this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2025
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Resist: It's Time
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We are still in this together, but "this" is going to be real different in the very near future. This demands a different kind of "we."
The French Resistance during Nazi occupation played important roles delivering downed Allied airmen back to safety, supplying military intelligence, and acts of sabotage.
The Underground Railroad is estimated to have brought 100,000 freedom seekers to safety between 1810 and 1850.
It's time.
Rules
- Do not gatekeep resistance
- Do not organize specific subversive plans here.
- Do not identify yourself or anyone else here.
- Do brainstorm general ideas about how to support people who need it and stymie the efforts of fascists
- Do share thoughts on how to be personally prepared for subversive action
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Man the construction worker in me just sees a muscle shirt outline, a tin of chew, a key ring, set of steel toes and a daughter’s bracelet. But I guess any image can be intentionally made misleading eh?
Well I don't think OP means "tackle this pig on sight" moreso "be wary of this potential pig"
So anyone that looks like a generic construction worker? That’s the issue when people make “infographics” like this and spread them.
Don't see any toe pro on those boots, and dip cans are generally perfectly round.
I have steel toes that look just like that.
Are undershirts usually lumpy? Undershirts are lightweight enough to not really affect the overshirt. They're also smooth other than wrinkles—there is clearly some padding being offered by whatever is under that shirt.
What "issue"? Again, it's just saying keep an eye on them, especially at a protest. They could be a cop. So be careful...
This guy is definitely a cop
You are describing the loop of plastic audio wire poking out of his shirt as a keyring there. You can look up higher res copies of this image. Duckduckgo had two different, higher-resolutiot copies right at the top of the page of this guy. It's supposed to be hard to spot them, otherwise they wouldn't exactly be doing a good job, yeah? Also, this picture specifically is being shown because the guy was confirmed to be an undercover cop. It was during the George Floyd protests.
If you zoom in (the potato quality image) there is absolutely the outline of a vest under the shirt. The printing on the back pocket is not round like a tin of chew. The rest I couldn’t say for sure, boots, bracelet, etc. but the vest and cuffs look dead on.
IMO that vest outline is the real giveaway. You can see where the velcro attaches.
I'd bet that if that guy lifted his pant cuffs you'd find an ankle holster too.
I have no real experience with this but I understood the graphic to just be a starting point.
Couldn't it just be resolved with a simple follow-up conversation? e.g.
"Hey you're not a cop, are you?"
"No way man"
"Ok, lift up your shirt for a sec."
If he won't, he's probably wearing a vest and/or wire.
Or alternative scenario: "Hey you're welcome to join, but you gotta ditch the handcuffs."
"What, you mean this tin of sour candy?"
Dawg asking someone in public to lift their shirt sounds exactly like something a cop would ask. Sketch, or something you saw in a show.
Ok, what's a better way then? I flat out told you I don't have experience with this.
Start by not talking to cops, even if they're just potential cops.
If you came with friends to an action then stick to talking with just your friends until you have more experience. If no friends then it's better to go to events outside of protests to talk to folk.
I mean, I'm aware that's considered good advice in general. FWIW though I'm assuming this is with 20+ protesters standing in easy earshot, not a private 1:1 conversation. Maybe there are better questions, or someone else should ask? Or is it better to ignore the potential cop? I feel like other protesters would want to be aware who is hiding among them.
Until you're experienced in the situation it's best to just ignore and keep distance. You can run the risk of fed-jacketing (calling someone a cop/fed without solid evidence). Observe others and learn from the experienced folk in your particular groups as to how this should be handled because it does vary from scene to scene.
This is also generally true for media/journalists. If you don't have media training, don't make a fool of yourself and by extension everyone else.
When you're starting out, just get the feel for things and learn how to keep yourself and your friends safe. Learn how to calculate risk and threat model. Learn how to keep communication and coordination with friends in the chaotic environment.
yeah none of those are suuuuuper productive lines of questioning. I can think of multiple plausible outs on all of them. maybe not the wire.
So are you saying that asking questions (maybe not these specific ones) wouldn't be helpful here? If so, what do you propose instead? Ignore the person? Notify the protest organizers?
no im saying those specific questions aren't as productive as they could be.
cops shoot at people; vests are a safety thing. the handcuffs are for my boyfriend. etc.
I think the point here is to be aware of a combination of these items. e.g. If the person has a vest (more noticeable), they might also be wearing a wire (less obvious).
I'm not sure there's a good excuse to bring handcuffs to a protest. Nothing wrong with being kinky IMO, but leave that shit at home.
sometimes people are dumb. im just saying it's plausible.
You must not have seen very many tins of chew or key rings during your time as a "construction worker" then. That's not even close. Me thinks you doth protest a bit too much. Your comment honestly reinforces this image even more.
If any actual patriots are reading this and see something like what's in this image at a protest, be very skeptical of that person. Protect yourself and don't let obvious agents tell you to brush it off as something else.
You're not wrong. Protestors can face retaliation which causes paranoia and is an obstacle in growing organizing efforts. There are some arguments in the comments about what the specific items are, but there are more explanations that fit their defenses. For example, it could really be a vest under the shirt, but maybe it's a disabled person's cooling vest and not a bulletproof vest. I urge yall to still be cautious of strangers, including waryness of people who look like they can be the correct demo for cops, without also running off people we don't really know anything about with our bad attitudes.
I feel like a "muscle shirt" wouldn't have the horizontal part as shown in this picture...
its a bra actually
I've never worn one. But from what I understand, they're supposed to support breasts, not sit under them, against the abdomen!
Hmmmm?
Former LEO. That’s definitely a vest he’s wearing under his shirt, and those are definitely cuffs in his back pocket.
Homie that's a vest. There's no shapeware for men that look like body armor.
We still wear chains on jeans right?