Stay Calm: some tips for keeping safe in times of state repression
The spectre of state repression has been growing over Bay Area radical milieus. Grand juries in the Pacific Northwest and in Santa Cruz, threats by police of using gang enhancements against activists, the recent string of mass arrests, the profusion of political divisions and threats, abundant conspiracy theories, surveillance of our social spaces, FOIA paperwork that references a confidential informer–The list goes on and on and on.
Stay Calm: some tips for keeping safe in times of state repression
The spectre of state repression has been growing over Bay Area radical milieus. Grand juries in the Pacific Northwest and in Santa Cruz, threats by police of using gang enhancements against activists, the recent string of mass arrests, the profusion of political divisions and threats, abundant conspiracy theories, surveillance of our social spaces, FOIA paperwork that references a confidential informer–The list goes on and on and on.
Murmurs of imminent repression can be heard everywhere. Even though everything we hear cannot be entirely proven or disproven, recent events underscore the importance of preparing for a possible crackdown. The state seeks to isolate us with repression, as individuals and within our tendencies. Against that, we can prepare together, support each other and continue actively struggling against the oppression and misery of this world.
Repression always exists and now is the time to take security very seriously. Without knowing the exact form repression will take, there are some likely scenarios to prepare for, as well as some precautions that can be taken to reduce the ability of the feds and police agencies to monitor, divide and prosecute our networks.
Sound the Alarm if an Agent Knocks . . .
. . . or if an agent calls your parents, shows up at your place of employment or is waiting for you at a BART station. Don’t say anything to the cop, except that you will remain silent and that you are going to talk to a lawyer. Request the agent’s business card to give to your lawyer and share with comrades. They may threaten you, your friends, and your family or they may seem genuinely concerned for your safety: Whatever they say, their intention is to send you and your friends to prison. Don’t tell them anything.
