Warning 1 - In https://midwest.social/comment/16554464, teslas_moustache@midwest.social said this post is the worst on the Internet.
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Are we maybe asking for too much perfection on the Fediverse? If a post has several ideas, and you agree with only one or two ideas, would it be an incredibly ridiculous idea to upvote it?
Warning 2 - Protesting can be dangerous. seahorse@midwest.social reminds us that even nonviolent protesting can get people killed. Be aware of the risks and put safety as a top priority for you and for others.
Warning 3 - Some people will try to escalate a peaceful protest into violence. Sometimes it is a protestor and sometimes it is a fake protestor and sometimes it is an anti-protestor. hikeandbike@midwest.social warned us sometimes it is the police.
Warning 4 - OmegaLemmy@discuss.online reminds us the news may exaggerate acts of protestor violence. Leave the violence out of the protesting and the most interesting thing remaining for the news to cover may be the issues that people want to have heard. Please do not let violence drown out the important messages!
To promote safety, arm yourself with a powerful vocal chant. When someone ignites some form of violence, start chanting PEACE-FUL PRO-TEST. PEACE-FUL PRO-TEST. Do not engage in violence.
When the police give you instructions, respectfully and orderly follow the instructions. Someone's safety may be at stake. Police may be ordered to instruct protesters to act for various reasons that we cannot see or understand at that time, such as moving to a different location or dispersing for the safety of the public.
At that time there can be safety concerns such as fire safety or the risk of being trampled or someone needing to be rushed to a hospital but the path is blocked or some other safety concern. Give the police the benefit of the doubt. If the police later prove guilty of misusing their power, it becomes an opportunity for protestors to receive additional media coverage ahead of the next protest event.
You may take a moment to ask a police officer to contact the person in charge to get a reason, but be prepared to still follow instructions because you are unlikely to receive a reason at that time.
'the state almost always has overwhelming superiority when it comes to the use of force.'
'The objective of nonviolent action is to undermine those in power, while winning over the general population. The most resistant groups are those who benefit from and support a dictatorship, such as the police, the military, and various elites. As long as these groups continue their support, an oppressive regime can remain in control. But once the middle class and elites defect, and the military and police refuse to use force to suppress opposition, a dictator is finished.'
You want the police to be on your side. Show them the respect and treatment you want to apply to you. Demonstrating continuous respect for the police deprives police of an excuse to escalate and wishfully may slowly earn their cooperation and collaboration. Police are people too and people are different from each other. You might not win over 9 out of 10 but that 1 in 10 you win over may help to make a positive difference.
The Phoenix Police Department has a progressive and positive message for protesting. It demonstrates it is possible for police to work in harmony with protestors when protestors remain nonviolent and treat everyone with dignity and respect.
Treating someone with respect does not mean you have to like that person. It does not mean you have to like what that person says. It does not mean you have to like what that person does. Demonstrating respect for others is a way for each of us to demonstrate maturity and decency, no matter how little we may like a person.
'At quick glance, the database details at least 40 cases of dictators who were overthrown by the use of nonviolent struggle, dating back to 1920.'
'What’s more, in each of these cases, the dictator had the desire to stay, and possessed violent means for defense. Ultimately, though, they just couldn’t overcome the power of mass nonviolent struggle.'
In a confrontation, the person who brings the strongest weapon ever created can be said to have the second most powerful force. The person who does not bring a weapon at all can be said to have the most powerful force.
Police are armed with military surplus from the mightiest armed forces in the world. The police have access to more powerful weapons than the militaries of many other countries. To overcome this overwhelming power, make the choice not to bring any weapon at all.
Peaceful protest is useful. Peaceful protest brings awareness. Peaceful protest brings courage to a person and emboldens each person to make impactful changes in daily life. Can a single person make a difference through small changes? Yes! In a capitalist society, we create change with our wallets and our data.
'Any group wishing to overthrow a dictator must continually search for ways to encourage people to actively oppose the regime. They must also maintain steady pressure through continuous nonviolent actions. And they need be inventive, rather than settle for [only] the usual placard waving marches. Both dictatorships and democracies have adopted methods for accommodating marches and protests, and view them as a handy way to let people blow off steam with little or no disruption to the business of the state.'
Concerned about the takeover by billionaires and their mega corporations? Defund them of the most valuable resource they want from you, your data.
By offering a service for 'free' a company can make us feel our data also is free with no value. 10 years ago it was estimated each person's data is valued at more than $400,000. This value will have risen with the addition of video and audio data. Take simple but effective steps to move some of your valuable data away from billionaires and their mega corporations.
- Teach more people about the Fediverse.
- Start paying for email with money instead of data. There are many email providers that take money instead of your data as currency. Look for email providers which do not build a profile of you from your inbox. Brew more coffee at home or at work and use the savings to pay for email. The following lists present possible options.
https://www.techradar.com/best/best-secure-email-providers
https://www.techspot.com/article/2779-private-email/
- Buy at local stores or start paying for shipping. Should we get tricked into purchases by the promise of free shipping? If a platform regularly destroys the competition and then increases prices, the shipping costs could be integrated into the products you purchase.
Tariffs are one form of shipping cost. If a platform claims to offer free shipping but will not import products from a region because of tariffs, are we truly getting free shipping?
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Consider disabling location tracking and Bluetooth. Disable Find My Device. It's not a TV remote. You can call it if you lose it. If you protest, you could leave your device at home. Bring an old device without a SIM card in case you need to record an interaction.
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Look for alternate search engines which promise not to build a profile about you. Some exist. As the gateway to your thoughts, search engines are one way to highly profit from you if a service builds a profile about you.
https://sopuli.xyz/post/21379565
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Delete your referral links to online products at a mega corporation. It can be misleading to claim there is no cost. What could the cost be? One cost is the data of everyone who visits your link.
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Please share other ideas!
People have the right to bear arms, but not the obligation to bear arms. Think about this distinction very carefully and really understand how powerful it can be. For any scenario where it is not prohibited by law, such as weapons being generally prohibited at an airport, a person has the right to make a choice.
A person has a right to make a choice as to whether or not to bear arms.
Ignore nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction as not relevant to the analogy. In a confrontation, the person who brings the strongest weapon ever created can be said to have the second most powerful force. The person who does not bring a weapon at all can be said to have the most powerful force.
Police are armed with military surplus from the mightiest armed forces in the world. The police have access to more powerful weapons than the militaries of many other countries. To overcome this overwhelming power, make the choice not to bring any weapon at all.
When you leave your weapon at home, you help to minimize the excuse for a large amount of police to show up.
To slowly earn the respect of the police, obey the instructions of the police. Many people personally know a member of the police force. In a protest situation, police may be ordered to instruct protesters to act for various reasons that we cannot see or understand at that time, such as moving to a different location or dispersing for the safety of the public.
You want the police to treat you with the respect of being innocent until proven guilty. The police are people too. The police also want and deserve the same level of respect. At that time we don't know if a protest is blocking access to medical treatment of someone who might die. At that time we don't know if too many protestors may be in an area that can cause safety concerns like fire safety or the risk of being trampled or some other safety concern. Give the police the benefit of the doubt and assume they are innocent. If the police later prove guilty of misusing their power, it becomes an opportunity for protestors to receive additional media coverage ahead of the next protest event.
Come out. Make your voice heard. Follow the instructions of the police. Your voice will still have been heard and the impact on others will have been made, without providing an excuse for an escalation to violence.
If you suspect the motives of the police, ask them why. But please do not give them an excuse to resort to violence. Violence is consistently the preferred method of putting a halt to the effectiveness of protests.