{"id":57623,"date":"2021-08-23T15:10:45","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T19:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=57623"},"modified":"2021-08-23T15:39:18","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T19:39:18","slug":"online-event-examines-harassment-that-activists-could-face-from-instigators-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/online-event-examines-harassment-that-activists-could-face-from-instigators-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Online event examines harassment that activists could face from instigators, police"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Black Lives Matter protests last year, sparked by the murder of George Floyd, have marked the pandemic with significant examples of extreme police intervention and brutality, as well as harassment from on-lookers, counter-protestors and provocateur's.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This Tuesday, a workshop being held online is looking at how to de-escalate violence from police and instigators when attending rallies, protests or other advocacy events.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hosted by a number of different community organizations, the workshop, called \"De-escalation 101 for Actions\"<\/a>, seeks to provide tools for organizers to prepare for these scenarios through a trauma-informed lens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leila Tchouassi from the Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition<\/a>, an organization that focuses on combating all forms of anti-Black systemic racism, says that harassment occurs at every event that she\u2019s attended.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people take advantage of the hurt and the rage and the vulnerability of Black folks in the spaces of organizing and direct action,\u201d she said. \u201c But if I were to start anywhere with the incidents that I\u2019ve seen have been in the ways that police antagonize activists.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharmeen Khan from Tools for Change<\/a>, one of the hosts of the event that provides workshops for activists to sharpen skills around social justice, explains that the workshop will seek to hone in on how to keep people safe, prevent distractions and stay on message \u2014 all while facing down the potential fear and disorientation of any instigators, including police.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This kind of practice is not uncommon, she explains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor decades, there was actually direct action training that comes from the civil disobedience histories in the states,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople would actually practice with the lunch counter protests in the south, being spit on, coffee being thrown on them and milkshakes, and holding their ground.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although this won\u2019t be offered at this workshop, it\u2019s a practice that Khan would suggest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAny kind of training is not going to hurt you,\u201d she said. \u201cA really effective tool that people have used in direct action is called a 'hassle line.' You\u2019re going to be linked up and confronting an oppositional force, and you practice how you\u2019re going to react for people to be in your face, using really harmful language, and see what emotions are coming up for you and how you can use them\u00a0 in support and make decisions in response to that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Khan and Tchouassi both explain that rigorous safety and back-up plans are made prior to any demonstration. Most events have designated support workers, blockers, volunteers and people assigned to speak with the media and the police.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But it is important, Tchouassi says, that people realize some confrontations will always be a shock.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get spat on, that\u2019s a violation of your body,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know a lot of people who know how to react to that safely. Or getting spat on and called the N-word in an already heightened and scary and very pressure filled space.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish that more people understood the vulnerability and the danger that people put themselves into when they are planning these actions. But at the same time, the compassion and care that all people put into these organizations. It\u2019s to create a safer society for everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0The event is open for registration and can be found at toolsforchange.net.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Listen to the story below to learn more about common de-escalation tactics and the experience of an Ottawa activist. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Black Lives Matter protests last year, sparked by the murder of George Floyd, have marked the pandemic with significant examples of extreme police intervention and brutality, as well as harassment from on-lookers, counter-protestors and provocateur’s.\u00a0 This Tuesday, a workshop being held online is looking at how to de-escalate violence from police and instigators when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":57624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[57,3265],"tags":[8933,3482,2385,599,8934,940,8932],"radio":[1290],"origine":[267,269,1571],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57623"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57623"},{"taxonomy":"radio","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/radio?post=57623"},{"taxonomy":"origine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/origine?post=57623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}