#btw someone sent an ask to this blog that was 8 miles long and asked me if i had ‘accepted jesus into this mess’

[lupincaps]

[little-lee-stories]

Hello! Sorry to bother you but I was wondering where or how to start getting into the protest thing, I’m a small child and idk how this stuff works but what those officers did was BEYOND disgusting and I wanna help protest! So if you have any info you could give me that’d be awesome and I’d really appreciate it! I love your blog btw ^^

Hi! You’re not a bother at all! But I did see from an ask you sent thetickleeraven that you are 13, and I would highly recommend that if you do go to any protests, you do so with someone you trust over the age of 18. Your enthusiasm for activism is wonderful, but a minor is still a minor, and that comes with a host of issues - parental consent is probably needed or you could be forcefully taken from the protest and brought back home by the police. People around you could be accused of kidnapping or other unsightly activities done to a minor (even if they didn’t do it, anti groups and cops will take any advantage they can get, and we’ve already seen them assume guns in the hands of people that literally had empty hands so) and therefore arrested for crimes they didn’t actually commit. Plus, protest or no protest, the streets aren’t safe for unaccompanied minors.

But! If you do have a trusted adult in your life willing to go with you, here are some minor-specific tips: Stay With Your Adult. If approached by a cop, or even by anyone you don’t trust, coordinate beforehand to have the adult respond for you so that it is clear a) you are not being forced, and b) you are with an adult who is taking charge of your actions and wellbeing during the peaceful protest. Have responses prepared in advance to leading questions that would try to make you “admit” you’re in an unsafe position, as this could again cause the adults around you to be accused of and arrested for fabricated crimes. Unfortunately, I would say that if you can’t go with an adult, don’t go: the danger to both yourself and the movement is too high.

Do Not act out, no matter what anyone else at the protest is doing. If your accompanying adult does something dangerous - such as threatening the police with violence, committing vandalism, etc - DIP. Get out of there, because that person is not concerned for your wellbeing and may well drag you down a road that can get you hurt by or in trouble with the police. In general, despite protesting you want to stay on the good side of the law - don’t give the police any reason to react to what you’re doing. Chanting, marching, things of that nature are fine, but don’t spit in the face of a cop - that’s assault right there. The more peaceful the protest, the less chance of the police being able to justifiably threaten and be violent towards the protesters. If you’re unsure of what to do, stick to something more passive, such as simply repeating “black lives matter,” rather than letting your anger and disgust get the better of you.

Now that you’ve got general conduct down, let’s talk about supplies: food and water, definitely, as protests almost always involve walking multiple miles. Don’t be afraid to stop when you’ve reached your physical limit; no one will be mad. General first aid supplies (personally I would bring a literal first aid kit, but also I’m a safety nut, ha) and protest-specific supplies like a water bottle with baking soda (3 teaspoons of baking soda to every 8 ounces of water, well shaken) for flushing out your eyes in case of tear gas. Response to rubber bullets unfortunately depend on where they are, but it seems cops are mostly aiming for the face so - facial wounds bleed a lot, and that can be scary, but they usually aren’t as bad as they appear. I suggest watching a wound care first aid video before going to a protest and using that to make sure you have what you need to do things like stop bleeding and treat superficial face cuts. IF it can be done safely and without causing more damage, remove any particles in the wound before disinfecting to prevent infection due to foreign objects; if not, leave it to a professional or someone with more experience. With how young you are, I’d honestly say not to mess with much more than a nose bleed on your own. I don’t doubt your ability, but there will be more experienced people around that you can help by fetching water or giving your spare first aid supplies - always follow the lead of the most experienced person when giving aid. If they say back off, back off. If they tell you to put pressure on something for them, do that.

Dressing for the occasion - you want to wear clothes that cover as much of you as possible, with no logos or identifying features. Preferably all black clothes if you can. Use clothing to cover identifying features - a mask on your face, a beanie over your hair, cover any tattoos or piercings. Wear goggles to prevent the effects of tear gas as much as possible, with the added bonus of obscuring your eyes. As my friend likes to say, no face = no case. If they don’t know who you are, you can’t get in trouble regardless of what you do, especially as a minor. Do not use blue shoelaces - they imply that you have either killed or are planning to kill a cop. Do use appropriate footwear, protective boots would be great if you have them.

Last but not least, your “in case of emergency” plan. Hopefully you won’t need it since you’ll be with an adult, but just to be on the safe side I’ll add it in. First of all, make sure you have a safe, secure ride to and from the protest. You do NOT want to be stuck in the area once the protesters leave, as that makes it more likely for you to be singled out, identified, or followed by police. Have a back up if need be. If you have an iPhone, use the Medical ID feature under health in the settings to set up not only information on any illnesses or medications you may have, but also to list emergency contact information so it can be accessed without having to unlock your phone (picture below)

Hitting emergency in the bottom left corner will take you to the emergency call screen, with a Medical ID button at the bottom left again that will display all the info I just mentioned. From there a person can just click one of your emergency contacts to call them.

In addition, there is this feature:

This will let someone automatically call the local emergency services AND send a message to your emergency contacts giving them your location and letting them know you had to contact emergency services. When you’ve got this set up, make sure to tell the people around you at the protest that if anything happens and you can’t do it yourself, you need them to either use your phone to contact emergency services as shown above or to call one of you contacts on the emergency screen. DO NOT have these numbers readily visible on your person, as the media has often made a point of recording the numbers and allowing the audience to use the knowledge to abuse the contacts without regard for your or their safety.

Make sure you know where you’re going, who you’re with, and what to do if you get separated before you even step out of the street. Have a game plan, and stick to it the best of your ability. I would suggest not being directly in the front, back, or outer sides of the protest until you reach adulthood - the likelihood of you being hurt is far greater in those areas, and those people on the side are the ones most likely to branch off in order to do harmful or illegal activities.

Phew, sorry that was so long! I think that’s the best I can give you. Good luck, and if you have any more questions, or just want to talk, I’ve got my asks and my pms open for you! Good luck and stay safe 💕

Edit - I just realized I didn’t mention how to find a protest! Social media is the best place to hear about local protests; personally I recommend Facebook because it “schedules” events with when, where, and sometimes how many people are attending (remember the Area 51 raid? That started as a Facebook event, and see how many people responded to that?). Find a protest you want to/feel safe as you can attending, and start planning (supplies, emergency contacts, transport) from there! I would find something that gives you a few days notice to get your things together.