Protest

Let's Talk Protests

We've seen a recent spike in demonstrations both in the United States and around the world for all sorts of reasons. Well really, for the same reason: people want stability and freedom. Let's talk protests.

Endeavorance

31 Mar 2025 — 9 min read

It's About the Message

There's a lot of protests going on right now. I mean, there usually are, but still somehow more than usual.

In fact, one of the largest planned protests we've seen since The Administration was elected is happening quite soon—more on that in a sec.

First I want to highlight the awesome work from the folks who have been out protesting at Tesla facilities. Tons of groups around the country organized to swarm Tesla showrooms, protesting Elon Musk and everything he stands for (aka being a literal Nazi).

Right wing media and The Administration itself have been losing their collective shit at the notion of a few people across the country vandalizing Tesla chargers or other property, but the vast majority of protests have been peaceful. That said, peaceful protests are only possible when violence is not made necessary. So uh, maybe they should keep that in mind and be happy its only a few instances so far.

Weird how a country that loudly prides itself on a famous protest involving the destruction of property to push back against overreaches of governing forces is all up in arms when it happens to our governing force.

So about that upcoming protest: April 5th has a large-scale protest planned across the states and the world, protesting Trump and Musk as they continue to fondle each other's bits and whisper to each other about tariffs and staff reductions rather than make anything better for anyone.

If you are interested in trying out some civil unrest, this will be a very approachable time to dive in. But before then, I wanted to take a moment to share some tips or maybe refresh you on how to maximize your potential impact and the safety of you and those around you as you head to a protest. This is especially important for readers in the United States, where altercations with a cop can very easily escalate to a deadly situation.

So here's some PROTEST STUFF:

1. Leave Your Tech at Home

Do. Not. Bring. Your. Phone. Don't. Do not.

Don't wear a smartwatch. Don't bring anything with a radio, really. A phone is a tracking device, and your movements can and will be investigated through it. If you absolutely need something, consider purchasing a burner flip-phone using cash and getting rid of it as soon as you no longer need it.

2. Turn Your Arm into an Info Sheet

Using a permanent marker or something you can trust not to get too messed up by sweat, write resourceful information on your arm, leg, or whatever part of your body you feel comfortable writing on. You never know if the porkers are going to take your stuff or strip you down, so relying on paper or clothing to write info on is risky.

Here's a few things you should have written down:

Your emergency contact. Label it something like "EC" and include a phone number and the first name of the contact
The number for a lawyer. Usually, organizers will list lawyers who are on-call to help out people who are arrested during the protest. Check with the event organizers or otherwise search for lawyers ideally doing pro-bono work to support protestors
Any medical allergies or conditions you have that a doctor must know about. It's not impossible that you get knocked out, either by a cop, an aggressive counter-protester, or by accident from other protesters. If you get brought to a hospital unconscious, a doctor can see if they need to do anything special to make sure you Don't Die

3. Don't Talk to the Cops

Don't do it. Even if they're being nice. Even if they offer you a snack. Even if they're just making small talk. The only things you should say to the cops, ever, are:

I will not answer questions without my lawyer present
I would like to make a phone call

Remember:

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time.

4. Wear Something Comfortable but Practical

Avoid flowy clothing, and completely ignore anyone who tells you to wear platform shoes to change your height in order to avoid identification by cops. That's just a fast track to breaking your ankle if you need to run. Instead, wear something you'll be okay with wearing for up to 48 hours. Bring a layer or two that you can swap out (assuming you have a bag).

5. Look Out for Each Other

Bring some water for hydration and washing pepper spray out of people's eyes. Keep an eye out for folks who need help, and keep tabs on where you plan to go if you need to get to safety.

Don't seek out altercations, and don't ignore organizers if shit goes south. This is not about you, it is about the cause you are protesting for. Everything you are doing at a protest should be for the collective power of the group, not to make yourself into a martyr.

It is far more impactful to make a statement and continue living on to help more people than it is to cause a problem and risk the lives of yourself and those around you.

So if you plan to head out to protest this weekend or at any point in the future, I wish you safety and success, but most of all I hope that you meet some amazing folks to surround yourself with.

Read more about the Hands Off protests here: https://thirdact.org/act/handsoff/

Policy Stuff

Global Superpower Afraid of College Newspaper Opinion Pieces

Tufts University doctoral student and Fulbright scholar Rümeysa Öztürk was abducted by plain-clothed US federal agents as she was walking to dinner with friends. Within minutes, she became inaccessible to her loved ones and lawyer, as ICE ferried her off to a holding facility with virtually no further information.

Öztürk was here legally on a student visa through the Fulbright scholar program which exists to help exchange the best and brightest scholars across state and cultural boundaries for the betterment of society. The US state department revoked her visa and is trying to deport her to Turkey. Her crime? She wrote an opinion piece for her school newspaper last year, requesting that the university, "acknowledge the Palestinian genocide" and divest from Israel.

Turns out, an opinion piece in a university newspaper by a highly-educated person requesting for their place of study to acknowledge what the majority of the world identifies as a genocide is the limit of "free speech" in this country, as the current administration makes it abundantly clear: free speech is entirely conditional on said speech being speech that The Administration approves of.

You don't have to agree with Öztürk. You don't have to like her, and you don't have to be a proponent of strict immigration policy. But know that the second we endorse the executive branch placing limitations on "free speech," we endorse those limitations in the hands of whoever sits in the seat of power. We do not have Philosopher Kings. We have a spray-tanned steak salesmen who bankrupted a casino following up after a barely alive husk of a man who actively impeded desegregation.

For now, Öztürk's deportation is halted due to an order from a judge, but this is only the latest in a string of students being disappeared by federal agents for expressing dissent. Meanwhile, faculty from the university have written a heartfelt letter expressing their appreciation for her and her presence at the school.

The Wrong Kind of Insecurities

Y'know, literally right after I posted last week's Stuff Keeps Happening, we saw one of the biggest national security blunders in the history of possibly the world: myriad top-ranking officials from The Administration used Signal to coordinate discussion of a bombing in Yemen (which… can we fucking not?) and somehow added the editor of The Atlantic to their group chat.

Just an all-around failure of protocol, threat modeling, and emoji use.

Somehow the national security breach is the least embarrassing part of this exchange

Anyway color me shocked when about a week later, it's out of most discussions. The Administration holds that this was somehow No Big Deal, and that people make mistakes™, despite having famously banshee-screeched about the Clinton email server. But we know this. We know it's not about actual values and morals. We know they don't give a shit, and we can certainly assume this was one of many uses of unauthorized apps to have discussions of this nature, which is what we really should be investigating. But instead, Pete Hegseth's wife is joining in on meetings with foreign defense ministers, so I dunno if that'll be happening.

About That Greenland Thing

US Somehow-Vice-President JD Vance made a quick (like literally hours-long) trip to Greenland recently amid The Administration's ongoing push to somehow acquire Greenland.

It should be noted: the people of Greenland are not about that. In fact, most of their political parties have pledged to work together to push back on the weird pressure from the states.

Unfortunately, the Obviously Bad Idea of using war-like rhetoric against our own allies while seeking to expand borders through what ultimately amounts to conquest is an Obviously Bad Idea, which may be why Vance went ahead and continued to berate Denmark and talk about how he hopes that Greenland will "cut a deal" with the US.

World Stuff

Unrest in Turkey

Protests have continued to expand in Turkey as Turkish president Erdoğan continues to abuse power and squelch opposition.

Last week, Erdoğan had the mayor of Istanbul arrested. The mayor is expected to be the first candidate to pose a serious threat to Erdoğan's more than 20-year reign over the country. The Turkish government has been issuing orders banning gatherings and demonstrations to clamp down on the increasing protests against the injustices from Erdoğan's power.

As the nation continues to see drops in quality of life, affordability, healthcare, and general freedom, they've pushed harder to protest for saving their democracy.

Election Season in Canada

It's election season in Canada! It'll last a whole month! Wow, imagine.

As Justin "I only did a little bit of Blackface" Trudeau stepped down and Mark Carney took over, Carney took the step to call an election in Canada.

To vastly over-simplify, it's essentially the more left-of-center Mark Carney vs right wing Pierre Poilivere who genuinely stood a much better chance of taking power before Trump came into office and pissed everyone off at conservative bullshit.

Liberal favorability in Canada spiked as Trump continued his chaotic tariffs and "51st state" rhetoric, leading to widespread protests from Canadians against US goods.

The vote is on April 28th, and is going to be watched closely to see just how much Canada is pissed the hell off.

Myanmar Earthquake

A huge 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar a few days ago causing a level of devastation not seen in a lifetime. At time of writing, rescue teams report a death toll surpassing 1,700 people, with thousands more injured or missing.

Myanmar has already been in the midst of ongoing strife since the military staged a coup in 2021 which has been met with extreme opposition from citizens. Some groups have agreed to a temporary ceasefire to help with aid efforts, but the situation remains tenuous at best.

Israel Strikes Beirut

Israel attacked a residential building in Beirut, marking the first bombing of Lebanon from Israel since the ceasefire agreement in November.

The Israeli government issued an evacuation notice by way of posting a map on Twitter of the building they planned to bomb. Mind you, this was a suburban residential building, and the residents had to scramble to flee their home and alert anyone in the area who didn't happen to see the warning from checks notes the military of a foreign country.

A plume of smoke rises from the site of the airstrike

Israel justified their strike with their favorite line, "there were terrorists hiding in there," this time referring to Hezbollah. Now let's be real for a sec: I'm not gonna sit here and gas up Hezbollah, but "we believe members of a political organization are inside of a densely populated residential building" has pretty much never been a valid justification for air striking civilians.