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This is psychological warfare.
It is deliberate. It is organised. It is exhausting. It is designed to exhaust people and keep them anxious.
It is torture. https://twitter.com/fromzerotojeo/status/1274963896651198468">https://twitter.com/fromzerot...
It is deliberate. It is organised. It is exhausting. It is designed to exhaust people and keep them anxious.
It is torture. https://twitter.com/fromzerotojeo/status/1274963896651198468">https://twitter.com/fromzerot...
First, they tried psychological operation of having cops kneel or otherwise show what appeared as sympathy to protesters. That was very quickly debunked, both by observers and by the actions of the police immediately after the propaganda was created.
This is the tactic now.
This is the tactic now.
Goals here are clear: make people fear an omnipresent threat, prime them for the impending violence, and keep them exhausted and anxious to undermine resistance.
Folks like @SonofBaldwin, who& #39;s been tracking this, and @_pem_pem, who& #39;s investigating it, are doing important work.
Folks like @SonofBaldwin, who& #39;s been tracking this, and @_pem_pem, who& #39;s investigating it, are doing important work.
The rush to reopen is coincidental to this, but plays a role in determining these tactics: forcing people to worry about their immediate health as well as conform to particular routines and schedules keeps populations controlled.
Same with reimposed lockdowns, when they come.
Same with reimposed lockdowns, when they come.
This is not to say that we should disregard public health advice or a (pre)cautionary approach to the pandemic, but instead that community care networks and mutual aid are vital to combat state power, not to mention the state& #39;s claim to legitimate authority.
We have to care.
We have to care.
We know, though, that the leaders in cities and other polities are more concerned about order than public health because they& #39;ve allowed - even, encouraged - chemical irritants to be used on protestors.
They& #39;re also risking public health by exhausting people.
They don& #39;t care.
They& #39;re also risking public health by exhausting people.
They don& #39;t care.
We need to emphasise affective solidarity, too. This means sympathising and empathising with one another. This means taking care of each other& #39;s material, psychological, emotional, etc. needs.
The tactics being used by police are designed to undermine cooperation and community.
The tactics being used by police are designed to undermine cooperation and community.
They want people to blame their neighbours, kids, others in their community for making noise. They want people to be thinking individually about how they can& #39;t sleep because of "some people" exhibiting disruptive behaviour.
That& #39;s why proving that this is happening is vital.
That& #39;s why proving that this is happening is vital.
There& #39;s also the element of trying to demonstrate their own utility, a supposed "community need" or "social need" for policing.
Create a problem, refuse to solve it until people comply, assert control.
Create a problem, solve it, show the importance of the institution.
Create a problem, refuse to solve it until people comply, assert control.
Create a problem, solve it, show the importance of the institution.
The risk here, of course, is when they& #39;re exposed for creating the problem in the first place - much like when cops plant evidence - they undermine public confidence.
They don& #39;t care, though, because they& #39;ll just respond with increased physical force, lethal force.
They don& #39;t care, though, because they& #39;ll just respond with increased physical force, lethal force.
I know @SonofBaldwin was highlighting cases, too, of (suspected) fire department involvement.
That& #39;s not a surprise. It& #39;s a substantially more trusted institution than the police, but one that works in tandem.
Wait until random fire alarms start going off without response.
That& #39;s not a surprise. It& #39;s a substantially more trusted institution than the police, but one that works in tandem.
Wait until random fire alarms start going off without response.
The great irony of state power is that it will tear itself apart, rip its own legitimacy to shreds before it ever concedes.
So long as no alternatives are deemed viable, it can still rule over the ruins.
That& #39;s why we need to support each other and build networks together.
So long as no alternatives are deemed viable, it can still rule over the ruins.
That& #39;s why we need to support each other and build networks together.
