can we talk about risk politics? specifically, one recurring trope that falls under the broader category of risk politics. if you’ve been to a protest in pdx, you’ve probably heard something like this:
“Don’t do X, because police are going to hurt me or a person of color”

I really want to stress that I don’t think most people saying things like this are doing so in bad faith. the argument is not illogical either- police target people of color, arrests and the court system will be harsher for people of color, and so on.

however, this is also being used to paralyze the crowd and police people’s actions. for that reason, I think it is worth thinking a little bit deeper about this claim.

lots of police weapons are indiscriminate (tear gas, pepper balls, rubber bullets, sound weapons). the whole crowd is at risk when these weapons are deployed. when deployed, people on the front lines are most likely to be injured by them.

this is a personal observation, but when I have heard people say this, they tend to be near the back of the protest (not the front line).

my larger issue with risk politics is that it takes away agency from folks and crews. it is perfectly fine to not want to be shot by police! it would be awesome to not get tear gassed every night! however, people have different desired risk levels at protests

you should discuss risk levels with comrades before going to events, and establish how much y’all are collectively willing to risk. risk is complicated and we cannot simplify with simple identity politics!

for instance, some people have histories with law enforcement or may have warrants for arrest. other people may not be able to risk arrest for financial reasons. also, jail fucking sucks for trans comrades.

not everyone is able bodied! people may suffer from health complications that make OC or CS exposure way worse! there are so many factors and all are valid reasons for wanting to stay off the front line.

but there is space for everybody at protests. if you are able to hold the front line, awesome! if you need to stay more close to the middle, that’s also awesome!

respect people’s risk levels

if you are the person not wanting to get shot by police, cool, move to a different zone of the protest. but do not try to police the whole protest just so you are comfortable. let people protest in a variety of ways, respect diversity of tactics, respect diversity of risk.

TLDR: don’t be a cop

+ risk politics rest on the assumption that police are a reactive force. this is a fallacy, the cops set their own rules for engaging the crowd, and these change constantly. one night marching in the streets might be tolerated, another you may get shot for stepping off sidewalks

so being “peaceful” doesn’t matter. the cops attack when they want to attack. they do not need an excuse to do so, and they’ll just mad-lib some press release about “baseball sized rocks” or “frozen water bottles” (?). you never win the PR game!

if you’ve been paying attention to the uprising in pdx, this should be clear to you

check out my soundcloud: https://www.sproutdistro.com/catalog/zines/theory/against-innocence/