Probably the saddest sign of our times is how many people respond with complete bewilderment if you mention direct action. Cutting border fences? punching nazis? sharing resources? blocking arms transports? building alternatives? They’re not even outraged, they’re just confused.
It’s like they’re so caught up in the spectacle of petitions, calling senators, ‘awareness’ and media visbility that they’ve completely forgotten that you can also just do shit without begging for permission.
Seriously, we’ve been so conditioned to seek permission for literally anything that the idea of just doing something yourself is seen as utterly unfeasible, pie in the sky, nonsense.
I for one am a huge believer in direct action and just making the changes we want to see instead of asking the powerful to implement them.
Want to house the homeless? Occupy some abandoned buildings. Want to replace your yard with a vegetable garden? Get you hands on some seeds and plant that shit. We can accomplish so much more by doing instead of begging.
I, for one, would just like to say it’s a bad idea to do the whole punching Nazis thing. There’s nothing worse than being sued by a Nazi and having them win and fuck up your life.
On Tumblr I see a lot of concern about safety under every single post about direct action and honestly, that’s good. Looking out for each other is good, wanting to keep each other safe is good.
Because yeah, direct action can be very dangerous. But it’s a good thing some people are willing to do dangerous things to change the world. Because you know what else is very dangerous? Letting nazis organize. Allowing weapon transports to pass. Allowing border fences to stand. These things are deadly. And conversations or petitions are never going to stop them. Pretty much the only time governments do what nice activists want is when they’re worried about what the not-so-nice activists will do if they don’t change a thing.
So I would respond to the need for safety not with inaction but with prepared action and security culture. Which means shit like cover your face, don’t bring your phone, have a getaway plan, make your plans offline, understand how modern surveillance techniques work, gather intel on nazis before deciding who to punch, never brag about what you did, leave out that comrade that can’t punch nazis without bragging about it, have a good lawyer to back you up if things do go wrong. And more.
And important: work with experienced activists and choose an action that matches your experience level. It’s probably not a good idea to go from handing out leaflets to a prison break, or to make the G20 your first blackbloc experience. Start small, start local. But do something.
Also, do what you feel ypu can handle. Like, yeah, I’m the person who can barely keep it in when they’ve done something. How I control that is having one or two designated people I know and trust with my life to tell. I am best utilized as support and research or intel and planning/strategizing. Those are what I’m good at. I can strategize and give excellent strategic advice. But I am not the one you want actually out there doing it.
When I got caught lifting and my backpack had been left behind (with identifying information and my medications), I ran to my friend’s house who I know lifts and got a ride elsewhere. And I ended up getting things back through careful planning, but the fact is that I made a mistake. I make mistakes in the moment but planning is where I shine. I can see a potential landmine problem a mile away and come up with a patch/remedy or alternative plan.
I am good at strategizing. But I’m bad at the actual action. And that’s okay. We all just have to play to our strengths. We’re all different and we won’t all be able to do the same things.
YES. YES. YES.
Also:
- High stress actions become easier with time and slow build up. Jumping into a high stress action without experience can knock you off your feet. It takes time to build resilience.
- Having a solid base in your life (supportive friends, a safe home, a rhythm that involves enough sleep and good food, time for yourself, creative outlets, etc) is an important part of being able to do high stress activism.
- Having a good safety net on the day of the action (like a coördinator team, a legal team, a medic team and a psych help team)
is an important part of being able to do high stress activism.
- Information and training go a long way. Knowing what to expect when arrested makes it easier to take risks that might result in arrest. Crossing a police line together to retrieve an arrested comrade is a highly coordinated move that can be done if it is trained properly.
- The best way to train, exchange information, create safe lines of communication and take care of each other before, during and after an action is to form an affinity group
- Always have at least one protest buddy.
And so on.
QueerAnarchism 