I get it now. No need for more explanations.
Comments
Gotcha.
You can protest peacefully and also defend yourself and others if things go awry.
The police won’t differentiate between you and a Proud Boy.
They’ll attack you regardless. That’s what they’ve been doing.
Next time, drop the “humor me” attitude, maybe?
“Humor me” is not a good way to start any good faith conversation.
It makes you sound like the “change my mind” Steven Crowder meme.
"'Humor me' is a phrase used when someone asks another person to indulge or tolerate their request, even if it seems unnecessary or silly. It implies that the speaker is looking for a little understanding or cooperation, often in a lighthearted way."
You know, the place you really *don't* want to take a rubber ball going near Mach speeds.
Tear gas is also heavier than air and you will breathe more of it when you're closer to the ground.
Sitting down in a mass crowd of people is simply *incredibly dangerous* from a "getting trampled" perspective. It's like telling someone to sit down in the middle of a mosh pit.
Obviously sitting down in a throng of people with cops etc on horseback or w/ riot gear is a terrible idea. The thing is, our local protest is sadly not expected to become a "mass crowd."