any white at a protest who tries to go against police and deliberately provoke a response from them is not to be trusted and does not have the safety of black and brown people in mind.
there is a good chance that they are police too. if anyone, especially a white dude, ever randomly gets your attention and conspiratorially tries to convince you to jump a police officer, then dude is a cop. They have been using this technique and script for at least 30 years.
Check their fucking shoes. They’re always too afraid that their little toesies will be hurt so they’ll usually still be rocking the exact same boots as the guys on the other side. This was what gave the cops away when they provoked riots in Toronto a while back.
@talesofalamia, remember when I pointed out the shoes of the two well-dressed informants near us?
Similar note: IME, unmarked cruisers have five distinguishing traits:
1. They’re one of the department-issue models.
2. They’re always white, black, or dark blue.
3. They always look like they just rolled out of a car wash.
4. Usually rocking restricted plates.
5. Most reliable if present but hardest to spot: Their mirrors are bulkier, to fit the light rigs in.
In Austin the under cover officer that tried to convince me to set a cop car on fire had a convincing fake beard.
Be careful out there and read up on common tactics used against protestors before going.
You can usually see the stealth lights if you look into the grill.
Besides the old obvious as fuck Crown Victoria, be suspicious of 2013+ Ford Taurus and Explorer, 2006+ Dodge Charger and Dakota, 06-13 Chevy Impala, 11+ Chevy Caprice and both the Tahoe and Suburban.
Look for oversize mirrors, plugs on the roof and/or A pillar, lights inside the grill, extraneous lights inside the headlight assembly, lights tucked up behind the rear view mirror, steel wheels with or without wheel covers, and plugs or short antennas on the trunk lid.
My dad’s an undercover pig, so more info yall might not know:
- some lights are small look alike extra mirrors on the side mirrors, and theyre hella easy to spot if youre looking; Ive caught my dad driving behind me a dozen times bc of it
- lights can fit clipped to the sun visors
- tinted windows, but not blacked out
- the models of cars above are obv sus, but be careful anyway bc cops will raid drug dealers and are allowed to keep “forfeiture” which includes a dealer’s car up, but only for 3 years and then they legally have to sell it; brand new cars or only 1–2 years old that look constantly washed (departments often get free car washes at the dealerships they buy fleet from) are sus af
- beware anyone wearing “cop brands,” which are companies that cater to cops/military like 5-11, Vertex, the like; check watches too bc most ppl cant afford/dont want a goddamn G-Shock
- idk if I’m explaining it adequately, but the Cop Stance; the squared shoulders and slightly wide, feet apart stance, it gives em away as off duty a lot imo and it can become unconscious
- even if theyre trying to incite a fight, better believe theyre conceal carrying; fat guys will have it in a pocket (thats why u be wary of brands bc theyre good at their job), skinny guys might have it down their front, and women are usually at hip
- know what facial hair is allowed at the local department; if they grow it to look less like a cop, some departments still dont allow full beards, some dont allow even goatees, etc (higher up the chain, less likely it matters, but a lieutenant or captain is unlikely to have the job of inciting the riot)
- steer clear of a porn stache
- I have 0 idea why, but almost every cop Ive ever met will say “shut it down” in a dozen different circumstances
- they often have call signs even tho radios are good quality these days, and they always sound like a military TV show’s approx of a call sign: Flip, Clue, etc
- computers are still often in undercover cars, and theyre bulky mfs
- the back of an undercover car is likely way weighed down; gun safes, some have half a cage, reinforced seats, gear, equipment, body armor, etc, and I can always tell how it sits
- calling a buddy by their last name? cop
- beaded chain necklace under their shirt? bulky ass trifold wallet? badge
Be careful out there yall.
Okay but please join a radical organization
I don't even care that much what one, tbh. Like obviously I've got my Opinions about which ones are most effective and have the best politics, but right now you just need to get into some sort of structure.
Join a union. Join a party. Join an affinity group. Join what's in your town. Just....just don't try to go it alone.
The Industrial Workers of the World, the one big union for all working people [that’s the thing I’m in]: https://iww.org/membership/
The IWW General Defense Committee, the union’s mutual aid and community defense wing: https://archive.iww.org/projects/gdc/join/
Socialist Alternative, the American section of ISA, socialist political party [that’s the other thing I’m in]: https://www.socialistalternative.org/get-involved/
Anarchist Black Cross: http://www.abcf.net/
How To Start An Affinity Group https://crimethinc.com/2017/02/06/how-to-form-an-affinity-group-the-essential-building-block-of-anarchist-organization
Starting a Food Not Bombs http://foodnotbombs.net/new_site/seven-steps.php
One or more of those ought to freak your nut. Now go get the fuck organized already before they kill us all.
Now I think would be just a swell time to join the Industrial Workers of the World and get that union card in your wallet
https://iww.org/membership/
the apd is claiming we were using molotovs and as someone who was present for the full 12 hours of this protest: no we didn’t, we were too busy getting literally sniped with rubber bullets from the overpass above the police station by every fucking cop in austin
“they had molotovs!” we had water bottles that you shot out of our hands when we tried to eyewash the people you maced
FOR ONE, if literally every single fire and looting was actually perpetrated by protesters, I don’t give a shit and it absolutely doesn’t delegitimize anything. NOT ONE THING. However…
As a Chilean, let me just tell you of how many fires and lootings were staged by the police during our social outbreak! The most suspicious part of it was just how many metro stations were set on fire, when the protests here started because we wanted to be able to use those exact fucking metro stations but couldn’t afford to.
There’s videos that show Chilean police officers and soldiers not allowing lootings, but actually giving orders to people to loot supermarkets, or videos taken of them shoving TVs right into their police vehicles and taking them home when they thought no one was looking.
What’s more, some of the fires? There were bodies found inside stores, that were mis-reported as having died from the fire itself, when there was evidence that the bodies (including one of a teenager) were dead from before the fire went down, and had bullet holes in them.
So… Watch out. These bitches are down to do anything if it benefits them.
As a white person who lives in the neighborhood where George Floyd was murdered I just want to say quickly that I’ve been very concerned by the narrative I’ve seen many white people spreading online about the protests and riots being sparked by white outsiders, whether anarchists, right-wing provocateurs, or cops. Please stop this immediately.
I gather that people spreading this often mean well, but this is in fact extremely dangerous. It’s racist and patronizing, resting on the assumption that black people can’t decide for themselves how to resist police violence. Perhaps even more concerning, this narrative actively endangers the black people who have from the start pushed this uprising forward. The more people at home who believe that white outside agitators are driving the ‘violence’, the more freedom the police have to attack everyone, especially black youth.
From Ferguson all the way back to the Civil Rights era the label ‘outside agitator’ has justified brutality against black people who stand up against white supremacy. I swear to you that whatever videos or photos you’ve seen of white people doing riotous shit represent a tiny tiny portion of the explosion of mourning, defiance, and rage that has consumed this city over the past days. This rage has been given voice by people of many races, but this has overwhelmingly been led by black and brown youth. I say all of this based on personal experience at the precinct every night of this rebellion as well as from watching many hours of the live-streams.
The only other thing I should acknowledge is that I have seen some POC spreading these narratives online as well. I don’t feel it’s my place to engage in those conversations other than to say that my experience has not reflected this, and so that is why I have addressed the above specifically to other white people.
hey everyone, i know times are tough for most of us but please consider sending a few dollars to an domestic abuse victim of transphobic violence if you can manage. every little big counts and can go a long way. donations have all but stopped and she has a ways to go to secure safe housing! so far she just has enough for the security deposit! can anyone match my $10 donation? please take a second out of your day to reblog and do your part to help victims of transphobic violence!
https://gf.me/u/x3tmg2
put your money where your mouth is and support trans women!