In the wake of a phenomenally important guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin Trial, I’d like to remind you all that the fallout of this case will likely mean more police violence against our Black friends and neighbors, not less. Looking at the statistics in the weeks leading up to this verdict shows that this is already the case. Police in this country are angry that society is beginning to hold them accountable for their abusive actions, and they are looking for revenge.
So if you see a cop interacting with a BIPOC, DO NOT walk away. Video record if you can (and as long as it doesn’t further jeopardize the safety of the BIPOC involved), but absolutely do not walk away. It is critical that we do our part and look out for people, and make cops think twice about abusing their powers of authority and near-immunity to murder citizens.
Adding to this that advance research on copwatching strategies, particularly ones employed locally, as laws can very from state to state, is going to be your friend if you try to do this. It’s easy to imagine yourself pulling out your phone and recording an interaction if you were to witness one, but there can be lot more intricacies than just taking a video. Would you know how to respond if an officer confronted you about your actions? Do you know how best to respect the rights and privacy of the individuals you’re intervening on the behalf of, and prevent the situation from becoming additionally traumatic?
If you’re interested in learning more to prepare yourself, so you can be as effective as possible if you witness a scenario that requires bystander intervention, here are some resources on copwatching to look over. I highly recommend reading over them several times and taking good notes – or anything else that will help you commit the contents to memory – because this stuff will escape you in an actual stressful scenario (signed, someone who has attended multiple copwatch trainings and still totally blanked on most of what I learned the one time I’ve directly confronted an officer)
For those local to the Minneapolis, where we’re very likely to see the highest amount of police retaliation in the days to come, the Twin Cities Worker’s Defense Alliance has a How to Copwatch manual, as well as a printable Know Your Rights zine
United Against Police Terror San Diego has a Copwatching Manual intended to be fairly broadly applicable to copwatchers in the US
WeCopwatch have a large variety of resources on copwatching and copwatchers rights’ on their site
A fair number of these resources are aimed at people interested in setting up regular copwatching patrols, but even for people primarily interested in being prepared in the instance of witnessing a scenario in which copwatching is necessary, it’s a good idea to do your homework and know how to be the most effective bystander you can. Knowing your rights and other important things to keep in mind will help you avoid being caught-off guard should you end up needing to record an interaction – or from aggravating a situation, which is a real risk to consider. I also recommend looking up the specific laws relevant to your own area that these resources may or may not manage to cover.
I’ll never forget how Netflix payed WarnerMedia $100 million just to keep Friends on their site for one more year because a few people didn’t wanna see it go but then cancel all their quality inclusive shows that poc and lgbtq people actively campaign for and support
i fucking hate that post rn thats like “me: i like this character, some boring ass person: u cant like this villain or ur the villain” and all other ones like it bc its usually poc who are pointing out (white) villains who have genuinely problematic traits and parallels regarding real life racism and all these (white) people are making and getting posts like these reblogged and validated bc theyre all mad their white fave is being rightfully criticized by poc
its, como se dice, ugly as all fuck and i have no sympathy for any of yall
saying the democratic primary is now down to two white men implies bernie sanders and joe biden come from the same background as every other non-obama president and pretends that bernie sanders’ lifelong commitment to civil justice doesn’t come from growing up learning about the suffering his family underwent during the holocaust.
it’s fucking insane someone could look at him and decide his being jewish, which would make him thefirst jewish president in the history of this country, isn’t important enough of a ‘diversity win’ to care about because he’s not elizabeth warren, a white woman who lied about being an indigenous american for decades to boost her chances of being diversity hired
if you want to rail against the type of man who dominates american politics in order to advocate for more diverse leadership, take aim at joe biden, the white man who pushed the racist crime bill through the legislature that directly led to the mass incarceration of black people in this country for drug offenses
hey, just so you know? this shit is so fucking serious.
someone in the crowd at his rally tonight (march 5, 2020) unfurled a massive nazi flag behind him, and since then photos of trump supporters protesting against him as recently as last year with swastikas on their posters have started making the rounds again.
when the media boils bernie sanders down to ‘just another white man’ they are intentionally burying his lived experience as a jewish person because they do not want to acknowledge the discrimination he has faced that has made him the staunch advocate for civil justice for all people that he has always been
if you say that bisexuality means “attraction where gender is a factor” and pansexuality means “attraction regardless of gender” you are actively participating in biphobia and erasure of bisexuality and bisexual history
There are still two-thirds of the possible delegates available so it’s not even close to being over yet. A lot of people think voting in the primary doesn’t matter but this is where you determine the direction you want to party to go & if you prefer Bernie over Biden then here’s the following schedule for the primaries:
“Democrats abroad” primary - (March 3rd to March 10th) If you are a democrat living outside of the United States this is your time to cast your vote. [website]
In 2016, there was major flaws with in-person voting in states like Arizona. This election is exactly the same, with states like Texas and California having people in line waiting past midnight LONG after polls were supposed to close. This is blatant voter suppression and is meant to discourage you from voting. If you don’t have mail-in ballot in your state MAKE SURE to prepare for the worst: wear comfortable clothes, bring water, bring snacks, and get ready for whatever fuckery they might try to pull so bring an extra ID.
If you work on the day of your primary or caucus HERE IS A WEBSITE that allows you to check your state’s laws on time-off voting. This will tell you info on the following:
How long your job is required to give you?
What exceptions there might be?
Whether or not it’s paid time off.
If you have to give advance notice.
Do you need to show your employer proof of voting?
How to volunteer
You can also phone bank, text bank, or canvas for Bernie. Even if you’re in a state that already voted you can still do all these things! You ARE allowed to canvas out of your home state. Check your area, there are events happening everywhere or you can host your own. ALSO!!! volunteer as a poll worker if you can
AND!! if you’re fluent in multiple languages you can really help to get the vote out in communities that often get overlooked by campaigns.
