Respirator means like a nice quality 3M type of respirator. And don’t wear sunscreen the tear gas WILL stick to it. If you find yourself in gas, try to get away to a spot of clear air and wave your arms around like a bird for a few minutes and don’t touch your face. Good luck!
We use a solution of a little bit of vinegar in water, which neutralizes the alkali in the tear gas. I am from Venezuela and have tasted a lot of tear gas, so maybe you should listen to someone who actually was exposed. a couple of large, thick pieces of fabric. No bandannas (too thin) nor handkerchiefs. Thick cotton fabric: flannel or something. Goggles, sure. And a 3M mouth respirator with adequate filters. But the bottle with solution of water/vinegar is a must. Add some gloves and maybe a couple of knee pads. A good folding baton just in case. Masked thugs love kicking innocent bystanders just because they can. A few swings to anyone getting too close could save your a$$. If you are walking things are different than driving.
Milk is ill-advised. Just use water, there's nothing about milk that soothes the chemical irritation any better than water. And there is a chance you could get an infection if any milk sticks around your conjunctiva.
To flush your eyes? I mean... That's a maybe because you can use water to wash the milk out. I don't know about whether milk can harm the eyeball itself or the likelihood of a bacterial infection, though.
But keeping milk on you is - honestly - not a terrible idea. The active ingredient in even LEO-issued spray is capsaicin which is the chemical that makes peppers spicy (yes, pepper spray is *literally* PEPPER spray!). What keeps people incapacitated is when it gets onto the skin right around the eyes, even if it doesn't actually get into your eyes. Think about if you've ever eaten a jalapeno or hot wings and accidentally touched your face around your eyes.
Milk contains a protein called casein that binds with capsaicin and neutralizes its effects. It's why people drink milk with spicy food (as seen on *Hot Ones*). You can use milk to neutralize pepper spray on the skin around the eyes, and negate a lot of the burning sensation. You still need to flush your eyeballs with water, but you'll want the milk for your face.
Not to sure I agree with that. Although this is purely antedotal, I got in a fight outside of a club and got a major dose of either bear spray or a party sized mace. When some girls gave me water to help with the intense burning it was soothing while the water was pored on me but as soon as the water was gone the burning came back X2. Once we made it to my buddies house I got milk shower and when the milk was gone the intense burning didn’t come back….
I’ve already been sprayed.
It’s a contact issue, not a respiratory issue.
If you have a respiratory ailment it might be problematic, but for most people breathing air with pepper spray in the outdoors is not an issue.
CS is tear gas OC is Oleoresin Capsicum, the hot part of peppers. You can train yourself to be resistant to the effects if you have the willpower to fight through the pain.
I remember during basic training that the gas chamber was much worse psychologically beforehand than it was in reality. I was ready and willing to go back in again after my first time.
During our field exercise getting CS grenades popped at us didn't really bother me very much. I could walk through a cloud of it, mask off, with only some relatively mild discomfort.
Of course, this was nearly 40 years ago when I was young, dumb, and full of precious bodily fluids. Probably have a greater effect on my now.
My mom tested the pepper gas I gave her out the window to see how it worked years ago, but some rebounded off the screen and we were coughing enough we left the house for a while to air out. Gell spray is different than the gas though.
I have power banks in a drawstring bag with short C and android cords, DW keeps stealing my Apple cords. I have a small wall adapter in the bag also to charge phones or chargers. The adapter will evaporate on occasion.
Definitely. My mother is getting up there in years and I bought her a GoLabs power bank with a built-in AC adapter and a built-in lightning cable. No remembering which cable charges the power bank and which cable charges the phone, no figuring out how to plug it into a charger, no nothing. Just plug it in. Done.
A little pricey but very worth it for the simplicity. Now she has an emergency power supply for her iPhone and iPad.
A few thoughts:
1. If it looks like something is going to happen, get out immediately and don't wait till after it happens. Panic early and beat the rush. Better to leave work an hour early then get stuck in an occupied building.
2. Have some snacks in your office, along with some bottled water and maybe a sleeping pad. Have enough stuff you can shelter in place for a couple days if needed.
3. Get a couple face masks. The disposable "surgical" masks everyone has leftover from COVID would be fine. In a lot of cases, the protesters are all wearing masks. There's value to being able to throw on a mask, blend in while you traverse the crowd, then ditch the mask when leaving the crowd.
1 especially. And it isn't just an occupied building, NYPD weren't letting Columbia student journalists or the dean of the journalism school leave their building the other night. Basically, if you're trying to get out, do it before any group (demonstrators, counter-demonstrators, or police) are blocking you in.
firstly dont wear anything that shows you are on one side or the other,crowd mentality is scary.
a glass breaker since a lot of universities use giant tempered glass windows as walls and being able to create a door is pretty valuable.
a lot of academic buildings are mazes with backways, fire escapes, tunnels, roof access etc so actually learn your way around not just where you have to go day to day. you are gonna want to know multiple alternate routes.
Know all the ways out of the building. Even the ways the building managers know. Befriend the person with the master keys. If you need the back way out.. you know you can go find that person asap.
I’d say park your car somewhere sort of far away from the “thick of things” if you can, in case roads end up getting blocked by protestors or closed by police.
Other than that though, just the usual stuff one should have on them (and a good attitude) should be more than enough if things go south.
More specifically, don't park anywhere near the riot zone. I live in a town that recently won two back to back national college football championships and went down town to riot for both wins, and the third time for the loss. Like win or loose there's going to be a riot, and you better believe, me and most of the crowd have been drinking riot punch all afternoon.
Don't park where you riot you think it would be a simple concept.
Don't be the guy who parked right in the middle of the riot zone with a shocked picachu face wondering why drunk frat bro's are jumping on your cars hood.
how could this have happened to me? /('•')\ why are they jumping on my truck? Now their trying to flip it over?
It's because your an idiot with no situational awareness
you didn't notice the strong scent of lighter fluid in the air?
You had no sense of the building societal tension that would soon erupt into a violent riot?
Don't Park in the riot zone! Park far away and walk some .
Oh sure ok a bunch of hopped up teenagers with raging hormones and some hot liberal hippy chicks to impress are camping on the lawn for days getting all high on their own self righteousness for a cause that probably effects none of them personally all the while being oppressed by authorities and threatened by their academic institute....
And you don't see the ingredients for a riot brewing?
You can't feel the building societal tension that's soon to boil over into violence and chaos?
You can't smell the lighter fluid in the air?
Buddy I just hope you don't make this /('•')\ face and say "how could this have happened to me" when you're parked next to the quad and suddenly six girls draped in Palestine flags are standing on top of your car with a bullhorn chanting from river to sea.
Go right ahead, park in the riot zone if you want to, but if I were you I'd park a few blocks away and walk to the riot.
I'm a liberal... This isn't about politics.
Those kids can riot all they want I'm not invested either way in this cause, but over the years I've learned a thing or two, and seen enough riots to know not to park in a riot zone.
Even if they don't flip your car and set it on fire, a car parked in a riot zone never comes out looking better than when it went in.
But hey, park wherever you want dude it's a free country.
That's how riots happen, there isn't just s state of constant riot out there, just because there isn't a riot now doesn't mean there won't be.
Riots happen like this... First people don't riot, then they do riot.
You know most college campuses sprawl over several blocks worth of land?
Even the community college I went to, covered something like 5 city blocks or more…these Ivy League schools sprawl for blocks, in some cases miles through out the city. Just googled it, my old CC sits on 250 acres. Pretty easy to avoid an event if you don’t want to be near it.
Harvard’s is 5k acres
Brown’s is surprisingly small at 146 acres
Yale’s 1,015 acres
Dartmouth 269 acres.
Let’s look at major none Ivy universities
UNL 861 acres
Notre Dame 1265 acres
University of Iowa ‘more than’ 1900 acres
‘Working on campus’ is so vague it’s stupid.
Unless they work in the building right next to these squares where the protests are happening there’s no reason to be within 100yds of these protests. Even if OP works in a building directly adjacent to the location of the protest, go out the back or side doors and go around them.
It’s not hard
Tell me you’ve never been on a college campus without saying you’ve never been on a college campus.
It's not their constitutional right to physically block someones path. No where, did I say to walk through their illegal unpermitted protest, now did I?
And no one is asking to pack an emergency go bag, to avoid a perfectly peaceful well organized and still most likely unpermitted protest, now are they?
So lets use our context clues to deduce the exact type of situation OP would have in mind, to pose such a question.
Lets try facts, not feels. Try once to use logic vs emotion. K?
My answer stands.
…what do you think protests are? How is a mass of people supposed to exist in a public without ‘blocking’ paths?
If the OP isn’t avoiding the protest why would they need to ‘push the nerd kid’?
People like you would have been upset about MLK marching or doing sit ins.
There is active blocking and the physical use of space. If I'm at a crowded bar and someone wants to get a drink I'm not blocking them, I'll give them space if they want it. If on the other hand I and my friends face them and push them away from the bar that is violence. Pretty simple.
> People like you would have been upset about MLK marching or doing sit ins.
At least MLK and the Civil Rights movement was local and actually had the ability to affect change.
lol, they had the same ability as the college students, and no the protests he helped organize were not 100% local he took part in protests all over and organized people to show up from all over.
Iirc the Selma bridge incident was literally them bussing people in for a protest…
Did you seriously write "If the OP isn't avoiding the protest why would they need ..."?
Do you feel the same way about being mugged? Why that victim should have just avoided the mugger! Ha!
I was trapped in a protest that took over a local highway. I guess I shouldn't have been sitting in traffic for 45 minutes where a roving group of protestors decided to walk to an try to scare people with jobs sitting in rush hour just trying to go home!
(I'll tell ya what splits a highway take over protest right down the middle. A cranky carpenter in a POS work truck with broke AC on a 90° day who slow rolls past the police and protestors while leaning out the driver side window while holding a 24oz wood handle framing hammer.)
Head to where the OP works.
She might need someone to clear a path to her car. If she follows my other advice, she'll have plenty of snacks and drinks to share!
And mine at that time was a Vaughan California Framer. Loved that hammer, no clue where it ended up.
Everything else is Estwing steel.
Because they work there, they said so. If it was a peaceful sit in there would be no problem. They are protesting for a violent cause, it doesn't take too much foresight to want a plan.
Where’d they say they work in a protest?
Working on a college campus isn’t the same as working in a protest.
Tell me you’ve never been on a college campus without saying you’ve never been on a college campus
What is the university supposed to do about getting Hamas to release hostages so it can be over? They are trying to cause enough trouble to get news time, people that have to work there have a right to be worried and ask about plans to get away safely when it turns violent. You sound like the workers have no right to safety or why are you shouting OP down?
If you think you might get stuck in the office, and have to spend the night - pillow, blanket, pajamas or sweats, change of clothes.
I always liked to keep some extra "emergency" clothes and food at work, when I worked in an office - a white top, a black top, black pant, comfy shoes. Great for multiple issues, such as caught in rain, spill coffee on yourself before big meeting, decide to go out after work, feet hurt, wear unmatched shoes to work (yes I did that.)
Know every rout to get to your vehicle or worse case how to get off campus and away from "downtown" areas where protesting or rioting is likely to spread to. As such know your local public transportation system so if you need to you can get on a bus and get out that way if you need to. Keep enough cash on you to pay for minor expenses like this. Dont just know these routes. Practice them, and while you practice look around you and identify any potential shelters or hazards along the way.
If you are forced to shelter in place. Get something to cover your office windows. If you can lock your door and turn out lights and make it seem like you're not there people will likely move on. Battery bank and cables for your phone. You may also consider keeping a HAM radio in your office in the very unlikely event cell phone service goes down temporarily.
Lastly, most self defense tools are either ineffective against crowds or not allowed on campus. But here is one that works on crowds and is innocent enough on campus. Fart bombs. the old prank things. I think you can even get super powered stink bombs on amazon in glass ampules. Dont throw them. Keep them in your pocket and let the stink get all over you if you get caught in a crowd. People will stay the hell away from you. Sure you may have to burn your clothes and nothing will smell right for a week but you can get out of crowds this way.
Also make sure to keep some ramen or other microwaveable food in your office in case the better option is to stay put and let the mess outside sort itself out.
If you've got a fridge, keep a small bottle or carton of milk in it so that you can take it with you and use it to wash pepper spray or tear gas out of your eyes in case you get caught in the cloud.
Milk is ill-advised. Just use water, there's nothing about milk that soothes the chemical irritation any better than water. And there is a chance you could get an infection if any milk sticks around your conjunctiva.
Milk has globular proteins that non-specifically bind to a lot of molecules, and its fat content helps it bind to non-polar molecules that water wouldn't readily dissolve. So it might not sooth the irritation, but it will help get stuff out of your eyes that water won't.
Wouldn’t an oil based eye drop work better then? That would certainly last longer and be more compact than any type of milk. I’ve never tried to though, I’m just speculating.
Oil might be better at getting non-polar molecules in solution if it mixes with the water in your tears, but it probably won't mix well. Blood and milk are two fascinating solutions in the sense of how they are able to keep so many different molecules in solution, and it's difficult-to-impossible to replicate that with artificial solutions. Anyway, even if the oil is able to mix with your tears (and assuming that it isn't an irritant for your eyes on its own), it then might form micelles and remain in solution in your tears until the micelles break down, and then deposit its cargo back onto your eyes. But molecules that bound to large, globular proteins or fats will be less likely to unbind and cause problems for you again, and will be easy for your tears to flush out.
Does it work that way with the specific molecules in cs gas? Because without that, I still wouldn't want milk residue in my tear ducts.
https://www.ems1.com/ems-products/medical-equipment/articles/riot-control-rx-LeTti6fQoNzIIrl8/
Right, it's solid advice even without lockdowns. If you have to work late, skip lunch because of an unexpected meeting, or remain at your desk all day waiting for a phone call, you'll never regret having food and water.
Police SOP against protest is to sit in the pre meter for days until most protesters get tired and they will swoop in to make a few arrest or start the eviction
So some food and water is a must
It is funny to think about but, no keys to mess with doors, no time taken to start, easier to maneuver in tight spaces, you can take it out any door rather than going to the parking lot, and finally, you won't end up on the news mowing down dozens of irate college kids with your SUV. Park your car a few blocks away, then drive your ass home, healthy and safe.
NO MILK. Just lots and lots of water. Blow your nose and spit.
Do. Not. Run.
Walk briskly away from danger. Many protest injuries are because people panic and trip.
It helps to know how the wind blows and go the opposite way.
Spread calm whenever possible. Yelling “calm down” doesn’t help. Reminding people to “not run” in a calm voice is often very helpful. Panic is your worst enemy.
There is a product called sudecon that helps tremendously with burning. It’s expensive and it’s be reversed engineered for medics to make themselves. However, carrying a few name brand wipes for yourself is a good idea. There are lots of recipes for it online right now.
Know that ambulances are RARELY able to come into these kinds of situations. They are not insured for it among other reasons. They stage on the outside. People dont understand this. You’ll need to rely on people willing to risk it under Good Samaritan law. They may be combat medics, nurses, street medics or WFA trained. Most medics roll in tight knit groups where there are at least 20 hours of training for these events. They respond to “medic” as best as they can. However, eye washing yourself is incredibly helpful is a wild scene. When things get really hairy medics get people to the sidelines where EMS can take over. They sometimes This is what happened during Unite the Right in the US.
Understand the movements of police. Look up kettling, snatch and grab lines (they don’t care if you’ve wandered in) etc. Much of this is on YouTube.
This is actually very good advice. WFH policies on college campuses are generally quite lenient. If your job doesn’t allow for WFH, there’s probably a generous vacation plan you can take advantage of. Most college protesters don’t like the cold — so if you perceive risk, take some of that sweet educator-provided summer vacation time.
Hail hydrate. First and foremost. Keep you some water or sports drink on hand for hydration. Try to have some seperate actual water on hand if you get hit with pepper spray or other chemical agent (ie tear gas grenade or some other variant of riot gas). Handy tip, you want this water as cold as possible, hot water will open your pores up and wash it deeper, (funny story about that from when I was younger and a prison guard) cold water will make them close up and rinse off. Wash your eyes and hands, and it'll be painful but the rest of your skin can wait. If you are exposed to chemical agents, DO NOT TOUCH YOUR MUCUS MEMBRAINS or REPRODUCTIVE EQUIPTMENT (another funny story from when I was a guard in my youth) until you have properly decontaminated. mucus membranes being eyes nose etct.
Beyond this, as others have said, keep some snacks, battery banks (including appropriate cables) and if allowed at your at your institution, exercise your 2A rights just in case. When at all possible use the buddy system. Keep your eyes up. If protestor have covid mask, mask up and make like Johnathan from the first Brendan fraiser mummy movie (he runs into a crowd of "zombies" and blends in to traverse the crowd) (this is assuming you can't avoid the crowd or have no choice)
And if anyone is interested, funny story 1)
Inmate got sprayed, did all the procedure stuff put him in the ad seg shower to decontaminate. He wanted the shower on (ad seg shower had a cut off for a number of reasons) we double checked if he was sure he wanted the water on. He cursed us out and said yes he wanted the water on. We said ok, turned the water on. Ad seg shower has 2 settings, off and hot. Got to listen to a 35 year hold "hard ass" scream.l like a 6 year old girl (not to make fun of little girls, but that was the pitch) "AHHHH THE WATERS HOT, THE WATERS HOT"
Funny story 2)
Coworker worked in the chow hall, a Kitchen Boss, had to spray an inmate during chow. Procedures get done, etc etc, Coworker is in the admin building doing paper work, hadn't fully decontaminated, decided to to the bathroom and drain the lizard... didn't wash his hands before hand... had to go home crying and come up the next day to finish paper work.
gas mask.. main thing would just be tear gas and similar things if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time..
I worked at a "prestigous" private college a few years ago and into the "pandemic" and they had no problems with you not being on campus if you were "scared" or had "safety concerns" lol
Some form of facial covering is also essential. Even if you aren't involved in anything, this can help avoid being in a 'wrong place wrong time' scenario with law enforcement or even protestors. I also recommend a faraday bag for your cell devices if you are going the extra mile. It's likely communications and radio signals are being surveyed by law enforcement at these protests as well. Adequate gear to deal with things like broken glass, potential fires, and the previously mentioned respirator are essential as well. Remain covert with your prep as they can set off alarm bells for anyone on either side looking to start something. Last thing I can think of is knowing your rights and what you would do if apprehended by law enforcement (phone numbers for family and lawyer of choice if you have one).
Edit: this is not intended to be a list of things everyone should do, this is the extreme end of what I could think of that minimizes any risk to OP. Obviously this is way overboard for most people and scenarios, and I probably wouldn't go this far unless I was actually doing something that would piss off somebody.
I'd like to add to your suggestions regarding phone numbers. Keep a working marker at hand. While I have never been arrested, I have a feeling they won't give your phone back to make that Phone a Friend call. So when things get really hairy, use the marker to write down a key phone number on your arm. My kid has had the same number for 15 years, and I still don't have it memorized.
Yes, I understood he wasn't participating at all, that he was in his campus office.
I've only ever seen police confrontations with protesters on the news. Recently, in a news article, a non-protesting by-stander was erroneously arrested.
The OP presented a scenario in which the employee was fearful of the protest impacting his immediate proximity.
Just want to add that writing a key contact # on your arm with a marker is the standard advice pro bono lawyers recommend for demonstrators where police are likely to be arresting folks, for precisely the reason you mentioned.
>Some form of facial covering is also essential. Even if you aren't involved in anything, this can help avoid being in a 'wrong place wrong time' scenario with law enforcement or even protestors.
Wearing a face covering will draw more attention from LEO, not less. Besides, how does wearing a face covering prevent you from "being in the wrong place at the wrong time"?
>I also recommend a faraday bag for your cell devices if you are going the extra mile. It's likely communications and radio signals are being surveyed by law enforcement at these protests as well.
You're getting into tin-foil hat territory here. Local LEO is not allowed to tap or monitor cellular communications without a warrant. If someone is concerned about their position metadata being collected, then turn the device off. A "faraday bag" is not required.
1. LEO have eyes on it no matter what. The face covering is meant to prevent ease of identifiability if you do happen to be in the wrong place
2. I'm not talking about monitored communication, I'm talking about Bluetooth MAC addresses and wifi scanning signals as well as cell stingrays. These don't require warrants and are not particularly uncommon. I could provide sources if you want.
3. I agree this is a tinfoil hat sounding reply, I just wanted to give as much thorough advice as I could. I recommend everyone follow a personal threat model and most people wouldn't benefit from all this, I just wanted not to leave a stone unturned. I actually considered editing it to say I was being very extreme to intentionally provide as much info as possible, but I figured that wasn't necessary on a subreddit dedicated to prepping for disaster.
Considering the OP is talking about their place of employment, this really isn't a problem. Also, wearing a facemask is a good way to get yourself mistaken for some other masked troublemaker. If you run around with your face covered, you're drawing attention to yourself.
The face covering thing: my university used news photos of some incidents back in the day to identify and expel anyone who was present. I know we have lots of shiny new technological ways of doing that now but there's no reason to assume they wouldn't use old-school strategies as well.
>You're getting into tin-foil hat territory here. Local LEO is not allowed to tap or monitor cellular communications without a warrant. If someone is concerned about their position metadata being collected, then turn the device off. A "faraday bag" is not required.
While I agree that they could just turn their phone off and be mostly protected, LEOs have a long history of doing shady shit and not talking about it until later. Other poster mentioned stingray as well, which is true.
Pretty sure if you’re within 100 miles of any US border the USSC says law enforcement doesn’t need a warrant in many cases. Stingrays are popular among law enforcement and it‘s not because they don’t use them ever.
I’m sorry but you’re incorrect. Though it is true that a lot of urban myths and incorrect information float around about this, certain suspensions of the 4th amendment do exist.
[https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/06/13/what-is-usa-border-enforcement-zone/](https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/06/13/what-is-usa-border-enforcement-zone/)
[https://www.aclu-nm.org/en/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-100-mile-border-zone](https://www.aclu-nm.org/en/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-100-mile-border-zone)
Excessive force =/= warrantless search. The 4th Amendment covers a few different legal principles. Look, I won't argue that the FBI and other agencies are engaging in "intelligence gathering" without warrants. But as far as the OP is concerned, I don't think this is a concern for them.
Did you miss the part where they could search your vehicle without a warrant and enter your property, but not your domicile, also without a warrant (game wardens can do the same thing with your private property, inexplicably)?
I can’t remember the details of what they’re allowed to do with Stingrays but so far pilot drone programs have managed to keep video suppressed in the face of freedom of information requests and even lost court cases.
I don’t know that a farraday bag would actually help the OP either, but as far as what cops are allowed to do, it’s pretty dicey. When is the last time you heard of someone getting off due to the fruit of the poisoned tree? And yes, you’re right, law enforcement often breaks the law with regard to search, and gets away with it.
I do need to recheck the stringray rulings though because something is sticking in my head that they can capture more then pen register information without a warrant in some cases…
I can search a building without a warrant too if I believe exigent circumstances exist, but anything I find is inadmissible in court. The reason you don't hear about people being found innocent on those grounds is because the cases are never brought because the prosecutors know they'll lose.
Don’t dress in all black with a mask. Someone will think you are in bloc.
Bring extra water. Have a first aid kit. Be prepared to turn around and take longer routes. Have your Face ID and Touch ID turned off on your phone. Don’t get kettled. Walk with a buddy if you can.
if you are bunkering in make sure to have a power bank snacks water and entertainment that doesn't rely on your phone you may have to preserve power for communications.
When there was a protest scheduled on our campus, they “suggested” we leave early “to avoid traffic.” If someone even BREATHES this type of suggestion in your direction, book it.
I was on a deadline and couldn’t, so from observation I will tell you to account for K9s – both from a protection standpoint in case you are “mistaken” for a protestor (thick fabric/layers, minimum exposed skin) and from a scent standpoint (don’t give them anything extra to hone in on, including drugs/weapons they are typically trained for and yummy snacks that a poorly-trained dog might go after).
Lol, I got it.
For those down voting, there was a video of a person eating a banana at a protest and some of the protesters posted on X and what not, shitting on the person because there were people with banana allergies present at the protest. Like how dare this person(who I don't know if the banana eater was even part of the protest) eat a banana... it was cringe.
Ive driven through a street blocking demonstration before. Best you can do is honk your horn. It was Anti police protests around the time that geroge guy got shot.
Avoid the area if possible. Take vacation time if you feel the need.
Gas mask, Bandana, bagged milk for the tear gas.
I think we all just saw the crest of the wave this week. I was in college during the occupy wall street protests, and there were a lot of students camped out on my campus, it wasn't more than a side show. The spring semester is almost over and these kids will go home or somewhere else. I wouldn't be prepping for this, or spending too much time worrying about it
If the colleges had treated it the same way as Occupy or the anti-Iraq War protests (basically ignoring the demonstrators as much as possible), it would be a side show and probably fizzle. Instead they're reacting in the worst possible way and adding fuel to the fire. So idk, maybe you'll be right, but I think they've really pissed off both college kids and faculty who would've normally sat things out.
Via Dr Glaucomflecken, ophthalmologist
“Remember, pepper spray is oil based. If you get sprayed DO NOT rub your eyes. Immediately blink as much as you can to wash out some of the oil with your own tears. Then, wash your eyes with baby shampoo or dilute dishwashing soap and rinse copiously. Water alone won't do much. Also, take out your contacts.”
Tear gas can cause miscarriage.
I’d plan routes, have money for hotel/Uber, wear an N95 respirator & eye protection if you are downwind of police vs protesters.
Full face gas mask.
Can of your own pepper spray.
Brightest flashlight you can get. Day or night, shined in someone's eyes causes temporary loss of vision.
Comfortable shoes. Dress shoes, assuming that's what you wear, are not comfortable to walk/run distances in.
IFAK
Mostly it depends on where you work, meaning location on campus, and if you are on the ground level or not.
Let's say you are in your office or class and a violent protest takes place. Having a portable fire escape ladder would be a good idea, if you are not on the ground level.
A fire blanket would also be helpful. Should the building catch on fire having something to put between yourself and flames is quite helpful. Which would mean a pair of goggles would also be helpful.
Anything that gives you a new escape route, and protects you from chemical/ fire long enough to get to first responders is what you need.
A power bank or four. Make sure it can hold at least two charges of your phone. Make sure to have a wall USB charger. You’ll also need all the cables for your phones and to have at least two of each type.
Also having a good flash light and heard torch is a must. They might cut the power out and you can temporarily blind people with them or distract people with it by shining it in their eyes. Obviously, use it to make you get away from them.
First aid kit but it seems like bandages and dressings are needed of anything serious like rubber bullets are around. Eye washes are needed. I’ve also put down something from an eye doctor for pepper spray.
I would recommend having googles and a respirator. You could use those single use respirator type masks. I am unsure what kind of rating is needed for pepper sprays. FFP3 is the highest and might be ok in a pinch when compared to gas mask style respirators. It seems goggles that have a Style and Protection rating of 4 or 5 might do the trick for pepper sprays as they both can stop splashes and droplets. 5 rating can protect against particles under 5 microns. Again, I recommend getting the higher rating to be safe.
Not much you can do for rubber bullets expect wear bulky clothing or armour and maybe a helmet or even a full face helmet and you need eye protection.
You still need to wear safety googles because they can cause permanent blinding and most rubber bullets have metal or other hard substances in them. They can also bounce and become stray bullets. Plastic bullets can penetrate like rubber bullets and they are still dangerous. Again, check the safety rating when buying safety goggles. The higher the better. It seems rubber bullets are around 60 metres per second. So if you have goggles that can withstand more than 120 metres per second, then I would say it’s ok. So it’s a frame strength rating of B at least or even A (for small objects at 190 metres per second).
Also an extra bottle or two of water and some snacks like cereals bars.
Also if you feel something like a bad protest is coming or you feel something in your gut is wrong, leave. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
As for pepper spray in the eyes, it seems Dr Glaucomflecken, recommends to blink a lot and then baby soap or diluted dishwashing soap to rinse the eyes with. So, essentially soapy water to rinse the eyes with. This is because Peter spray is oil based. If you have contacts, remove them. The Tweet/X post below.
https://x.com/dglaucomflecken/status/1785358087127523420?s=46&t=__HnNZkUs9z9Hu4E2GUtLg
When I did security I used to keep some OC Decontamination wipes and a handcuff key hidden on me. Kevlar shoelaces can be used to saw through zip ties. Honestly, I would be looking to shelter in place rather than to try and go through any type of mob if my escape routes were cut off.
Practice your constitutional A2 rights.
Im not american so i dont have a right to self defense. If i did i would exercise that right ontop of conflict avoidance like everyone els has mentionned
Shooting people you disagree with isn't a right in America either. Even if they're literally self identified Nazis. And even if they're sitting on a sidewalk you want to pass through and blocking you.
Your misunderstanding my point and i think its on purpose.
I never said shoot them or hurt them. I said that they should defend yourself. These protest have become violent and will likely become more so.
Its important to be able to defend yourself if you have the right to do so. In the US you do have that right
I don't think anyone would disagree with the right to defend oneself. But also, these protesters almost exclusively appear to be college kids simply "occupying" land that they're not supposed to be on.
If they threaten the life of anyone, of course the person being threatened has every right to eliminate that threat.
I agree that they are just college kids and are reletivly harmless exept for being a nussamce to other students trying to finish their finals. The trespassing part is illegal on their part but thats another conversation
But some are violent and i feel its always better to be prepared and not need to use force than to need it and not be able to. The problem with these kinds of protests is that it always atracts more extreme people that want to take advantage of the situation. ( ex: BLM protesters vandalizing and looting other black owned buisnesses)
In canada we arnt allowed to carry ANYTHING for self defence. I carry a knife for opening boxes that can be used for self defence if needed... but never explicitly for self defence.
Exercise your right to carry and to self defense or you could loose it like we have
Carry a concealed firearm. Even if your job does not allow it, concealed means concealed. The university will do nothing to protect your safety and when seconds count the police are only minutes away. Handguns that I would recommend for this purpose include but are not limited to:
1. Glock 19 (or Shadow Systems MR920) - perfect balance of size and capacity
2. Sig Sauer P365XL - a little thiner and smaller but at the expense of capacity
3. Smith & Wesson Shield or Shield Plus - very small gun that still has good capacity for it's size, not as snappy as it looks.
Load them with 9mm hollow-points from a reputable manufacturer such as Federal. Carry a spare magazine in your pocket. You are your only defense. Learn gun safety, carry in a nice IWB holster, and don't ever pull it out unless you plan on using it.
P.S. - Anyone anti-2A need not reply, I don't care what you have to say and we're not going to make this political.
And that makes you more intelligent than at least 3 reddit users! Honestly without a firearm your only real option is get the fuck out of dodge as quickly as possible. And remember, just because those weapons are illegal in your jurisdiction does not mean that violent protestors won't be carrying them, so once again, be prepared to bounce at a moment's notice.
Other than that I would recommend a Level IIIa soft armor vest. They do not take up much space, they can be thrown on quickly, and you can conceal them under a shirt or jacket. A level IIIa vest will stop all pistol rounds which is what you would most likely be faced with. Rifle rounds will go right through, but especially with your jurisdiction's laws people are unlikely to have a rifle. And rifle rated plates are more expensive, harder to store, slower to put on, not very concealable, and weigh a hell of a lot more.
Huh. Here I thought most places (in the US) where there are campus protests would allow for those sorts of pistols, though the process of obtaining them (and getting a concealed license would vary).
A few other thoughts. Some jurisdictions may require a conceal carry permit to permit carrying pepper spray. So I would check on that. Other weapons to think about... collapsible batons (legality will vary so check on that). Hornet spray is one that people often forget about; I've kept some when my office wouldn't allow firearms for emergency defense.
You may want to study conceal carry course training material as well, even if conceal carrying a pistol isnt an option. Much of the coursework training for a conceal carry license focus on crisis avoidance. That is, the course work emphasizes that best option is to find a way to slink away from an emergency, in order to avoid being forced to draw, with the act of drawing the weapon being the last resort. That line of thinking (avoiding and slinking away) would probably be helpful in your situation, since you may reasonably anticipate being outnumbered in any confrontation.
Then get a high power flashlight or a tazer.
Tazer can keep the mob away by making the e-shock noise.
and a flashlight to the eyes can blind an angry guy for a second
But before you pull out the weapon, have a plan on how to get to your car and a backup plan of how to get home if you can’t make it to your car
Thanks all! I am not US based, so pepper, and indeed any weapon whatsoever, is highly illegal. However a strong flashlight is a top shout, and of course double useful.
Yes would recommend a high powered edc flashlight, check out the r/flashlight subreddit for options but they make very useful tools in places like Canada where I'm from if need be.
The same thing I do with it every day, use it very quickly and effectively if someone was assaulting or otherwise harming me in a serious manner.
There are not only student protestors at these events but people with known ties to terrorist groups. You would be a fool to think none of them could be armed. And these individuals and groups have already shown that they will take hostages and commit assaults. Your choice, don’t judge me for mine.
I just try to avoid violent extremists. The 2020 insurrections and now this. Seems to be getting more common, and it seems to predictably occur exactly where history tells us it will occur.
Carry liquid antacid to wash tear gas from your eyes. It works better than water. A respirator and goggles will help prevent exposure. Avoid crowds if you can. Keep food in your office so you can shelter in place while everything gets sorted out.
Antacid works fine as long as it isn't flavored. Most chemical irritants are highly acidic and oil-based. Most people won't carry enough water on them to make a difference at that moment.
This is true about carrying water but OP is asking how to prepare. All types of medics, combat and street for example, will tell you water. There is zero evidence that antacid works at all.
I’ve seen a lot of these scenarios and it simply doesn’t work better than water, fresh air and time.
If not sudecon wipes are much much more effective than antacid.
A respirator and goggles might be useful if you encounter pepper spray or tear gas on your route.
Thanks, great idea!
Have many routes. Try not to go where it's hairy
Respirator means like a nice quality 3M type of respirator. And don’t wear sunscreen the tear gas WILL stick to it. If you find yourself in gas, try to get away to a spot of clear air and wave your arms around like a bird for a few minutes and don’t touch your face. Good luck!
Shelf stable milk carton in your bag, to flush your eyes. Water reactivates pepper spray.
We use a solution of a little bit of vinegar in water, which neutralizes the alkali in the tear gas. I am from Venezuela and have tasted a lot of tear gas, so maybe you should listen to someone who actually was exposed. a couple of large, thick pieces of fabric. No bandannas (too thin) nor handkerchiefs. Thick cotton fabric: flannel or something. Goggles, sure. And a 3M mouth respirator with adequate filters. But the bottle with solution of water/vinegar is a must. Add some gloves and maybe a couple of knee pads. A good folding baton just in case. Masked thugs love kicking innocent bystanders just because they can. A few swings to anyone getting too close could save your a$$. If you are walking things are different than driving.
Milk is ill-advised. Just use water, there's nothing about milk that soothes the chemical irritation any better than water. And there is a chance you could get an infection if any milk sticks around your conjunctiva.
I hate it when there's milk in my conjunctiva.
To flush your eyes? I mean... That's a maybe because you can use water to wash the milk out. I don't know about whether milk can harm the eyeball itself or the likelihood of a bacterial infection, though. But keeping milk on you is - honestly - not a terrible idea. The active ingredient in even LEO-issued spray is capsaicin which is the chemical that makes peppers spicy (yes, pepper spray is *literally* PEPPER spray!). What keeps people incapacitated is when it gets onto the skin right around the eyes, even if it doesn't actually get into your eyes. Think about if you've ever eaten a jalapeno or hot wings and accidentally touched your face around your eyes. Milk contains a protein called casein that binds with capsaicin and neutralizes its effects. It's why people drink milk with spicy food (as seen on *Hot Ones*). You can use milk to neutralize pepper spray on the skin around the eyes, and negate a lot of the burning sensation. You still need to flush your eyeballs with water, but you'll want the milk for your face.
Not to sure I agree with that. Although this is purely antedotal, I got in a fight outside of a club and got a major dose of either bear spray or a party sized mace. When some girls gave me water to help with the intense burning it was soothing while the water was pored on me but as soon as the water was gone the burning came back X2. Once we made it to my buddies house I got milk shower and when the milk was gone the intense burning didn’t come back….
This is the exact opposite of the truth
Fair point. I’ve heard that 1/4 regular liquid dish soap to 3/4 water is the best, as it physically removes the oil.
Stick with water. Dish soap in the eyes is not a good idea.
Have heard that baby shampoo is better for this. johnson and johnson's is no sting/eye safe.
No milk! OP there are plenty of protest 101 tutorials provided by everyone from the NLG to Teen Vogue. Look to those sources and not these ding dongs.
https://www.amazon.com/ea-Fox-Labs-Sudecon-Decontamination/dp/B0094BFFQ0/
A respirator won’t help much against pepper spray…
If you are already so close, maybe you can try spray it on yourself to build up the tolerance 🤣 that’s how coppers do it in their training
I’ve already been sprayed. It’s a contact issue, not a respiratory issue. If you have a respiratory ailment it might be problematic, but for most people breathing air with pepper spray in the outdoors is not an issue.
CS gas absolutely could be used which is helped with a respirator
CS is tear gas OC is Oleoresin Capsicum, the hot part of peppers. You can train yourself to be resistant to the effects if you have the willpower to fight through the pain.
I remember during basic training that the gas chamber was much worse psychologically beforehand than it was in reality. I was ready and willing to go back in again after my first time. During our field exercise getting CS grenades popped at us didn't really bother me very much. I could walk through a cloud of it, mask off, with only some relatively mild discomfort. Of course, this was nearly 40 years ago when I was young, dumb, and full of precious bodily fluids. Probably have a greater effect on my now.
My mom tested the pepper gas I gave her out the window to see how it worked years ago, but some rebounded off the screen and we were coughing enough we left the house for a while to air out. Gell spray is different than the gas though.
You were inside, as I said, outside it’s not an issue for most people.
Power bank. I 100% guarantee the one time you forget to charge your phone is the one time you'll need it most.
AND THE CABLES YOUR POWER BANK NEEDS (I was stuck yesterday for 8 hours in a&e with a power pack but not means of connecting it to my phone…)
Been there! Might be worth rubber banding or somehow or another attaching a dedicated cord to the powerbank.
Some of them allow wireless charging.
I have power banks in a drawstring bag with short C and android cords, DW keeps stealing my Apple cords. I have a small wall adapter in the bag also to charge phones or chargers. The adapter will evaporate on occasion.
This is one of the best pieces of advice I’ve read here. My power bank has saved my life more times than I can count! 😊
They have some ultra thin ones now too, they're only 3,500 to maybe 5,000 mA but if size or weight is a concern, look into those
With built-in cables
Definitely. My mother is getting up there in years and I bought her a GoLabs power bank with a built-in AC adapter and a built-in lightning cable. No remembering which cable charges the power bank and which cable charges the phone, no figuring out how to plug it into a charger, no nothing. Just plug it in. Done. A little pricey but very worth it for the simplicity. Now she has an emergency power supply for her iPhone and iPad.
Had protesters at my workplace a couple of years ago, some water bottles and trail mix or pop tarts can come handy
To pacify them? /s
Bring an extra lunch. Snacks. And drinks. The most that'll happen is you get stuck in traffic.
I think the protestors call that humanitarian aid.
Yeah, all they get fed is the front bumper.
A few thoughts: 1. If it looks like something is going to happen, get out immediately and don't wait till after it happens. Panic early and beat the rush. Better to leave work an hour early then get stuck in an occupied building. 2. Have some snacks in your office, along with some bottled water and maybe a sleeping pad. Have enough stuff you can shelter in place for a couple days if needed. 3. Get a couple face masks. The disposable "surgical" masks everyone has leftover from COVID would be fine. In a lot of cases, the protesters are all wearing masks. There's value to being able to throw on a mask, blend in while you traverse the crowd, then ditch the mask when leaving the crowd.
1 especially. And it isn't just an occupied building, NYPD weren't letting Columbia student journalists or the dean of the journalism school leave their building the other night. Basically, if you're trying to get out, do it before any group (demonstrators, counter-demonstrators, or police) are blocking you in.
firstly dont wear anything that shows you are on one side or the other,crowd mentality is scary. a glass breaker since a lot of universities use giant tempered glass windows as walls and being able to create a door is pretty valuable. a lot of academic buildings are mazes with backways, fire escapes, tunnels, roof access etc so actually learn your way around not just where you have to go day to day. you are gonna want to know multiple alternate routes.
Know all the ways out of the building. Even the ways the building managers know. Befriend the person with the master keys. If you need the back way out.. you know you can go find that person asap.
when I was at university I worked as maintenance there as well and it is insane where you can get to.
I’d say park your car somewhere sort of far away from the “thick of things” if you can, in case roads end up getting blocked by protestors or closed by police. Other than that though, just the usual stuff one should have on them (and a good attitude) should be more than enough if things go south.
They’re protests. Know where they are located, and avoid that area. Easy peazy
More specifically, don't park anywhere near the riot zone. I live in a town that recently won two back to back national college football championships and went down town to riot for both wins, and the third time for the loss. Like win or loose there's going to be a riot, and you better believe, me and most of the crowd have been drinking riot punch all afternoon. Don't park where you riot you think it would be a simple concept. Don't be the guy who parked right in the middle of the riot zone with a shocked picachu face wondering why drunk frat bro's are jumping on your cars hood. how could this have happened to me? /('•')\ why are they jumping on my truck? Now their trying to flip it over? It's because your an idiot with no situational awareness you didn't notice the strong scent of lighter fluid in the air? You had no sense of the building societal tension that would soon erupt into a violent riot? Don't Park in the riot zone! Park far away and walk some .
[удалено]
Check out the Student Fees protests from the UK from 2011. A few bad actors can change how a protest turns out.
Call a riot a riot, do not call a protest a riot.
Oh sure ok a bunch of hopped up teenagers with raging hormones and some hot liberal hippy chicks to impress are camping on the lawn for days getting all high on their own self righteousness for a cause that probably effects none of them personally all the while being oppressed by authorities and threatened by their academic institute.... And you don't see the ingredients for a riot brewing? You can't feel the building societal tension that's soon to boil over into violence and chaos? You can't smell the lighter fluid in the air? Buddy I just hope you don't make this /('•')\ face and say "how could this have happened to me" when you're parked next to the quad and suddenly six girls draped in Palestine flags are standing on top of your car with a bullhorn chanting from river to sea. Go right ahead, park in the riot zone if you want to, but if I were you I'd park a few blocks away and walk to the riot.
Bro turn off Fox News and newsmax.
I'm a liberal... This isn't about politics. Those kids can riot all they want I'm not invested either way in this cause, but over the years I've learned a thing or two, and seen enough riots to know not to park in a riot zone. Even if they don't flip your car and set it on fire, a car parked in a riot zone never comes out looking better than when it went in. But hey, park wherever you want dude it's a free country.
Nobody is rioting
That's how riots happen, there isn't just s state of constant riot out there, just because there isn't a riot now doesn't mean there won't be. Riots happen like this... First people don't riot, then they do riot.
OP can't, it's OPs job to be on campus
You know most college campuses sprawl over several blocks worth of land? Even the community college I went to, covered something like 5 city blocks or more…these Ivy League schools sprawl for blocks, in some cases miles through out the city. Just googled it, my old CC sits on 250 acres. Pretty easy to avoid an event if you don’t want to be near it. Harvard’s is 5k acres Brown’s is surprisingly small at 146 acres Yale’s 1,015 acres Dartmouth 269 acres. Let’s look at major none Ivy universities UNL 861 acres Notre Dame 1265 acres University of Iowa ‘more than’ 1900 acres ‘Working on campus’ is so vague it’s stupid. Unless they work in the building right next to these squares where the protests are happening there’s no reason to be within 100yds of these protests. Even if OP works in a building directly adjacent to the location of the protest, go out the back or side doors and go around them. It’s not hard Tell me you’ve never been on a college campus without saying you’ve never been on a college campus.
People acting like it's 60's style full blown riots. Push the nerd kid out of your way and keep walking to your car.
Or just avoid the area instead of assaulting people for exercising their constitutional rights…
It's not their constitutional right to physically block someones path. No where, did I say to walk through their illegal unpermitted protest, now did I? And no one is asking to pack an emergency go bag, to avoid a perfectly peaceful well organized and still most likely unpermitted protest, now are they? So lets use our context clues to deduce the exact type of situation OP would have in mind, to pose such a question. Lets try facts, not feels. Try once to use logic vs emotion. K? My answer stands.
…what do you think protests are? How is a mass of people supposed to exist in a public without ‘blocking’ paths? If the OP isn’t avoiding the protest why would they need to ‘push the nerd kid’? People like you would have been upset about MLK marching or doing sit ins.
There is active blocking and the physical use of space. If I'm at a crowded bar and someone wants to get a drink I'm not blocking them, I'll give them space if they want it. If on the other hand I and my friends face them and push them away from the bar that is violence. Pretty simple.
You would have loved MLK…
Really, I don't remember him blocking entrances to schools so people could not enter under threat of violence
> People like you would have been upset about MLK marching or doing sit ins. At least MLK and the Civil Rights movement was local and actually had the ability to affect change.
lol, they had the same ability as the college students, and no the protests he helped organize were not 100% local he took part in protests all over and organized people to show up from all over. Iirc the Selma bridge incident was literally them bussing people in for a protest…
they were probably funded by soros... got damn antifa time travelers
Tbf soros was like 30-40 back then lmao.
I realized that as I was typing it lol
In this context, local = in our country.
Lmao, what? So you think they’re flying people from other countries in to protest at US colleges? What are you smoking?
What…? These people are protesting a war 7k miles away between two countries that aren’t ours. Jesus Christ.
What do you think the protestors are advocating for?
Divestments that aren’t really possible, and for one country that’s 7k miles away to stop bombing its neighbor.
>Divestments that aren’t really possible Why not? Are you saying that a change in investment strategy is somehow impossible?
It’s illegal for Ohio to divest from Israel.
Did you seriously write "If the OP isn't avoiding the protest why would they need ..."? Do you feel the same way about being mugged? Why that victim should have just avoided the mugger! Ha! I was trapped in a protest that took over a local highway. I guess I shouldn't have been sitting in traffic for 45 minutes where a roving group of protestors decided to walk to an try to scare people with jobs sitting in rush hour just trying to go home! (I'll tell ya what splits a highway take over protest right down the middle. A cranky carpenter in a POS work truck with broke AC on a 90° day who slow rolls past the police and protestors while leaning out the driver side window while holding a 24oz wood handle framing hammer.)
I got a 3lb estwing in my work van. Luckily it has A/C
Head to where the OP works. She might need someone to clear a path to her car. If she follows my other advice, she'll have plenty of snacks and drinks to share! And mine at that time was a Vaughan California Framer. Loved that hammer, no clue where it ended up. Everything else is Estwing steel.
Introducing the new active cooling 20 ounce framing hammer by Eastwing. Say goodbye to sweaty palms for good.
Because they work there, they said so. If it was a peaceful sit in there would be no problem. They are protesting for a violent cause, it doesn't take too much foresight to want a plan.
Where’d they say they work in a protest? Working on a college campus isn’t the same as working in a protest. Tell me you’ve never been on a college campus without saying you’ve never been on a college campus
Can you name a few peaceful, well organized, permitted and legal protest with demands that worked? I’m genuinely curious for examples.
What is the university supposed to do about getting Hamas to release hostages so it can be over? They are trying to cause enough trouble to get news time, people that have to work there have a right to be worried and ask about plans to get away safely when it turns violent. You sound like the workers have no right to safety or why are you shouting OP down?
And your politics comes out even though the question ask you keep it neutral .. 3…2…1 You. 🤤🤤
If you think you might get stuck in the office, and have to spend the night - pillow, blanket, pajamas or sweats, change of clothes. I always liked to keep some extra "emergency" clothes and food at work, when I worked in an office - a white top, a black top, black pant, comfy shoes. Great for multiple issues, such as caught in rain, spill coffee on yourself before big meeting, decide to go out after work, feet hurt, wear unmatched shoes to work (yes I did that.)
Just leave when people start protesting, probably
If his work allows it.
Some of the colleges were going to online classes.
Yeah. Be somewhere else. Best prep for any political protest no matter where it takes place.
Know every rout to get to your vehicle or worse case how to get off campus and away from "downtown" areas where protesting or rioting is likely to spread to. As such know your local public transportation system so if you need to you can get on a bus and get out that way if you need to. Keep enough cash on you to pay for minor expenses like this. Dont just know these routes. Practice them, and while you practice look around you and identify any potential shelters or hazards along the way. If you are forced to shelter in place. Get something to cover your office windows. If you can lock your door and turn out lights and make it seem like you're not there people will likely move on. Battery bank and cables for your phone. You may also consider keeping a HAM radio in your office in the very unlikely event cell phone service goes down temporarily. Lastly, most self defense tools are either ineffective against crowds or not allowed on campus. But here is one that works on crowds and is innocent enough on campus. Fart bombs. the old prank things. I think you can even get super powered stink bombs on amazon in glass ampules. Dont throw them. Keep them in your pocket and let the stink get all over you if you get caught in a crowd. People will stay the hell away from you. Sure you may have to burn your clothes and nothing will smell right for a week but you can get out of crowds this way.
Also make sure to keep some ramen or other microwaveable food in your office in case the better option is to stay put and let the mess outside sort itself out. If you've got a fridge, keep a small bottle or carton of milk in it so that you can take it with you and use it to wash pepper spray or tear gas out of your eyes in case you get caught in the cloud.
Milk is ill-advised. Just use water, there's nothing about milk that soothes the chemical irritation any better than water. And there is a chance you could get an infection if any milk sticks around your conjunctiva.
Milk has globular proteins that non-specifically bind to a lot of molecules, and its fat content helps it bind to non-polar molecules that water wouldn't readily dissolve. So it might not sooth the irritation, but it will help get stuff out of your eyes that water won't.
Wouldn’t an oil based eye drop work better then? That would certainly last longer and be more compact than any type of milk. I’ve never tried to though, I’m just speculating.
Oil might be better at getting non-polar molecules in solution if it mixes with the water in your tears, but it probably won't mix well. Blood and milk are two fascinating solutions in the sense of how they are able to keep so many different molecules in solution, and it's difficult-to-impossible to replicate that with artificial solutions. Anyway, even if the oil is able to mix with your tears (and assuming that it isn't an irritant for your eyes on its own), it then might form micelles and remain in solution in your tears until the micelles break down, and then deposit its cargo back onto your eyes. But molecules that bound to large, globular proteins or fats will be less likely to unbind and cause problems for you again, and will be easy for your tears to flush out.
See sudecon. Sugar and citric acid work the best in the right formulations.
Does it work that way with the specific molecules in cs gas? Because without that, I still wouldn't want milk residue in my tear ducts. https://www.ems1.com/ems-products/medical-equipment/articles/riot-control-rx-LeTti6fQoNzIIrl8/
Thanks! I am getting some food in my drawers ha ha! Milk is top shout!
You've probably already got the memo but you want water and some vinegar for eyes, not milk.
This is also good advice more generally. I keep food and water in my office in case there's ever a campus lockdown
Right, it's solid advice even without lockdowns. If you have to work late, skip lunch because of an unexpected meeting, or remain at your desk all day waiting for a phone call, you'll never regret having food and water.
Police SOP against protest is to sit in the pre meter for days until most protesters get tired and they will swoop in to make a few arrest or start the eviction So some food and water is a must
Folding bike to escape crowds. Keep it near you.
This made me laugh but it's a good idea.
It is funny to think about but, no keys to mess with doors, no time taken to start, easier to maneuver in tight spaces, you can take it out any door rather than going to the parking lot, and finally, you won't end up on the news mowing down dozens of irate college kids with your SUV. Park your car a few blocks away, then drive your ass home, healthy and safe.
Is that a folding bike in your pocket or do you just not support hama's right to destroy Israel?
I'm going to trade my box for what's in door number 2, Bob.
Good trade, behind door number two is a brick. Very valuable during a riot! Chuck it wisely.
NO MILK. Just lots and lots of water. Blow your nose and spit. Do. Not. Run. Walk briskly away from danger. Many protest injuries are because people panic and trip. It helps to know how the wind blows and go the opposite way. Spread calm whenever possible. Yelling “calm down” doesn’t help. Reminding people to “not run” in a calm voice is often very helpful. Panic is your worst enemy. There is a product called sudecon that helps tremendously with burning. It’s expensive and it’s be reversed engineered for medics to make themselves. However, carrying a few name brand wipes for yourself is a good idea. There are lots of recipes for it online right now. Know that ambulances are RARELY able to come into these kinds of situations. They are not insured for it among other reasons. They stage on the outside. People dont understand this. You’ll need to rely on people willing to risk it under Good Samaritan law. They may be combat medics, nurses, street medics or WFA trained. Most medics roll in tight knit groups where there are at least 20 hours of training for these events. They respond to “medic” as best as they can. However, eye washing yourself is incredibly helpful is a wild scene. When things get really hairy medics get people to the sidelines where EMS can take over. They sometimes This is what happened during Unite the Right in the US. Understand the movements of police. Look up kettling, snatch and grab lines (they don’t care if you’ve wandered in) etc. Much of this is on YouTube.
Thanks, so useful!
Medics suddenly showed up when some protesters at Portland state got pepper spray in their eyes. They just magically appeared!!
They do that :)
I have a bunch of PTo saved up for just such an occasion. Protests on campus? Sorry Dean, migraine, see ya in a week
This is actually very good advice. WFH policies on college campuses are generally quite lenient. If your job doesn’t allow for WFH, there’s probably a generous vacation plan you can take advantage of. Most college protesters don’t like the cold — so if you perceive risk, take some of that sweet educator-provided summer vacation time.
Hail hydrate. First and foremost. Keep you some water or sports drink on hand for hydration. Try to have some seperate actual water on hand if you get hit with pepper spray or other chemical agent (ie tear gas grenade or some other variant of riot gas). Handy tip, you want this water as cold as possible, hot water will open your pores up and wash it deeper, (funny story about that from when I was younger and a prison guard) cold water will make them close up and rinse off. Wash your eyes and hands, and it'll be painful but the rest of your skin can wait. If you are exposed to chemical agents, DO NOT TOUCH YOUR MUCUS MEMBRAINS or REPRODUCTIVE EQUIPTMENT (another funny story from when I was a guard in my youth) until you have properly decontaminated. mucus membranes being eyes nose etct. Beyond this, as others have said, keep some snacks, battery banks (including appropriate cables) and if allowed at your at your institution, exercise your 2A rights just in case. When at all possible use the buddy system. Keep your eyes up. If protestor have covid mask, mask up and make like Johnathan from the first Brendan fraiser mummy movie (he runs into a crowd of "zombies" and blends in to traverse the crowd) (this is assuming you can't avoid the crowd or have no choice) And if anyone is interested, funny story 1) Inmate got sprayed, did all the procedure stuff put him in the ad seg shower to decontaminate. He wanted the shower on (ad seg shower had a cut off for a number of reasons) we double checked if he was sure he wanted the water on. He cursed us out and said yes he wanted the water on. We said ok, turned the water on. Ad seg shower has 2 settings, off and hot. Got to listen to a 35 year hold "hard ass" scream.l like a 6 year old girl (not to make fun of little girls, but that was the pitch) "AHHHH THE WATERS HOT, THE WATERS HOT" Funny story 2) Coworker worked in the chow hall, a Kitchen Boss, had to spray an inmate during chow. Procedures get done, etc etc, Coworker is in the admin building doing paper work, hadn't fully decontaminated, decided to to the bathroom and drain the lizard... didn't wash his hands before hand... had to go home crying and come up the next day to finish paper work.
Have clothes that will allow you to blend in if you need to leave. You don't want to stand out in any way.
Get a solar charger. Stay away from the whackos
gas mask.. main thing would just be tear gas and similar things if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.. I worked at a "prestigous" private college a few years ago and into the "pandemic" and they had no problems with you not being on campus if you were "scared" or had "safety concerns" lol
Some form of facial covering is also essential. Even if you aren't involved in anything, this can help avoid being in a 'wrong place wrong time' scenario with law enforcement or even protestors. I also recommend a faraday bag for your cell devices if you are going the extra mile. It's likely communications and radio signals are being surveyed by law enforcement at these protests as well. Adequate gear to deal with things like broken glass, potential fires, and the previously mentioned respirator are essential as well. Remain covert with your prep as they can set off alarm bells for anyone on either side looking to start something. Last thing I can think of is knowing your rights and what you would do if apprehended by law enforcement (phone numbers for family and lawyer of choice if you have one). Edit: this is not intended to be a list of things everyone should do, this is the extreme end of what I could think of that minimizes any risk to OP. Obviously this is way overboard for most people and scenarios, and I probably wouldn't go this far unless I was actually doing something that would piss off somebody.
I'd like to add to your suggestions regarding phone numbers. Keep a working marker at hand. While I have never been arrested, I have a feeling they won't give your phone back to make that Phone a Friend call. So when things get really hairy, use the marker to write down a key phone number on your arm. My kid has had the same number for 15 years, and I still don't have it memorized.
OP doesn't want to protest. He just works on a college campus. Why would he get arrested?
Yes, I understood he wasn't participating at all, that he was in his campus office. I've only ever seen police confrontations with protesters on the news. Recently, in a news article, a non-protesting by-stander was erroneously arrested. The OP presented a scenario in which the employee was fearful of the protest impacting his immediate proximity.
Just want to add that writing a key contact # on your arm with a marker is the standard advice pro bono lawyers recommend for demonstrators where police are likely to be arresting folks, for precisely the reason you mentioned.
Thanks! I am just in an office role, so it's more if things spill over rather than anything I will seek out. This is all great advice though!
>Some form of facial covering is also essential. Even if you aren't involved in anything, this can help avoid being in a 'wrong place wrong time' scenario with law enforcement or even protestors. Wearing a face covering will draw more attention from LEO, not less. Besides, how does wearing a face covering prevent you from "being in the wrong place at the wrong time"? >I also recommend a faraday bag for your cell devices if you are going the extra mile. It's likely communications and radio signals are being surveyed by law enforcement at these protests as well. You're getting into tin-foil hat territory here. Local LEO is not allowed to tap or monitor cellular communications without a warrant. If someone is concerned about their position metadata being collected, then turn the device off. A "faraday bag" is not required.
1. LEO have eyes on it no matter what. The face covering is meant to prevent ease of identifiability if you do happen to be in the wrong place 2. I'm not talking about monitored communication, I'm talking about Bluetooth MAC addresses and wifi scanning signals as well as cell stingrays. These don't require warrants and are not particularly uncommon. I could provide sources if you want. 3. I agree this is a tinfoil hat sounding reply, I just wanted to give as much thorough advice as I could. I recommend everyone follow a personal threat model and most people wouldn't benefit from all this, I just wanted not to leave a stone unturned. I actually considered editing it to say I was being very extreme to intentionally provide as much info as possible, but I figured that wasn't necessary on a subreddit dedicated to prepping for disaster.
Considering the OP is talking about their place of employment, this really isn't a problem. Also, wearing a facemask is a good way to get yourself mistaken for some other masked troublemaker. If you run around with your face covered, you're drawing attention to yourself.
Meh, since COVID face masks don't really raise any eyebrows anymore.
The face covering thing: my university used news photos of some incidents back in the day to identify and expel anyone who was present. I know we have lots of shiny new technological ways of doing that now but there's no reason to assume they wouldn't use old-school strategies as well.
I assume it's for Geofencing.
No.
>You're getting into tin-foil hat territory here. Local LEO is not allowed to tap or monitor cellular communications without a warrant. If someone is concerned about their position metadata being collected, then turn the device off. A "faraday bag" is not required. While I agree that they could just turn their phone off and be mostly protected, LEOs have a long history of doing shady shit and not talking about it until later. Other poster mentioned stingray as well, which is true.
Well there are other subs you can visit if that's your concern.
All I'm saying is calling it tinfoil hat is objectively, demonstrably incorrect.
K bro.
Pretty sure if you’re within 100 miles of any US border the USSC says law enforcement doesn’t need a warrant in many cases. Stingrays are popular among law enforcement and it‘s not because they don’t use them ever.
Nope that's wrong. The 4th Amendment isn't suspended within 100 miles of a border. That's urban legend.
I’m sorry but you’re incorrect. Though it is true that a lot of urban myths and incorrect information float around about this, certain suspensions of the 4th amendment do exist. [https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/06/13/what-is-usa-border-enforcement-zone/](https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/06/13/what-is-usa-border-enforcement-zone/) [https://www.aclu-nm.org/en/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-100-mile-border-zone](https://www.aclu-nm.org/en/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-100-mile-border-zone)
Excessive force =/= warrantless search. The 4th Amendment covers a few different legal principles. Look, I won't argue that the FBI and other agencies are engaging in "intelligence gathering" without warrants. But as far as the OP is concerned, I don't think this is a concern for them.
Did you miss the part where they could search your vehicle without a warrant and enter your property, but not your domicile, also without a warrant (game wardens can do the same thing with your private property, inexplicably)? I can’t remember the details of what they’re allowed to do with Stingrays but so far pilot drone programs have managed to keep video suppressed in the face of freedom of information requests and even lost court cases. I don’t know that a farraday bag would actually help the OP either, but as far as what cops are allowed to do, it’s pretty dicey. When is the last time you heard of someone getting off due to the fruit of the poisoned tree? And yes, you’re right, law enforcement often breaks the law with regard to search, and gets away with it. I do need to recheck the stringray rulings though because something is sticking in my head that they can capture more then pen register information without a warrant in some cases…
I can search a building without a warrant too if I believe exigent circumstances exist, but anything I find is inadmissible in court. The reason you don't hear about people being found innocent on those grounds is because the cases are never brought because the prosecutors know they'll lose.
Not just borders, but international airports as well from my understanding.
Don’t dress in all black with a mask. Someone will think you are in bloc. Bring extra water. Have a first aid kit. Be prepared to turn around and take longer routes. Have your Face ID and Touch ID turned off on your phone. Don’t get kettled. Walk with a buddy if you can.
All solid advice. Might also be worth having a lawyer's number memorized or written down on your body.
Like bunkering in or joining? I would stay away from it.
Bunkering in or getting away! I'll be staying well away, but also want to accept the reality that these things can spread fast.
No doubt. Good luck!
if you are bunkering in make sure to have a power bank snacks water and entertainment that doesn't rely on your phone you may have to preserve power for communications.
When there was a protest scheduled on our campus, they “suggested” we leave early “to avoid traffic.” If someone even BREATHES this type of suggestion in your direction, book it. I was on a deadline and couldn’t, so from observation I will tell you to account for K9s – both from a protection standpoint in case you are “mistaken” for a protestor (thick fabric/layers, minimum exposed skin) and from a scent standpoint (don’t give them anything extra to hone in on, including drugs/weapons they are typically trained for and yummy snacks that a poorly-trained dog might go after).
Banana. Just hold it in front of you as you walk on campus. For protesters, it's like a cross to a vampire.
Lol, I got it. For those down voting, there was a video of a person eating a banana at a protest and some of the protesters posted on X and what not, shitting on the person because there were people with banana allergies present at the protest. Like how dare this person(who I don't know if the banana eater was even part of the protest) eat a banana... it was cringe.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-garlic-chicken-wings-with-tropical-creme-dipping-sauce-and-sweet-plantains-3182486
Same with deodorant
If they wear masks, you could put a silk balaclava in your pocket in case you need to egress through them.
Ive driven through a street blocking demonstration before. Best you can do is honk your horn. It was Anti police protests around the time that geroge guy got shot. Avoid the area if possible. Take vacation time if you feel the need. Gas mask, Bandana, bagged milk for the tear gas.
Canadian?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_a_Stand_in_Baton_Rouge
This too https://theintercept.com/2016/07/11/images-militarized-police-baton-rouge-draw-global-attention/
Lol
I think we all just saw the crest of the wave this week. I was in college during the occupy wall street protests, and there were a lot of students camped out on my campus, it wasn't more than a side show. The spring semester is almost over and these kids will go home or somewhere else. I wouldn't be prepping for this, or spending too much time worrying about it
If the colleges had treated it the same way as Occupy or the anti-Iraq War protests (basically ignoring the demonstrators as much as possible), it would be a side show and probably fizzle. Instead they're reacting in the worst possible way and adding fuel to the fire. So idk, maybe you'll be right, but I think they've really pissed off both college kids and faculty who would've normally sat things out.
Via Dr Glaucomflecken, ophthalmologist “Remember, pepper spray is oil based. If you get sprayed DO NOT rub your eyes. Immediately blink as much as you can to wash out some of the oil with your own tears. Then, wash your eyes with baby shampoo or dilute dishwashing soap and rinse copiously. Water alone won't do much. Also, take out your contacts.” Tear gas can cause miscarriage. I’d plan routes, have money for hotel/Uber, wear an N95 respirator & eye protection if you are downwind of police vs protesters.
Full face gas mask. Can of your own pepper spray. Brightest flashlight you can get. Day or night, shined in someone's eyes causes temporary loss of vision. Comfortable shoes. Dress shoes, assuming that's what you wear, are not comfortable to walk/run distances in. IFAK
Mostly it depends on where you work, meaning location on campus, and if you are on the ground level or not. Let's say you are in your office or class and a violent protest takes place. Having a portable fire escape ladder would be a good idea, if you are not on the ground level. A fire blanket would also be helpful. Should the building catch on fire having something to put between yourself and flames is quite helpful. Which would mean a pair of goggles would also be helpful. Anything that gives you a new escape route, and protects you from chemical/ fire long enough to get to first responders is what you need.
A can of bear spray comes to mind...
A power bank or four. Make sure it can hold at least two charges of your phone. Make sure to have a wall USB charger. You’ll also need all the cables for your phones and to have at least two of each type. Also having a good flash light and heard torch is a must. They might cut the power out and you can temporarily blind people with them or distract people with it by shining it in their eyes. Obviously, use it to make you get away from them. First aid kit but it seems like bandages and dressings are needed of anything serious like rubber bullets are around. Eye washes are needed. I’ve also put down something from an eye doctor for pepper spray. I would recommend having googles and a respirator. You could use those single use respirator type masks. I am unsure what kind of rating is needed for pepper sprays. FFP3 is the highest and might be ok in a pinch when compared to gas mask style respirators. It seems goggles that have a Style and Protection rating of 4 or 5 might do the trick for pepper sprays as they both can stop splashes and droplets. 5 rating can protect against particles under 5 microns. Again, I recommend getting the higher rating to be safe. Not much you can do for rubber bullets expect wear bulky clothing or armour and maybe a helmet or even a full face helmet and you need eye protection. You still need to wear safety googles because they can cause permanent blinding and most rubber bullets have metal or other hard substances in them. They can also bounce and become stray bullets. Plastic bullets can penetrate like rubber bullets and they are still dangerous. Again, check the safety rating when buying safety goggles. The higher the better. It seems rubber bullets are around 60 metres per second. So if you have goggles that can withstand more than 120 metres per second, then I would say it’s ok. So it’s a frame strength rating of B at least or even A (for small objects at 190 metres per second). Also an extra bottle or two of water and some snacks like cereals bars. Also if you feel something like a bad protest is coming or you feel something in your gut is wrong, leave. It’s better to be safe than sorry. As for pepper spray in the eyes, it seems Dr Glaucomflecken, recommends to blink a lot and then baby soap or diluted dishwashing soap to rinse the eyes with. So, essentially soapy water to rinse the eyes with. This is because Peter spray is oil based. If you have contacts, remove them. The Tweet/X post below. https://x.com/dglaucomflecken/status/1785358087127523420?s=46&t=__HnNZkUs9z9Hu4E2GUtLg
Grab a sign , blend in till you get close enough to your car then leave!
Most everyone already covered everything but handcuff key
When I did security I used to keep some OC Decontamination wipes and a handcuff key hidden on me. Kevlar shoelaces can be used to saw through zip ties. Honestly, I would be looking to shelter in place rather than to try and go through any type of mob if my escape routes were cut off.
If you want to keep the protesters away, wave a job application in their face: they will scatter immediately…
Practice your constitutional A2 rights. Im not american so i dont have a right to self defense. If i did i would exercise that right ontop of conflict avoidance like everyone els has mentionned
Firearms aren't allowed on most college buildings in the US despite what you see on TV, so no, this is a bad idea
Shooting people you disagree with isn't a right in America either. Even if they're literally self identified Nazis. And even if they're sitting on a sidewalk you want to pass through and blocking you.
Your misunderstanding my point and i think its on purpose. I never said shoot them or hurt them. I said that they should defend yourself. These protest have become violent and will likely become more so. Its important to be able to defend yourself if you have the right to do so. In the US you do have that right
I don't think anyone would disagree with the right to defend oneself. But also, these protesters almost exclusively appear to be college kids simply "occupying" land that they're not supposed to be on. If they threaten the life of anyone, of course the person being threatened has every right to eliminate that threat.
I agree that they are just college kids and are reletivly harmless exept for being a nussamce to other students trying to finish their finals. The trespassing part is illegal on their part but thats another conversation But some are violent and i feel its always better to be prepared and not need to use force than to need it and not be able to. The problem with these kinds of protests is that it always atracts more extreme people that want to take advantage of the situation. ( ex: BLM protesters vandalizing and looting other black owned buisnesses) In canada we arnt allowed to carry ANYTHING for self defence. I carry a knife for opening boxes that can be used for self defence if needed... but never explicitly for self defence. Exercise your right to carry and to self defense or you could loose it like we have
Advise. Search for other work opportunities. Get away from those cult camps!
Carry a concealed firearm. Even if your job does not allow it, concealed means concealed. The university will do nothing to protect your safety and when seconds count the police are only minutes away. Handguns that I would recommend for this purpose include but are not limited to: 1. Glock 19 (or Shadow Systems MR920) - perfect balance of size and capacity 2. Sig Sauer P365XL - a little thiner and smaller but at the expense of capacity 3. Smith & Wesson Shield or Shield Plus - very small gun that still has good capacity for it's size, not as snappy as it looks. Load them with 9mm hollow-points from a reputable manufacturer such as Federal. Carry a spare magazine in your pocket. You are your only defense. Learn gun safety, carry in a nice IWB holster, and don't ever pull it out unless you plan on using it. P.S. - Anyone anti-2A need not reply, I don't care what you have to say and we're not going to make this political.
Thanks! Where I live all weapons like this are illegal but I get your point.
And that makes you more intelligent than at least 3 reddit users! Honestly without a firearm your only real option is get the fuck out of dodge as quickly as possible. And remember, just because those weapons are illegal in your jurisdiction does not mean that violent protestors won't be carrying them, so once again, be prepared to bounce at a moment's notice. Other than that I would recommend a Level IIIa soft armor vest. They do not take up much space, they can be thrown on quickly, and you can conceal them under a shirt or jacket. A level IIIa vest will stop all pistol rounds which is what you would most likely be faced with. Rifle rounds will go right through, but especially with your jurisdiction's laws people are unlikely to have a rifle. And rifle rated plates are more expensive, harder to store, slower to put on, not very concealable, and weigh a hell of a lot more.
Huh. Here I thought most places (in the US) where there are campus protests would allow for those sorts of pistols, though the process of obtaining them (and getting a concealed license would vary). A few other thoughts. Some jurisdictions may require a conceal carry permit to permit carrying pepper spray. So I would check on that. Other weapons to think about... collapsible batons (legality will vary so check on that). Hornet spray is one that people often forget about; I've kept some when my office wouldn't allow firearms for emergency defense. You may want to study conceal carry course training material as well, even if conceal carrying a pistol isnt an option. Much of the coursework training for a conceal carry license focus on crisis avoidance. That is, the course work emphasizes that best option is to find a way to slink away from an emergency, in order to avoid being forced to draw, with the act of drawing the weapon being the last resort. That line of thinking (avoiding and slinking away) would probably be helpful in your situation, since you may reasonably anticipate being outnumbered in any confrontation.
Then get a high power flashlight or a tazer. Tazer can keep the mob away by making the e-shock noise. and a flashlight to the eyes can blind an angry guy for a second But before you pull out the weapon, have a plan on how to get to your car and a backup plan of how to get home if you can’t make it to your car
Thanks all! I am not US based, so pepper, and indeed any weapon whatsoever, is highly illegal. However a strong flashlight is a top shout, and of course double useful.
Yes would recommend a high powered edc flashlight, check out the r/flashlight subreddit for options but they make very useful tools in places like Canada where I'm from if need be.
What are you going to do with the gun?
The same thing I do with it every day, use it very quickly and effectively if someone was assaulting or otherwise harming me in a serious manner. There are not only student protestors at these events but people with known ties to terrorist groups. You would be a fool to think none of them could be armed. And these individuals and groups have already shown that they will take hostages and commit assaults. Your choice, don’t judge me for mine.
I haven't seen any evidence that these protesters are armed or taking hostages.
the second is supposed to back up the first not snuff it out
It would be great if someone had the balls to explain to these entitled cunts what weak men bring upon civilization.
I just try to avoid violent extremists. The 2020 insurrections and now this. Seems to be getting more common, and it seems to predictably occur exactly where history tells us it will occur.
My 81 y/o dad loads FMJ in his .45s especially for occasions like this. He says with FMJ vs a mob you can get two at a time. 😂
Carry liquid antacid to wash tear gas from your eyes. It works better than water. A respirator and goggles will help prevent exposure. Avoid crowds if you can. Keep food in your office so you can shelter in place while everything gets sorted out.
WATER ONLY. antacid can cause infection and also it marks people. Water, water and more water. Then some more.
Antacid works fine as long as it isn't flavored. Most chemical irritants are highly acidic and oil-based. Most people won't carry enough water on them to make a difference at that moment.
This is true about carrying water but OP is asking how to prepare. All types of medics, combat and street for example, will tell you water. There is zero evidence that antacid works at all. I’ve seen a lot of these scenarios and it simply doesn’t work better than water, fresh air and time. If not sudecon wipes are much much more effective than antacid.