I hit the photo upload limit yesterday 😅 sorry if some of these are a little blurry, some are still frames of videos I took
Captured the start of one of the combined mounted/infantry charges the cops subjected us to.
Aftermath of that advance - we had held our ground reasonably well, you can see some people being treated for pepper spray.
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The cops were going to escalate things this year, that massacre last year was all they could've ever wanted to get away with attacking people freely. I'm quite worried they'll start actively shooting people at protests soon, shit is getting real bad.
They had an LRAD at sydney town hall, I was surprised they didn’t deploy it tbh. Although they apparently threatened to (I haven’t had that stood up just social media chatter). They probably couldn’t use it because they had so many cops surrounding us, would’ve been heaps of friendly fire.
I don't know how to deal with LRADs, I've heard mixed things about earplugs helping with them, some say it makes it less painful, some say it doesn't make a difference (and makes it harder to hear everything else), most of the protests I've been to are much smaller (South Coast area, so I don't have the means to go to protests in Sydney or Melbourne), but even at smaller local stuff the atmosphere has been quite different from even just 6 months ago, coppas were always being shitty, but now it feels like they're itching to start being as violent as US cops.
I'm honestly kind of scared, I'm getting older and I'm not physically fit enough to really deal with things when shit hits the fan. I've been trying to get fitter, but it's been a really slow process, I don't think I'd be useful in a more brutally suppressed protest and would just be a hindrance to the people around me. Doesn't mean I'll just give up or anything, but things just feel so different, even random strangers on the bus have been openly talking about how things need to change, those that aren't rambling about far right fascist conspiracies at least. Sorry for the ramble, just have a lot of thoughts and not really anyone to talk to about them IRL.
From the advice I’ve heard, earplugs or earmuffs (ideally both) will protect you somewhat from long term hearing damage, but don’t do much to protect you from the immediate effects.
I’ve heard that a concave surface (something like the inside of a riot shield) can be used to reflect the “beam” back at the user.
www.anticop.com.au is a good resource on some of the weapons and tactics pigs use against us.
Totally understandable to be scared, comrade. There’s a difference between bravery and recklessness. All the more important to try and do what we can to keep each other safe while standing up to these thugs.