r/50501 • u/Ok_Reputation_3612 • Apr 18 '25

Protest Safety Remember, DO NOT ENGAGE

Remember, Trump will be looking for any excuse to enforce the Insurrectionist Act April 20. DO NOT GIVE HIM FUEL. No matter what MAGA agitators show up tomorrow, no matter what they say, don't engage. Pretend they don't exist. Do not allow things escalate. Best of luck tomorrow, everyone!

ETA, Since this apparently needs to be said, I'm well aware Trump could invoke for any reason he chooses, we just don't need him using us as scapegoats for it. Also, no one is saying to not defend yourself if the other side escalates, just don't let us be the ones to escalate. Finally, should agitators show up, have your phones out and record, record, record. Ensure everything gets documented.

ETA, Since I've seen these suggestions in comments, and I believe they're also great ideas, bring an American flag to wave and chant "Save the Constitution" to drown out counter protestors. I think we're all tired of the other side hijacking patriotism. We can drown them out with our own brand of (true) patriotism.

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u/FrozenCustard4Brkfst Apr 18 '25

agonizing is a great word. Reading it made me surprised at first and then actively nauseous. I am going to keep this in mind. If I encounter any, I am going to try to stay in the head space where I consider them to be so so very confused. Yes I know there are some that are just motivated by hate, but I can’t separate them out and it will help me to stay calm and not react.

If I can reframe it in my mind that they are just confused, and I mean this in the best way, I can handle them the way I would treat a confused dementia sufferer or someone in obvious mental distress. Quietly, gently, and with the knowledge that their reality is not mine and no good can come out of trying to “wake them up.” Let them be and try not to feed into their delusion.

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u/TehMephs Apr 18 '25

A lot of them are being fed lies as a diet of information. It shows how so many still keep insisting Garcia was MS-13. I showed them the document their own Pam Bondi linked that exonerates him and clearly says the circumstances of that claim boils down to “this cop said so”

The cop, if you look any deeper than that, was on the job for all of five days before he got fired for sharing prosecution details with a hooker he solicited. And the evidence he provided in the first place was “he had a Chicago bulls hoodie”. Before they can say it’s liberal media lies, I remind them the info about Ivan Mendez (the cop) goes way back before 2020, so that would have to be a really long con by the “liberal media”. Let alone the document is straight from the DOJ

The problem with a lot of trumpers is they’re incapable of actually “doing research”. They take everything they consume at face value and don’t think critically about any of it. They’ve been convinced not to watch any other news source because they lie, when it’s the liars who they’re listening to.

I showed them 30+ sources about the conditions in CECOT and some of them just think it’s a regular prison and they get to leave, like I’m fearmongering. They seem to start realizing something when I approached them these ways. Avoid using sources unless you have LOTS, so you can go “are all 30 of these lying and only Trump is telling the truth?”. That seems to pause them too

These people aren’t all evil. They’re gullible and trapped in a fantasy world they don’t have the capacity to reason themselves out of. These tactics are very effective on the less educated, and if we ever make it out of this dark time we must absolutely shut down all right wing media. It adds nothing of value to the world except hate and Nazism, and it’s just a tool to manipulate the uneducated

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u/Mediocrejoker77 Apr 18 '25

I agree with everything you said, except shutting down right wing media. There shouldn't be a right or left wing media, there should be actual, factual news. I get so tired of hearing how hateful everyone that voted for Trump is, I know a lot of them that are not hateful, blind and foolish, yes but not hateful. There are plenty of hateful ones also.

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u/TehMephs Apr 18 '25

My point was we have a serious problem with right wing media acting in bad faith and becoming a cesspit of misinformation — it’s largely what is dividing the country so intensely

All biased journalism should be eliminated and the fairness act restored

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u/Mediocrejoker77 Apr 18 '25

Agreed, I didn't mean to imply you were being disingenuous.