Demonstrations
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Demonstrations
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Police Hand-Cams
The pigs love to bring cameras to our events to frighten protesters. It is proven to greatly reduce crowd volatility when there is a cop waving the camera, it doesn't matter that the video is rarely cataloged or used for ID of anyone other than organizers or those who get violent. If you can foul the lense it will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the camera. Tiny breath spray canisters hide easily but only work up close, cooking spray will gunk the lense if you can judge the wind right, be careful they will probably give a good beatdown if they catch you. Failing that use your signs to block the pig-cam as much as possible.
Flash Mob
With proper warning the police have ample time to assemble thug teams and manage demonstrations reducing the effectiveness. With modern technology a flash mob can be quickly formed using SMS texting, email, instant messaging, or even a cleverly disguised signal by an insider on broadcast radio or television monitored by protesters. Those flash protesters need to have their demonstration gear ready to respond like an ambulance crew to the scene of the event. Organizers may do well to have hidden caches, bike trailers, or even vans ready to roll and full with plastic buckets for drums, screen printed signs, and radios or megaphones. Flash protesters can carry drumsticks, soft banners, and small radios with loud volume.
Signs
Your sign is also a shield from the cops if made correctly, choose a good piece of wood for the post and consider backing your posterboard with corrugated plastic like is used on election signs.
Have an intelligent but simple message on your sign, a confusing sign is worse than no sign. If you are an organizer use the plans in Starting a Printing Workshop to make a silkscreen and mass produce signs so you can easily convey a unified message in the print and TV media.
Keep a sense of humor when writing your protest signs. At an anti-war rally one of our contributors attended, one person held a sign reading "BETTER BENEFITS FOR OUR POLICE".
Radio
A small power-hacked FM transmitter is a way to communicate during a protest, revolutionary slogans or instructions can be sent from a transmitter hidden in a protest sign, bicycle, or other hiding place. Protesters can either blast your stuff with cheap boom-boxes or take orders with throw away transistor radios and headphones.
Trample Survival
In a large crowd a panic or greed reaction can turn regular movement into a trample. We have experienced dangerous out of control mobs mostly at concerts and at street protests. For experienced protesters teaching activist classes it is important to stress the importance of NEVER RUNNING AT A PROTEST. If the leadership is out in large enough numbers they can both marshal a slowdown and give the inexperienced protester a feeling of calm that will reduce the panicky desire to run for their life. The main causes of death and injury are either underfoot trample injuries or asphyxiation against walls or objects from the pressure of the crowd.
It is important to keep an eye on the mood of both the crowd and any potential catalyst like police lining up to charge, loading weapons, or just someone offering free concert swag. Just like in an avalanche it is important to have several locations nearby where there are obstacles to slow or stop a mob from running you over. If the crowd starts moving in one direction get to the edge where there is less pressure. Any kind of tanglefoot is potentially deadly in a push situation, if possible scout out the protest site for low obstacles and remove them. Use natural clues that a tripping hazard is coming such as parked cars or unbroken street signs to indicate a curb. Wear boots in any situation where a crowd is expected, many feet may step the back of your shoes or sandals removing them, this makes it difficult to stay standing in a moving crowd. It takes very strong legs and body weight to force your feet forward for every step, larger rebels must keep an eye out for smaller people and children to keep them up. Your pack is dangerous to you on your back making you less stable and giving a place for panicked people to grab at you, but ditching it during a push may cause a tripping chain reaction injuring or killing many if you ditch it once a trample starts, don't carry big packs to demonstrations.
The important thing is to stay with your protective group if possible and moving together get to an open area. If this is not possible just try to stay up and away from walls. If you fall down you are in trouble, try to force yourself back upright if possible, hope someone tries to pull you up as you should do. If others begin to pile up on you try to go into a survival position, into a fetal position with your knees spread so you will have room to breathe, use your arms to protect your head, stay calm. If that is impossible try to find a position that will protect your chest, face, and neck best so you can breathe.
3. Original Demonstrations
Demonstrations always will be an important form of protest. The structure can vary from a rally or teach-in to a massive civil disobedience such as the confronting of the warmakers at the Pentagon or a smoke-in. A demonstration is different from other forms of warfare because it invites people other than those planning the action via publicity to participate. It also is basically non-violent in nature. A complete understanding of the use of media is necessary to create the publicity needed to get the word out. Numbers of people are only one of the many factors in an effective demonstration. The timing, choice of target and tactics to be employed are equally important. There have been demonstrations of 400,000 that are hardly remembered and demonstrations of a few dozen that were remarkably effective. Often the critical element involved is the theater. Those who say a demonstration should be concerned with education rather than theater don't understand either and will never organize a successful demonstration, or for that matter, a successful revolution. Publicity includes everything from buttons and leaflets to press conferences. You should be in touch with the best artists you can locate to design the visual props. Posters can be silk screened very cheaply and people can be taught to do it in a very short time. Buttons have to be purchased. The cheapest are those printed directly on the metal. The paint rubs off after a while, but they are ideal for mass demonstrations. You can print 10,000 for about $250.00. Leaflets, like posters, should be well designed.
One way of getting publicity is to negotiate with the city for permits. Again, this raises political questions, but there is not doubt one reason for engaging in permit discussions is for added publicity.
The date, time and place of the demonstration all have to be chosen with skill. Know the projected weather reports. Pick a time and day of the week that are convenient to most people. Make sure the place itself adds some meaning to the message. Don't have a demonstration just because that's the way it's always been done. It is only one type of weapon and should be used as such. On the other hand, don't dismiss demonstrations because they have always turned out boring. You and your group can plan a demonstration within the demonstration more accurately. Also don't tend to dismiss demonstrations outright because the repression is too great. During World War II the Danes held street demonstrations against the Nazis who occupied their country. Even today there are public demonstrations against the Vietnam War in downtown Saigon. Repression is there, but overestimating it is more a tactical blunder than the reverse. None the less, it's wise to go to all demonstrations prepared for a vamping by the pigs.
