Also informative:
https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice/status/1280245988347666432
Roles:
Peaceful Protester - Protesters who don't want to fight, but join hand-in-hand with frontliners, sometimes using their phones to film police aggression
Which is where the meme warriors fixate on "police aggression" and
/end rationality
as they then take that as a tacit admission of the Police admitting they're being aggressive. But you really need to take this in total. And IMO any "peaceful protester" in such a group, be they in Hong Kong, or Portland, who finds themselves in such a formation as this infographic details, needs to
get out and do so quickly. By remaining, they're only "peaceful" by technicality. In all reality, I'd be calling them either "human shields" or "accomplices."
But that's a digression, let us continue.
Frontliner - Protesters who use umbrellas to guard against projectiles and cameras, while keeping hands free for when help is needed.
Shield Soldier - Frontliners who use wood boards, swim boards, or signs to form a first line of defense.
Nothing particularly nefarious just yet, I'd actually be mostly okay with a protest group with these guys present.
Designers - Protest supporters who make inspiring graphics, helpful infographics, or banners for protests.
Harmless enough, they're not a problem. So long as they're not "expressing themselves" on property that doesn't belong to them, or doing so on property they have permission to do so on.
Flag Bearer - uses signs or a phone to signal to protesters when police are advancing or attacking
Cop watch - Protest supporters who use phones to record violent police and document police tactics and weaponry
Within the context of Hong Kong, I could see this as very valid, but it moves into borderline nefarious when applied within the US. Police here in the US don't normally
attack, they respond and they normally advertise their approach very clearly in advance anyway.
And the "cop watch" needing to "document tactics" is another gigantic concern. What kind of "peaceful protester" in the US need to be concerned with developing tactics or counter-tactics to respond to police actions in regards to protests in the US? Peaceful protesters don't. Agitators certainly do though, and they're
expecting a violent police response because they're going to do everything they can to create such a response. But that's another set of roles.
But speaking of police tactics..
Online Comms - Online protesters who use social media apps like Signal and Telegram to report on police strategies and provide protesters with real-time updates.
In Hong Kong this makes a degree of sense, but in the United States?
Medic - protest supporters who are able to treat injuries or have materials to treat teargas exposure.
This one is borderline too, I can be down with treating injuries and other issues that invariably crop up with any kind of group activity with lots of people moving around. But treating tear gas exposure? That's moving into very different territory, especially in the US.
More concerning is the injuries that they're likely thinking about probably are not trips, strains, sprains, or fatigue issues. They're instead likely talking about injuries incurred
after having a physical confrontation with police.
Barricader - protesters who build barricades out of found objects at strategic positions to block oncoming police and traffic that trails protesters.
....If this is going on at a "peaceful protest" you're attending, are you
sure you're actually at a peaceful protest?
But now to the "fun ones" if the above wasn't exciting enough for you.
Fire Squads - protesters who use water and traffic cones to suppress and extinguish teargas canisters
Interesting...
Fire Mage - Protesters who come prepared to set fire to barricades and throw flammable projectiles.
I think we can say we're safely outside the scope of "peaceful protest" at this stage
Light Mage - protesters who use laser pointers to obstruct surveillance cameras, drones, and police visors.
What kind of peaceful protest needs that in the United States?
Range Soldiers - protesters who throw bottles, umbrellas, and trash to stop police from advancing.
Once again, well outside the bounds of peaceful protest, almost like they're seeking to provoke "a violent response" which will, of course, draw in those poor innocent "peaceful protesters" and allow people to scream about how the police are tyrants.
https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice/status/1283177811151208448