“The most important thing to achieve,” says Williams, “is that you are presenting yourself in solidarity with other people. It is not your task to decide how things should go. It is your job to present themselves and listen and be in support. Depriorize yourself is an incredibly important part of the experience.”
Know your rights
In the United States, it is entirely in your rights demonstrate peacefully in public. The basic act of assembling and protesting against government actions is undoubtedly protected, according to the coalition of the first amendment, a non -profit organization of California that undertakes to protect freedom of speech. Furthermore, as a general question, “people have the right to film or document otherwise things that are happening in public space”, says David Snyder, director of the fac.
Having said that, if it is reduced to a matter of strength and you are physically overcome, you may have to evaluate the risks for your immediate personal security, potentially your notes or the phone undress and pursue legal action later. In addition, Snyder observes, the first amendment to the Constitution does not protect the demonstrators who engage in illegal activities, which includes the destruction of ownership or assault of other people.
According to the AcluYou are able to protest in government buildings with some warnings. Your freedom of wording are the strongest when protecting in the “traditional public forums” such as public roads and parks or on the sidewalks outside the government buildings. In addition, it is not possible to block access to government buildings or otherwise hinder the activities carried out in the building. (In addition to being very noisy, of course.)
Form a group
If you can avoid it, do not protest alone. It is important to go with at least another person so you can have mutual shoulders. There is strength in numbers. Know your “roles” inside the group before going so you can be prepared for anything. For example, perhaps one of you is ready to drive the group at home if the situation becomes risky, perhaps one of you has an emergency room formation, or perhaps one of you is hyper-observer and ready to monitor the surrounding environment to keep an eye on the atmosphere. Stay close to your group. Meet in advance, stay together all the time and leave the protest together. If you don’t have a group, check the social media sites: there are probably discussions where you can find people to meet with locally.
Make a plan
There will be many people and many emotions. You must have a plan for what to do if the situation intensifies. Choose a place to meet if your group is separated for a certain period of time. (For example, if you separate for more than 30 minutes, you meet in a designated road corner.) It could be intelligent to have some points to meet in case one is inaccessible. You should also have multiple routes scheduled if you need to leave and the roads are blocked. Is there a curfew in which you live? Have previous protests in your city intensified to violence? Will there be portable bathrooms room along the way or should you map the places to relieve yourself after suffocating the water all day? Prepare a floor.
Delete contact lenses
If you are exposed to tear gas or pepper spray, contacts will worsen the experience. Wear glasses if you have them. If you wear contacts, protect your eyes with sunglasses at a minimum, even if ideally you will wear glasses or you will keep them at hand. For the same reason, avoid wearing products or oil such as lotions, since irritants in the dispersion measures distributed by the police can comply with them.
Note emergency numbers
Notes the information of the emergency contacts. He notes the number of legal emergency consultants: separate law firms offer pro bono representation for the arrested demonstrators. Search for companies in your area. You may also want to write the number of a local bond fund. You should have two copies of these telephone numbers on your person: write them in the blocking hidden notes in the bag, on the edge of the shirt or on a note you keep in your pocket. By redundancy, you can also write them somewhere on your body (like the forearms), preferably in permanent marker.
While you are in the protest
Once you arrive and participate in your colleagues demonstrating, follow this advice on how to behave and how to be safe.
Study the surrounding environment
You can designate a certain person in your group to make this priority absolute, but regardless of who you are, you should maintain awareness of what is happening around you. This is important for numerous reasons. Anyone who wears steel boots, is a colorful arm and a auditory device, and also show the outline of the handcuffs in the pocket? That person could be A undercover policeman. Is anyone who brings a lot of supplies decorated with a large red cross? They could be a street doctor. Did a protester fell and got hurt during the march? Open eyes and ears will help you react faster when necessary.
Helps those around you
If you are marching, you will probably be in the immediate vicinity of some dozens of other demonstrators. These are the people you will sing with, walk and closer if the situation intensifies. Be friendly with them. Offer them water if you have an extra or keep their things as they bind your shoes. Solidarity can start in small. Remember that you are in a huge crowd; Suppose your actions are observed and that your words are listened to.
Do not vandalize
So you want to vandalize a waymm or a Tesla. Well, let’s start with the warning that Wired officially encourages you not to do it. Although you think that Teslas is extremely punishable in these days because of their association with Elon Musk, or that Waymos is a symbol of the Big Tech invasion in our society, vandalizing or breaking someone else’s property is, yes, against the law and you can face fines or legal actions to do it.
It is also important to keep in mind what happens in the aftermath of a windshield or spray painted disaster F-you. First of all, you could be identified by a vehicle integrated cameras. Being surprised to beat one of these cars involves more risks than normal. For example, the FBI studied attacks in Teslas as “domestic terrorism”. You could also draw the anger of extremists out there that go for Elon.
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