PSA: if you're talking about doing actual political violence on social media in public, you are a dangerously ignorant twerp who lacks the situational awareness required to do anything useful for anyone.
That's why, as pissed as I get at times, I will never advocate for violent actions against gov't officials.
It's a real quick way to find yourself in very hot water.
And that is how the right wins. They do it all the time and don't care. The law is only selectively enforced on this. And lets be honest, the bad people are not seeing any consequences for what they do.
lots of these people do get caught and punished actually
Like, in MA, we are seeing way fewer local Nazi protests than we used to because so many of the CHUDs are serving jail sentences
I think some optimism is good here but also I think if the US is anything like here there is widespread lawbreaking in areas like housing, employment etc and systems of accountability are bleak and difficult so I think the view that the law is only for some people is justified
oh, absolutely - it’s both true that this is the case and it’s applied incredibly unfairly, and also true that a lot of these fuckers do get got eventually
Ya which is awesome, and I love to see it. I just can’t blame the skepticism having been violently assaulted a number of times and the most justice I’ve had yet is someone getting sub $800 in traffic fines lol
They are. Most Extreme Right terror plots are thwarted and the people are sent to jail. Most people wouldn't see that since it's standard criminal investigations and not really "news worthy."
Former medic for forest protectors & antiglobalization mobilizations here: wholly concur.
Those publicly calling for violence are:
-working off their probation(s)
-provocatuers
-paid infiltrators
-hopelessly stupid
-cops
-some/all or the above.
Block them, flee them: *never* talk/sit/meet with them!
Violence is oftentimes the only language the oppressors in our society speak.
But yeah posting about committing acts of political violence online is probably not the best course of action.
Listen if you’re in a country like Ireland game on. Call for as much political violence as you want. Eradicate a guillotine in your garden. Make a pop hit about execution styles. BUT if ur in a country where all institutions have already been eroded & full fascist rule is about a year away, don’t.
well, speaking as someone who used to report in a dictatorship on how activists were using the internet and has talked to a lot of people who were jailed for online speech, i can assure you that even fascist regimes usually pick and choose targets, and it's good to avoid being one.
Ppl need to remember that even totalitarian regimes have limited prosecutorial resources. China spends a gargantuan amount of money on internal security and it was only able to arrest a small portion of the COVID lockdown protesters who challenged its authority a little while ago.
It will certainly keep your comms safe, but if the softest, most orderly thing you can organize thru secure opsec is going to be met by riot cops -- with the robust support of the gov't and press -- we still have a problem.
At least it's easy to remember sound cannons can't penetrate umbrellas.
If you post any dissent and it goes viral, you may want to consider deleting it. No matter what it is. Even if it is not advocating “direct action.”
Right now there is a big difference between “I’m going to…”, “someone should…” and “Biden should…” but if Trump gets re-elected there may not be.
There are 330M people in America, and at most tens of thousands actively participating in the fascist regime project.
They don’t need an excuse, but their attention is extremely limited.
So, if you’re planning to be a malcontent, don’t advertise that fact
They usually do, actually. Or at least, I'm not sure they *need* one but given how often they *have* them it looks like they often *think* they need it. They can manufacture one to be sure but how much work it is for them probably matters at the margin.
Yes, of course they don’t *need* one.
This does not mean that it’s therefore pointless to try to cover your tracks and to avoid being seen, and it’s fascinatingly weird to me that some people are interpreting what I’m saying this way.
And I started my career reporting in a dictatorship on how activists were using the internet, and I’ve spoken with a number of people who have done hard time for blogging and online activities. They all are pretty big on comms security!
I took great pleasure when the threat hunting team at work admitted that they couldn't find my online presence. Not that I have anything to hide if course... 😬
I think we're in agreement. Like I said, fly low and stay cool, but that's no guarantee.
Shouting from a bullhorn in the square pretty much guarantees a short career, though.
