With #IDP13 around the corner I want to discuss privacy and safety at protests.

     I'm not a hacker. I can't really help you too much with securing your identity online, but privacy is important in the physical world too especially during protests. We have an out of control police state that will actively try to identify peaceful protesters and will then classify them as terrorists. They will send that information out to all policing and surveillance agencies- this happened with occupy basically nation wide, and it likely happened to me personally at occupy Boston (before I blackbloced).

     Blackbloc is the same principle as Anonymous but applied to the physical world. You remove your identity from your actions which allows you to act and speak freely without fear of direct reprisal. We have the right not to give police and our government our IDs- we in fact have the same right to privacy in the real world that we do online. Police use all sorts of technology to identify protesters at events but it is your right- and a damn good idea- to foil them as best you can.

     We can protect ourselves and one another when we take action in public by blackblocing. Blackbloc is the simplest means of protection for all. Anyone can participate and it costs very little. Blackbloc isn't a group, an ideology, nor does it mean violence it is a tactic and nothing else. Blackbloc means dressing head to toe in black (including wearing a black bandana to obscure your face). Blackbloc hides your identity, and when a whole group is in blackbloc together they become difficult to distinguish from one another. It makes targeted tactics (such as the Oakland PD's targeted grabs- when they run into a crown and arrest a streamer or other high value target) difficult.

     When we blackbloc together we are a collective and we can protect ourselves and the people around us effectively while limiting the amount of personal reprisals that we face. In Chicago the NATO summit the Chicago PD have raided protesters homes before the event even started- this is the kind of reprisal that we seek to deter by engaging in BlackBloc and denying the police our identities. Doing BlackBloc together protects all of us because the more of us that there are the less likely any of us are to be identified.

     BlackBloc does not mean violence- this is a common misconception. BlackBloc can be used by anyone in any group including both nonviolent or violent groups. I advocate for nonviolent use of BlackBloc to protect those who are actively engaging in protest.

     I suggest that everyone uses BlackBloc when they engage in any sort of political activism- there are cameras everywhere and this is the police state. Protecting your identity and staying off of the Police radar is very key to your effectiveness in protesting for long term change. We should be prepared to continue our efforts for the long-term because change doesn't happen rapidly and if we are to be the agent of change we must be ready to play the long game.

Protect yourself and each other.
KT

I'm sick of reading peoples comments “There are good ones and there are bad ones” under police abuse videos. It's simple the entire system of Policing in America is bad- that's not a judgment on all officers, but the system that violent criminal officers is in itself bad. It's a shame that the “good” officers are a part of that system. When people dismiss the bad behavior of police (especially when it's caught on film) it helps perpetuate the culture of lawless violence that has developed in policing.

Policing is out of control. Officers are above the law and they know it. Officers have so many tools- including military weapons- which they deploy against citizens that it boggles my mind. Police are trained and instructed to use intimidation tactics especially around free speech, or when they are being filmed. This is all wrong.

How many times do you see a video on the news of police beating someone only to be told it is “under investigation” but that the officer's chief has stated that the officer “acted within policy”? If that's the case then how can it be under investigation- given that the not guilty verdict has already been issued? Officers are very seldom held accountable even drastic illegal actions. This is the “policy” and it's a bad one.

If there are so many good officers around why don't they arrest the violent illegal bad ones? I understand that the police is a gang and you don't go after members of your own gang... but the police are public servants sworn to uphold the law- to serve and protect, and their authority comes from our trust in their judgment and honesty. To often this trust is betrayed. I have spoken with many officers, and I respect them. They have a difficult dangerous job. I will be the first to say that the majority of the officers I’ve dealt with in my life have fallen into the “good” category, so either that's my good luck or most officers are decent people. If there are more “good” officers than “bad” why are bad officers tolerated?

The only person you can change is yourself, so any change begins within. To change the system of abuse by police we must be ready to change ourselves. We must become a community because together we are strong. We must film (legally) any police interactions we witness or are part of. We must publish them and we must seek to press charges, or sue police departments. Change can be built this way because the more people who film and put pressure on the system the more transparent it will become. The more people who stand up and press charges the more monsters we take off the street, and the more lawsuits we win the more expensive it becomes for the police system to operate brutally. Ultimately if we work together we can have a police force that knows it is being scrutinized and knows it will be held accountable. The “good” officers will obviously not need to worry, and we will have a clear document of their good deeds.

Don't make excuses for bad officers and bad police policy, and don't blame the victims of police abuse.

Remember if you see something film something.

     I totally get it- I mean it makes sense for the police to be in the streets rioting all the time- just look at what they are up against. The Democrats have slashed police budgets all over the place- in Boston they lost their pension and then there's the Pennsylvania folks who got their pay dropped to minimum wage. The republicans are running a candidate who has said he wants to fire policemen so yeah i'd be pissed off too-
wait... you mean they're hitting- no sorry SHOOTing other protesters? Oh so the police aren't protesting? Why?

     Okay so I guess I don't understand at all. I figured the police were on strike and marching in solidarity with the protesters, but I guess they've been shooting us with “less lethal” rounds instead. I'd say they are shooting their on toes... but it's more like they're shooting women, kids, elderly, and every other group of unarmed protesters. The polices actions leave me bewildered because it is clearly against their own interests- and against public interest so again why? It seems to me that the police certainly look bad when they are tear gassing teenagers, or shooting up an artwalk- or pepper-spraying students so why would they do it when they gain seemingly nothing?

     Who do you serve? Who do you protect? I think these chants are completely fair questions because Police officers are public servants sworn to serve and protect- yet are consistently oppressing and assaulting the citizenry. They are certainly “just doing their job” which is what officers have said to me at protests I’ve attended- but I think what they mean is they are doing what they are told by their superiors. Well sure but that's not doing your job is it? If they truly did their job then wouldn't they have arrested the bankers- for instance HSBC who launder Mexican drug cartel money or standard charter bank for breaking the sanction with Iran? Of course that would be serving and protecting Americans, but as we see the only thing the police serve is the corrupt leaders of society and they would rather shoot us in the streets than do an honest days work.

    Every single police officer makes a decision about their involvement in the assaults on protesters, and it's time for them to start making better decisions. Yes protesters are very angry with you for assaulting us, but you are the 99% and if you are ready to join us peacefully we'll welcome you- because you are us and we're all being screwed by the people whose bidding you have been doing. Better yet when you join us protect us! Officers you of all people should know that we need to be protected from those who want to see us shot and arrested and beaten. Some of you must have your doubts about the course this country is taking and some of you must know it's wrong to shoot unarmed protesters (I hope this is the case anyway since you hold jobs of high responsibility and authority granted to you because we believe you have good judgment). Please join us when we march and protect us when we are assaulted- arrest those who illegally attack protesters. In all likelihood this means arresting other police, but at this point isn't that really your job?

    You need to start actually doing you job as opposed to blindly following orders that are illegal because if the police officers across this country continue to show that they are not interested in upholding the law and are merely the paid thugs you will teach the populace to hate you. Maybe you don't care, but you are members of the community and we will revile you. Police have a reasonable reputation in our society- heck kids grow up wanting to be officers... you are dismantling your own reputations each time you assault us or stand by and allow us to be assaulted by other officers. My personal belief is that there are only a few officers who are sadistic and enjoy harming protesters, but they are protected (and encouraged) by the whole system- I think they are likely repugnant to the officers who have honor and want to do their jobs. There is very little we protesters can do to change the system, but any officer who is honorable can do their part to change the system much more. So any officer who does have honor left, and who doesn't want to be lumped in with the sadistic officers stand up to them and stop them- and refuse to stand with them at protests- arrest them when they break a law.