Demo Dos and Don'ts

If you're lookin' to get silly
You better go back to from where you came
Because the cops don't need you
And man they expect the same
~ "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", Bob Dylan

Ah, yes - Spring! A time to finally be outdoors without six layers of itchy protection. Trees budding. Blackened snow almost gone from city streets. Gas mileage improving by turning down/off the car heater. A daffy or three peeking through the mulch. Hormones tingling . . . time to let loose . . . uh, oh!

I was a sophmore at a northern Jesuit college in the spring of 1967. Around this time of year there was always a water fight weekend, a competition between neighboring dorms to challenge the ability to sustain waterboarding onslaughts without fatalities. I happen to know that at least one of my classmates ended up in a training position at The Company upon graduation as a result of tactical and strategic experience in these events.

The stores around campus sold out of balloons, plastic buckets, squirt guns and water cannons, garden hose, and condoms on the prior Wednesday (some freshmen wondered why some of the waterballoons had five bumpy protrusions and usually bounced rather than broke).

The festivities kicked off after supper on Friday night, lasted through the night, students draped in ponchos and garbage bags, wearing goggles and snorkel masks, attacking rival dorms with hundreds of waterbombs and hundreds of yards of screwed-together fifty-foot lengths of hose, rushing up staircases and along dorm corridors and soaking fourth floor open windows from the high limbs of stately oaks. A couple of the wealthier students even resorted to heroic individual assaults dressed in full scuba gear, but didn't get very far due to the disadvantage of waist weights and diving fins.

The Jesuit residence down the hill was off limits and on Saturday afternoon a column of somber priests and scholastics marched up the hill in calf-length black trenchcoats and enormous black umbrellas to signal a draw, declare and enforce a cease fire, and declare a general amnesty - at which point, of course, a few Jebs ended up a mite damp and retaliated with their own black waterbombs sequestered under their garments. All in good fun; some scrapes and bruises from slips and slides, some mud and sand bars in dorm common areas and the quad; and, of course, many stories of valor and high-adventure.

I wasn't around for the 1968 version, having left school semi-voluntarily to pursue studies of a different sort. I understand that things weren't quite the same - the spring party quickly turned into a combination riot against the Vietnam War and the investment policies and perceived oppression by the college's administration. The host city's cops were brought in, some folks got arrested, some folks got hurt. Not at all in good fun. Several students were expelled. It was a seething and somber spring . . .

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It scares me that during the past few days, the words "outrage" and "outrageous" have spluttered from the foaming lips of the DC pawns and plundits with much self-aggrandizing, holier-than-thou hyperbole, echoing through the MSM and blogoswamp like ricocheting rocket grenades. I happen to value my paranoia lately, so I can't help but connect the repetition of these words to the mantra of "there's gonna be riots" emanating from the bowels of everyone from Zbiggy to Glenn "The Wreck" Beck for months now. All I hear in my head is a gong that cries, "Setup! Setup! Setup!" every time these nasty people move their lips.

Let me be very clear about this: a violent spring is the last thing that we need. We have troubles enough. I was homeless for a year before I got my present apartment - I really don't want to move to a REX 84 Motel outside of Minot. Personally, I've already done my share of tear gas canister tennis and tae kwan nightstick. I'm gettin' old, my heart ain't as healthy as it once was, and it doesn't need Taser CPR to help it along. And to be quite honest, if you've seen one riot, you've seen 'em all. I wouldn't show up at even a high-profile, well-organized, fully permitted demo these days if you took me there in a fully armored Hummer with an escape pod on its roof. I'm stayin' home - and I suggest you do the same. But I cautioned the same back in late August before the RNC, nobody listened, so . . .

If you absolutely can't stay away from a demonstration, let me offer a few survival tips. These are not necessarily in any particular order:

Know what you're getting into: Who is sponsoring the event? What other organizations are co-sponsoring or endorsing it? Is it permitted by the local authorities? If there are any advertised speakers or performers, who are they? Is it a parade or a one-site event? How long has it been planned and advertised? Will there be security provided by the organizers? How large is the crowd likely to be? What's the reputation of the local law enforcement people - do they have a history of violence? Is there any news or evidence of deployment of National Guard or Army personnel prior to the event.

~ In general, it is best to stay away from impromptu "flash mob" scenes that are not advertised long in advance or which are not legitimately sponsored by the major groups. The more well-known organizers have spoken with law enforcement and provide security marshals to intervene quickly if there's trouble. Remember that the best predictor of behavior is past behavior. The police are generally not there to protect you, so much as to protect property and intervene quickly and harshly with perceived disorder. Their definition of "public safety" and "crowd control" is likely different than yours. Agitators are not tolerated. Period.

Know how to get out of what you've gotten into, safely and quickly: If you're coming by car, park it at least five blocks away from the event, half-way between the starting point and destination of a parade route. Plan your escape route and make sure everyone you're with agrees on the exit plan. Also, make sure someone who is not attending is in on the plan and can respond to a cry for help.

Position yourself about halfway between the center and fringe of the crowd, not hemmed in and not right along the sidewalk near the police. At the first sign of trouble, either from within the crowd or the police, leave. Do not run. A fast walk or, if necessary, a leisurely trot, will get you away slowly. If you fall or are pushed, remain calm, assess whether you can safely rise and resume your escape. If not, go fetal, protect your head, and cry for help. If there are police nearby, stay down. If you are jostled, do not retaliate. If you see police violence, do not attempt to intervene.

What you carry: dress simply and wisely. Long pants, long sleeve pullover, light jacket, and running shoes, all in subdued colors. "Smash the State!", "Fuck the Pigs!", and Ché T-shirts are strongly discouraged. Don't make yourself a target.

Do not prepare for a riot. You might just cause one. You should carry no more than five dollars, a bottle of water, a large handkerchief or bandanna (folded in your pocket), one piece of identification, and your cell phone. Do not bring or wear any of the following: knee or elbow pads; gloves; a heavy coat; heavy boots or shoes; a baseball or football helmet or face mask; jewelry, chains, or rings; gas mask; any weapon of any kind; a camera. Stay far away from anyone who has any of these things. They are trouble magnets. It's also advisable to not carry a sign or banner, or to take pictures (especially of the police), even with your cell phone. Above all, practice nonviolence.

Keep your wits about you. Certain danger signs: crowd chants containing profane or violent phrases; people with raised "power fists" or "obscene gestures"; incendiary or provocative shouts or behavior in the crowd; arrival of "reinforcements" (more police; fire apparatus; EMS; Nat'l Guard &/or Army units - observations of same in surrounding areas); tactical movements by police; threatening police movements (pulling down visors, drawing Tasers, etc). Always be aware of your surroundings and pay attention to ripples and bumps.

Consider the context. Just to lend some credibility to all this, here's David Icke . . .

As I travel around America it is clear that this country is on the brink of an economic catastrophe the like of which it has never seen . . .

A US TV ad apparently said that if you spent a million dollars a day every day from the alleged birth of 'Christ' to today you would still not spend as much as Obama is spending in borrowed money in his 'stimulus' package - let alone the other fantastic sums on top of that to 'bail' the banks.

They have worked super-fast, using fear and the Obama hype as their weapons, to throw more petrol on the fire in the full knowledge that this will make matters worse, not better. Bush's 'bail out' of the banks has disappeared from the radar with nothing to show for it and now Bush Mark 11, Mr Change, is fronting up the spending of another three trillion.

The biggest recipient of bail-out money has been Maurice Greenberg's A.I.G, which has been given $180 billion in borrowed money that the American taxpayers, and their children, are now responsible for repaying. Rubin's Citigroup is in for $50 billion of borrowed 'government' money.

The idea is not only to collapse the American economy, but to throw so much money at the problem (the banks mostly) as quickly as possible so that the response options of the government are zero by the time the economy really crashes on the scale that is planned . . .

The one I want to emphasize here is the need to stay calm and react peacefully to what is happening. This is not easy when there is so much stress and fear around with regard to the economic present and 'future', but we need to do it all the same or we will walk straight into a massive trap that has been set for us.

Let's get this straight: They want you to riot in response to the unfolding economic catastrophe and we are already seeing people falling for this.

They want an excuse to bring in a fully-fledged Police State all over the world and people who riot in their desperation (instigated invariably by agent-provocateurs) are just the excuse they are looking for.

Be very, very aware of anyone who starts rioting, or encourages others to do so, amid peaceful demonstrations. Who are they and why are they doing this when it is handing all the aces to the system to impose a Police State? They are either stupid or agents of that State . . .

Think what you will of all this. But . . .

Be at and about peace.