this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2024
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Politics
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If you don't show your face in a political protest in a free country, then you don't actually believe in the cause.
This is obviously different in countries that are not free.
If you don't have the freedom to cover your face at a political protest, the country you are protesting in is not free.
OP sure did.
Oh. Sorry. Didn't realize risking bodily injury from tear gas, rubber bullets, beanbags, and nightsticks because something fucking matters was cowardly. You bring up such eloquent and well reasoned points. I'll keep them in mind the next time the police are kettling me or a Nazi throws a brick at one of my friends. I'll say to myself "you know. We probably deserved this for being so cowardly"
How is it cowardly?
Why is it cowardly? What do you think the purpose of a protest is? Your face does not lend a protest additional credibility, it just makes it easier to target you. The purpose of a protest is to show that people support a cause. Who those people are is irrelevant unless you plan to target them.
It is cowardly to hide behind a mask in a free country where you have nothing to fear of government from protesting.
I do however agree that it is sensible to mask in a country where protesting in and of itself will arrest and mistreatment from the government.
There is no such thing. Surveillance is something to fear. Tracking is something to fear. Lack of anonymity is in itself something to fear, because anonymity (i.e. privacy) is a right. It's not just about arrests or physical abuse.
There is nothing "cowardly" about exercising your right to privacy.
If the position you are pushing is truly of no concern to the government, it means either that a) they're on board with it, so it's not actually a protest just a rally, or b) you're not large enough for them to care yet. More likely, you just don't realize they do actually care.
You're basically just making a variation on the "if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't care about not having privacy" argument.
I fully agree that surveillance is something to fear, but again, if you are living in a free country like Sweden, then you won't be arrested simply for protesting, vandalism and violence however, those are things you will be arrested for.
A surveillance camera could also prove that you were peaceful if you are caught up in a bad situation if you can be identified.
Just to be clear, you think you're allowed to protest, but also think that you may have to prove your innocence, rather than having your guilt be proven?
It sounds like you actually realize that you're more at the whims of the government than your claims about being free let on.
"I am going to alter my actions in order to ensure that I am as safe from false accusation as I can be" is just self-censorship because you actually do fear your government.
Classic lemm.ee response
The top level comment mentions freedom?
Reply with a pic of your face or you're a coward and your comments mean nothing.
This is blatant doublespeak, and has been removed because of such.
Doublespeak? What’s doublespeak about saying that people like The Proud Boys are cowards? If you can’t show your face and stand behind your statement- your statement should be dismissed.
Oh, and which countries are "free"? I'd like to know which state has liberated all its people. I'll wait.
There is an ongoing pandemic and the global capitalist efforts to downgrade, downplay, and minimise this pandemic for " the economy" mean that it's even more important to mask, not least to challenge the health supremacy and ableism of this current capitalist culture. Masking is one of the most easy yet powerful ways we can promote safety and engage in intersectional anticapitalism (in times of universal deceit, and all that).
Protests are not about "being seen" as individuals to gain clout or appear cool and edgy, not least with the increased assault on the right to protest.
To truly "believe in the cause" is to act, not attract recognition. Besides, if you want a revolution, you'd better start dressing for the occasion.
I am talking about countries where you don't get punnished for protesting orderly.
Which ones, in particular? Be specific.
Here in Sweden you won't get arrested for protesting peacefully.
If you want to stage a protest you need permission from the police, they are required to grant it to you unless it can't be done safely, then they can suggest a different location for the protest.
A year or two ago, the police did deny permission for a protest where a guy wanted to burn a quran, that was a big deal about it and the police was found to be at fault.
The US has long since lost the "land of the free" title in my oppinion, and I do not count them among the free countries
Wow I hope Sweden never has any sort of rightward turn that would suddenly leave your "right to protest" ("peacefully") (with mum's permission) very much in the air. I hope you never have to fear they ID'd you at an event where the police kettled things from a protest into a survival riot. I hope you never have to decide whether to pop your phone in a faraday bag. Take the battery out. Never need to hide your face from a government fond of making lists. Never fear gait recognition following you home thru a hundred CCTV cameras. The raid that comes in the night when you realize your freedoms were quite illusory. I hope your protest movement isn't demonized by the media or arbitrarily designated a terrorist organization.
Fuck your shaming. We don't protest for glory and clout. We protest because we are human. And some of us land immediately in the crosshairs unless we try to protect ourselves. Am I being hyperbolic? Ask the environmental movement the UK branded as terroristic for highlighting how close to extinction we are. Ask Cop City protestors. Ask Palestinian supporters in Germany. Ask BLM protestors who did nothing illegal and ended up in black vans being intimidated.
Grow up. Freedom isn't free.
Tell me, what does showing your face add to the protest, other than making it easier for opposing groups to target you?
So... the US? People are regularly arrested for perfectly legal, not even a shadow of a doubt, activity at protests. And protesters are vulnerable to not just cops, but dangerous actors who support the thing they're protesting against. Whether it's doxing, billionaire-funded slander, your boss not liking the cause, or actual violence, there's plenty of reason not to want your face to be easily identifiable, even while orderly protesting for a just cause. Never mind health concerns like not wanting to catch COVID (or breath tear gas).
The idea that orderly protesting is safe in the United States is incredibly naïve.
At this point in time, I do not see the US as a free country in this context.
This is a story about protests and mask bans in the US and non-governmental actors can still be a threat to protesters in a "free" country.
I was here. There is no fucking way that I would have shown my face at a Nazi rally. That very night in Eugene the Nazi's were going door to door looking for people to arrest. Of course, the article is saying that it was antifa who instigated... As if a literal Nazi rally isn't instigative of itself.
I kindly disagree that showing your face makes people take you seriously. All it makes you is a target. I think the key factor is what is the protest for, as whether or not I wear a mask depends on what I am protesting. If I'm protesting a hate group or hateful ideology, I am going to keep myself safe. If I am protesting social and environmental issues I generally do not feel the need to.
Also, going to protests is inherently dangerous because peaceful protesters are not treated with peace. In that article I linked, tear gas was fired at us, the peaceful protesters, when the Nazi's were the ones crossing the police lines. Also the police had their back to them the entire time, facing us with their riot shields. I wonder why the cops were protecting the Nazi's at the "far-right" rally. Peaceful protesters against being treated with excessive force being met with excessive force... So honestly, no. Wearing a mask is necessary because you will be targeted and will be followed home.
The thing about peaceful protests is that they are almost impossible, because a peaceful protest is inherently the peaceful protesters dying for their cause by not retaliating. No, I don't think we should allow Nazi's to assault people in walking aides and attempt to stop on them. No, I don't think peaceful protesters who are being attacked by police should just let the cops beat them to death. And even if we did, they would still label us as anything but peaceful protests.
FFS, there's so much evidence of planted and instigated protests, like bricks being thrown by people not part of the protest but claiming that they were. Basically, there's no such thing as a peaceful protest and so wearing a mask should be prioritize for the protesters safety.
Note: any right-wing or conservative protesters disregard this. Show the world who you really are! It's the right thing to do!
As I have repeatedly stated, the US is not a free country in this regard.
So mask away!
Haha I did happen to see one of those comments, it just ended up being after I posted all this lol. But, I would have probably posted it anyway because it's been on my mind a lot lately.
Thank you for hearing me :)
I understand, I believe heavily in trying to see the other guy's logic even if I disagree with them.
Sadly the world in general has seen a rise of the far right, which I realize will make masked protests needed, even here in Sweden, I don't like it, but I understand that it peobably is comming. But that is not today.
All rights are won through violence.
That's because the US is not a free country.
Which a I have noted in several comments here