Good morning, let’s get started with some quick reminders about how to be #RiotSafe while we change the world.
1/25
1/25
1) Masks On – we are still fighting COVID and there are cameras. Put your mask on for safety. 2/25 #RiotSafe
2) No Identifying Clothing – wear plain clothes with no workplace logos, names, or school names on them so hostile groups cannot track you.
3/25 #RiotSafe
3/25 #RiotSafe
3) No Pictures Of Faces – unless someone is being suspicious, no pics of protestors’ faces. No pics without consent.
4/25 #RiotSafe
4/25 #RiotSafe
The idea here is making it difficult for hostile groups to track down individual protestors after the marches.
5/25 #RiotSafe
5/25 #RiotSafe
4) Daytime protests tend to be safer, but we know cops will teargas, pepper spray, and shoot everyone including children.
Plan for the worst.
6/25 #RiotSafe
Plan for the worst.
6/25 #RiotSafe
5) Come Prepared – A change of clothes in a plastic bag in your backpack, water, milk for pepper spray. Good walking shoes.
7/25 #RiotSafe
7/25 #RiotSafe
6) Have An Exit – If you go with friends or alone make sure you have a clear plan for getting home safe. Park away from the march.
This is extra important if you have a wheelchair or other mobility aid. Planning ahead keeps you safe.
8/25 #RiotSafe
This is extra important if you have a wheelchair or other mobility aid. Planning ahead keeps you safe.
8/25 #RiotSafe
7) Learn From Others – Check out the Hong Kong Riots and the Arab Spring for ideas on countermeasures to police violence.
Even if you are going to a peaceful protest, plan for the police to react violently.
9/25 #RiotSafe
Even if you are going to a peaceful protest, plan for the police to react violently.
9/25 #RiotSafe
Orange traffic cones, hard hats, and umbrellas… they really come in handy when the police get violent.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/hong-kong-tear-gas-water-bottle.html">https://slate.com/news-and-...
10/25 #RiotSafe
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/hong-kong-tear-gas-water-bottle.html">https://slate.com/news-and-...
10/25 #RiotSafe
8) Not Everyone Marches – Police violence is an intersectional crime and not every victim of police brutality can march. Keep your rhetoric and speeches disability-friendly.
11/25 #RiotSafe
11/25 #RiotSafe
9) Other Supports – If you can’t safely go to a protest there are other ways to help. Here’s a short list…
- http://5Call.org"> http://5Call.org – call for reform
12/25 #RiotSafe
- http://5Call.org"> http://5Call.org – call for reform
12/25 #RiotSafe
- Support grassroots organizations and bail funds in your area
- Be the driver to and from the march
- Be someone’s safety call so people can report in that they are okay
13/25 #RiotSafe
- Be the driver to and from the march
- Be someone’s safety call so people can report in that they are okay
13/25 #RiotSafe
- Write, sing, speak, shout… whatever your sphere of influence allows make sure the people around you know that you do not support the police shooting anyone
14/25 #Riotsafe
14/25 #Riotsafe
10)White Specific Advice – If you are white and physically capable of taking the beating, you need to be between the police and everyone else.
15/25 #RiotSafe
15/25 #RiotSafe
If you are white, it’s your job to show up in support, but not to lead. Boost BIPOC voices.
Let BIPOC leaders lead.
16/25
#RiotSafe
Let BIPOC leaders lead.
16/25
#RiotSafe
If this sounds scary and strange I invite you to look up the history of policing and realize every Good Cop story you heard was probably a lie.
17/25 #RiotSafe
17/25 #RiotSafe
The American police system has been used to chase runaway slaves, drag abused women back to their husbands, break unions, and murder citizens. It’s not good.
18/25 #RiotSafe
18/25 #RiotSafe
Only 61% of murders in the USA are solved, and that’s the polices’ best crime-solving stat.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/194213/crime-clearance-rate-by-type-in-the-us/
19/25">https://www.statista.com/statistic... #RiotSafe
https://www.statista.com/statistics/194213/crime-clearance-rate-by-type-in-the-us/
19/25">https://www.statista.com/statistic... #RiotSafe
There is a Police Shooting Database if you feel unconvinced. So far there have been three days in 2021 with no police shootings.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/
21/25">https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/... #RiotSafe
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/
21/25">https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/... #RiotSafe
The police are not legally obligated to stop and help anyone. They are not responsible for protecting anyone. They are strictly there to enforce laws on a whim and with extreme brutality.
This thread covers most of it:
https://twitter.com/designmom/status/1270038204754919424
22/25">https://twitter.com/designmom... #RiotSafe
This thread covers most of it:
https://twitter.com/designmom/status/1270038204754919424
22/25">https://twitter.com/designmom... #RiotSafe
It’s important to know that marching and protesting alone won’t change the system. We’ve been marching and protesting for decades. My youngest child has never known a summer without marches and riots against police brutality.
23/25 #RiotSafe
23/25 #RiotSafe
We need to protest to make people pay attention. But we also need law-makers and social leaders to step in and demand change too. Marching is a way to gain attention to the cause. Voting (or running for office) is how you help make change.
24/25 #RiotSafe
24/25 #RiotSafe