As a point of context I am a trained investigator. I specialized in combating organized intimidation protests by NGOs and domestic terror groups for 20 of my 30-year career.
The media and some politicians cloak these activities in a pseudo historical context mislabeling them as part of our history and as free speech and peaceful protest. In fact, prior to the 1970’s when police began being trained in “cultural sensitivity” and crowd control, every example of such behavior was met with Billy clubs, chemical CS (mace), and extreme force. We were a civil society where people actually had peaceful, respectful debate, and dialectic. Citizens of the USA coveted their individual rights to speak, publish, and present their ideas to stimulate change or thought.
NGO = Non Government Organizations
I have seen many times where NGOs organized a protest. They insert a small number of instigators and those instigators take the front line. The sheeple follow. After some hollow rhetoric they antagonize the opposing group members with maddening illogical tripe. They build frustration in the opponent’s minds, then generally one bad actor will covertly strike with one or two acts of physical battery. The act is happens so fast that it is innocuous even to those standing nearby. The assailant then recedes into the crowd. The opposition responds blindly and forcefully in self-defense with physical action. A glaring example of this formula is the incident at involving ANTIFA and Eric Canton, a professor with Antifa slipped forward in the crowd, smashed a Trump rally supporter on the head with a heavy steel bicycle lock, then he just melted away into the crowd. See the article (randomly chosen for the photo.) Click Here
Sadly, whatever you think about the sheeple, they are intentionally drawn into the line of violence. This pageant play is repeated all over the world by these paid organizers. They carefully orchestrate the melee. The organizers of the original offending protest assure that when the media interviews the “victims” of their group who were “attacked” by their opposition they can honestly say, “we were just peacefully protesting and “they” attacked us. Of course, in fact technically it was not them, but that they were set up by wrongdoers in their own group to be victimized. They don’t even see what happens right in front of them, people are oblivious. That is why Situational Awareness is Critical to your survival. See the article on my sister site - PracticePreparedness.com and the radio show on the subject too. Click Here
Over 20 years spent dealing with animal rights, environmental, and other protest groups we video recorded hundreds of intimidation and covert attack incidents. Going undercover into these organizations I sat through weeks of training / brainwashing classes where the NGOs were setting up people to “organize at the grassroots level”. Of course, they had offices in the center of the city where monthly rental was upside of $200,000 per year or more. The claim that the working groups of the NGOs were "Grassroots uprisings" was a total sham.
That said, it is crucial for our success and survival of our society that you understand how these groups work. Immediately identify the bad actors. Take their pictures, try to do it early, use video instead of stills, sweep the crowd. Mull about holding your smartphone up to get them and act like you are talking on the phone and looking a picture or something. Do it surreptitiously if possible. Do it way before the situation heats up. Hide the photos away or upload them to the cloud so you can pull them up immediately after an attack for the law enforcement to be able to find and arrest them. Play the video for law enforcement and freeze it on the actor for ID. Always backup the data for your own protection later.
These NGO organized groups have trained tactical Medics and organizers. Their primary goal is to create an incident that will allow the media to get a “gotcha moment” that will be used against you and your cause. Do not allow them to win at this game.
Finally, shed your ego when you go to these events. If you choose to engage the opposition, hold fast to facts, empirical data, suppress emotion, never yell, never name call, and never show fear. Shallow platitudes shrink against the light of truth. Analytical, unemotional responses which cause the opposition to question their rhetoric will leave far more lasting effects than any physical attack every would. Remember, when people exceed their intellect they turn to fisticuffs. Do not be baited into that position. It is through thoughtful discourse, a dialectic that we will survive, even with our differences in a free society. (See my article on Dialectic.) Click Here
This week I had the opportunity, again, to engage protesters at a conservative event in a small town. In my primary career I dealt with many people engaged in both peaceful and violent protests. Sadly, most of those protesting has no understanding of the machinations behind the scenes in such organized operations. Situational awareness is the key to protecting yourself if you have decided to protest. Often times, the threat may stem not from the opposition but from one within your own ranks. Civil Discourse and Dialectic are preferred over protest. Protest indicates that dialogue has been abandoned for shouting and sometimes violence. If your true goal is to influence hearts and minds arm yourself with facts and press forward with civil dialogue.
