I know this is one month into an ongoing battle, but unless a group is coordinated, hundreds strong, and has a plan, it's just... SMARTER to wait for the cops to make the first attack each night. (1) #defendpdx#blmpdx
Reason one: optics. I know. It's overused. But we are going to need the people to join us in fighting back, and last night at the N precinct showed that every time we build a joyous space and it gets torn down, more people are radicalized. (2)
We have to prove, over and over, that they are behaving monstrously. It's not fair, it's not right, it's the way it is. We just don't have the numbers or trust to win a straight fight. That means we need to redirect our focus towards protecting each other when pigs attack (3)
Theyre resorting to melee because it's the only thing pdx hasnt learned to repel. I'm not going to tell anyone what to do, and everyone needs to make their choices, this is just a fact: if frontliners want to stay alive, people are going to need to start hitting back. (4)
People are getting hurt out there - badly. Last night, cops were firing munitions next to a GAS STATION. The front line is damn lucky nobody's died yet. In coming years, retaliation will only get worse. For this momentum to carry, we need to get better at protecting each other(5)
The first group to strike back is taking an incredible risk. Will your comrades have your back? Are you throwing away your freedom? Your life? You won't know until you do it. And honestly, the first battle? We'll probably lose. But then a new precident is set. (6)
Are the people ready to take one step forward in community defense? I think so, if the moment is chosen well. I wish we were in a different place right now, and the resistence was stronger. If this moment passes, there will be another. Do not act rashly out of desperation. (7)
I do not want a martyr in this city. But if the moment is there, if you're ready for that chance & you believe in your comrades... the first de-arrest will make it an option. The first person to hit back will show that we can. Start talking, PDX. Start thinking. Start acting. (F)
I got off track but point is we are united and on the same page when we are defending each other. Everything I say is advice, but by far the tactic that requires the LEAST coordination is to establish a space and defend it. So start planning the long game and b smart until then
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@brianorwhatevr I have a long answer for that! I'll let you know when I'm done. Most antiracist workshops include tools and building blocks for getting started. The grassroots way is finding a white person who is further along that you can reach out to whenever you notice yourself reacting.
@brianorwhatevr There is plenty of research to be done, but the main thing to remember that whiteness is a preservation tool for white supremacy. Defensiveness, reacting to discomfort with fear or willful ignorance, dichotomies/absolutes (good or bad, right or wrong, this or that)...
@brianorwhatevr These are things that allow you to ignore reality and maintain the facade of law and order, capitalism, etc - which in the United States all serve white supremacy. To fall into the binary, white men typically enforce whiteness through rational and aggression, white women...
The weekend isn't over til it's over, but given the peak of the threat has passed, I have some contributions that I hope folks consider as we take lessons from the past few days. The first is I appreciate how at no point did internal disputes interfere with antifascist response.
This thread will be updated throughout the day. First: to hold myself accountable for tolerating antiblackness. As someone who knew a fair bit of the planning information for JUICE's event and personally saw a plethora of red flags, I paid less attention to those who agreed.
As others have said, while there were plenty of PoC in every camp, there were many white people who were stepping out of their lane. There are also a fair number of white people who, rather than raising safety concerns, were badmouthing and condemning the organizers.
In shocking news, Black people are people and if you want to be in community w/ us you can't treat us like we are all-knowing, infallible entities that you should listen to without thought. That's deification and dehumanizing. It is clear many of yall are on step 1 of antiracism.
Many Black Portlanders are capitalists, or arent abolitionists. We SUPPORT their work but if their efforts arent in line w/ our goals, that's important to talk about. If youre only as far as "listen to Black ppl" w/o the nuances (like when Black ppl disagree) you aren't there yet
If you're Black and feeding into this... you should stop. We deserve respect, the first outreach of collaboration, and to be listened to. And, when we're wrong, we deserve feedback. If we seek Black liberation, it cant happen w/o mutual liberation. All of our fates are tied.
My advice for Saturday, thread: These are my personal conclusions considering risk assessment & other dynamics. There are five "things" this Saturday that people have the opportunity of doing: staying in, the Vanport event, Peninsula park event, counterprotesting, & obstruction.
1. Staying home. In a perfect world, everyone would have a safe place to stay inside, have adequate warning, and the alt-right would be cruising through a ghost town. Still, my earnest stance: if you don't know exactly how your presence will keep others safe, stay at home.
I keep saying it b/c risk of rolling the dice is too fucking high. This is the first major confrontation since we've had a body count. Someone in that crowd will be prepared to commit a mass murder. Yeah, they're cowards - they're also on a flat chunk of land with no buildings.
I know people are really stressed about this Saturday & what the goal is. There are a lot of things being done that aren't mine to share, but of the people I have spoken to (mutual aid, various event-holders, bloc members), the goals of the 26th have been essentially unanimous.
The first priority is to affirm that Black Lives Matter and uplift our dedication to Black liberation in spite of the hate movement that gathers and threatens the city. We cannot stop the alt-right rally from happening. But we can declare that we will not tolerate their bigotry.
Emphasizing community safety: We know without counter-protesters, the alt-right will attack anyone. The solution, however, isn't taking the bait. It's community awareness & intervening in events of violence. A non-confrontational presence affirming: you are not welcome here.
COMMUNITY FORUM ALERT! There has been significant concern about the lack of discipline, plan, & safety involved w/ counter-protests. The best way I know to address these concerns is to open up the conversation. This evening is the first open convo for refining our approach.
Disinformation will be clarified, ideas for harm mitigation proposed, and people not looped in w/ established coordinators/organizations can be part of the conversation. This is an informal "forum" for lack of better phrase. Other than that, idk what info is helpful. Ask your Qs!
Disclaimers: time and location were chosen within a pretty truncated process, but the information has been carefully considered. If you see a potential issue with the time/locale, I encourage feedback. Otherwise, i hope to see you this evening!