Most of the “keep up the work after the protests have ended!”-type posts I’ve seen are mostly focused on like, reading Black authors and listening to Black voices and unlearning racism, and obviously all of that is absolutely vital - but no amount of individual self-reflection will be able to dismantle institutional systems of oppression. So I wanted to put together some resources for continuing to build a culture of noncompliance and resistance to the police and prison system even after things have calmed down
Know your rights. Giving the police any more information than you absolutely have to will never and can never benefit you or anyone else - positive evidence given to the police is regularly thrown out in court, whereas negative evidence will be used against you. Know what to say and what you have the right to refuse. You don’t have to answer any questions without a lawyer present, you don’t have to give the police access to your house or car unless they have a current warrant signed by a judge. They will try to intimidate you - learn your rights and don’t let up, don’t ever cooperate with the police
Don’t snitch. If you see someone breaking the law in a way that doesn’t hurt anybody, keep your mouth shut. If cops knock on your door asking you questions about your neighbors or anyone you know, don’t answer
Don’t call the cops. If you can solve the problem in a different way, do it. Cops have on multiple occasions murdered the people they were called to help (or bystanders) without provocation. Don’t be complicit in that. Learn how to handle situations as a community or with the help of qualified experts
When you see an interaction with the police happening, stop and observe. If necessary, film the interaction. Organize and work with groups such as Copwatch to observe the police and hold them accountable
Use proper opsec, especially if you’re involved with anything that might make you a target for the cops. Downloading Signal is a great simple place to start
Learn about jury nullification, and spread the word. When serving in a jury, you have the right to vote not guilty on a defendant that you believe did commit the crime but doesn’t deserve punishment for it. Don’t be complicit in unjust punishment
Refuse to do work for the police or prison system. Workers keep the world running and the state relies on our compliance to keep our neighbors under their thumb. We can shut it down
Continue to support bail funds, even for non-protesters. Cash bail is unjust, and people shouldn’t be in jail just because they can’t pay
Continue to support legal defense funds as well, such as that of the National Lawyers Guild
Write to prisoners, either by yourself or with groups such as the Anarchist Black Cross or Black And Pink, and organize/support books to prisons programs, commissary funds, reentry programs, and other forms of prisoner support
Organize and support community-run crisis response organizations like the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon or the Birmingham Peacemakers in my hometown
Here are some other organizations to join that are doing good work in this area:
Black Lives Matter is obviously a huge voice in racial justice right now. The list of “official” chapters on their website is very incomplete, though, so you may have better luck doing a web search for “[your area] black lives matter” (beware of fakes though)
Showing Up for Racial Justice is another very active and widespread racial justice network
Critical Resistance is a grassroots prison abolitionist organization founded by Angela Davis
The Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement is another active prison abolitionist organization
The IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee works with prisoners to organize strikes, phone zaps, and other actions combating injustice in prisons
Again, the Anarchist Black Cross does great work supporting political prisoners through letter-writing and more. The link I’ve been including is to an unofficial federation of ABC groups, though - there may be a group in your area that’s not part of that federation, so a web search for “[your area] black cross” may be better
Black And Pink is a prison abolitionist organization focused on queer people and people living with HIV/AIDS
Antifascism is of course an important aspect of racial justice and community safety. See @antifainternational‘s guide to getting connected to your local antifascists - though, again, beware of fakes (the “antifa checker” accounts on fedbook and twitter can help)
The police state and prison industrial complex rely on the complicity and cooperation of all of us to function and be effective. By building a culture of noncompliance and active resistance, we can drastically reduce the state’s ability to oppress communities of color. Don’t let the struggle be forgotten with the changing of the news cycle - keep up the struggle until all are free!
happy pride month! being queer does not absolve you of your white privilege and now is not the time to be centering yourself! ACAB!
NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!
Okay, time for some house cleaning. If you disagree with any of these then get off my blog
Trans women are women
Trans men are men
Nonbinary people are nonbinary
Bisexuals, pansexuals, and omnisexuals are valid
Arospec and acespec people are valid
Trans women deserve to be included in women spaces
Trans lesbians deserve to be included in lesbian spaces
Trans men deserve to be included in men’s spaces
Gay trans men deserve to be included in gay spaces
Black lgbtq+ people deserve to be included in our community
Indigenous lgbtq+ people deserve to be included in our community
LGBTQ+ people of all races deserve to be included in our community
You’re never too old to transition or discover your sexuality
Respect is not given but earned
Polyamorous relationships are valid
Monogamous relationships are valid
And lastly, but sure not leastly,
I pray this won’t lose me too many followers. Not because I care about followers but because I hope not many people disagree with this
Okay, time for some house cleaning. If you disagree with any of these then get off my blog
Trans women are women
Trans men are men
Nonbinary people are nonbinary
Bisexuals, pansexuals, and omnisexuals are valid
Arospec and acespec people are valid
Trans women deserve to be included in women spaces
Trans lesbians deserve to be included in lesbian spaces
Trans men deserve to be included in men’s spaces
Gay trans men deserve to be included in gay spaces
Black lgbtq+ people deserve to be included in our community
Indigenous lgbtq+ people deserve to be included in our community
LGBTQ+ people of all races deserve to be included in our community
You’re never too old to transition or discover your sexuality
Respect is not given but earned
Polyamorous relationships are valid
Monogamous relationships are valid
And lastly, but sure not leastly,
I pray this won’t lose me too many followers. Not because I care about followers but because I hope not many people disagree with this
Now normally, I don’t make big posts or have calls-to-action. I’m supportive of the ones I see, and share posts on my social media’s, but don’t often make my own posts about them. But this is too big for any of us to remain silent about. The murder of George Floyd is yet another example of the society we’re living in. It’s one where marginalized groups are constantly attacked and subdued by the actions of the ruling (rich, white) class. We can’t just sit by and let this continue. BLACK LIVES MATTER and to not speak out or act when something so heinous is happening in front of our eyes cannot continue. Want to help the protesters, but can’t march or donate? Use the skills you’ve learned to make a change.
Cast protection and prosperity spells for the protesters:
If you’re able to cast spells, use what you’ve learned to protect the protesters from the violent tactics of the police. Give the protesters the strength and reassurance they need to continue the fight. Help them in gathering the courage needed to face such horrible backlash. Protection is one of the best ways to help if you’re hesitant about directing your spells towards the violent police forces. Let your spells be felt in some way rather than not acting at all.
Bind the police to prevent them from causing more harm:
This one is something many of us can do and if you’re against cursing then this can be a way for you to help even further. Binding the police who are attacking protesters can help protect them even more. Stopping them before violence starts or continues will be incredibly helpful for the protesters who are marching in the streets. It’s been seen that in many instances during these protests, police officers have been the ones instigating violence or harassing protesters to the point where they have no other choice but to react in a way police categorize as violent. Don’t let them do this. Bind their actions to where they can’t continue the violence we’ve been seeing.
Cast curses and hexes directed at police attacking the protesters and causing them serious harm:
Now I’m pro-cursing, but I make sure I have a clear target in my mind whose face I can clearly see. It’s important to also get a name of the target of your curse if you can. This makes it so curses can’t rebound somewhere else or harm the people trying to make a change. Make your target feel the negativity their actions are causing. Make them realize the hate they are causing and the grief they are responsible for. Demoralize them and give them repercussions for attacking protesters
Create sigils that you can share with your friends to family to protect them if they are protesting:
Protective sigils made by you with the intent to help the people around you are a great way to have your work out in the protest. They can help those around the person carrying the sigil and spread the intent of the sigil throughout the protest. You can also create a sigil to do the same thing and burn it or dispose of it in a way which destroys it to send your intent out if someone can not carry it in a protest.
Work with your gods and goddesses to protect the people marching:
Pray to the deities you work with, especially the ones who are associated with protection. In the Norse pantheon, these can be deities such as Thor (especially), Tyr, Freyja, and Odin (among others). Look into the pantheons you work with and the deities you know to see if you can ask them to give their blessings to the protesters. Always be respectful when you’re doing this and give them offerings if that’s how you honor you deities or dedicate some actions to them as thanks for their help.
As people who are part of marginalized communities, it is our duty to support these protests and bring about the change that is so desperately needed. We need to stand with our brothers and sisters to fight against the brutality that is so prevalent in so many areas of the world. Even if you don’t identify as part of a marginalized community, not speaking out against the brutality happening is the same as supporting its continuation. We need to do what we can. Add ways to help the movement that I haven’t mentioned. BLACK LIVES MATTER
This witch supports the BLM movement, LGBTQIA+ rights, #WitchesAgainstNazis, Indigenous People's Rights, Marriage Equality, everything anti-Trump, and everything anti-Nazi.
If you have a problem with that, then fuck off. Unfollow me. Block me. BYE!!!