Watch And Learn – On Direct Action (Part A)

Page Preface

Observations for the Watch and Learn movement related to the present situation, and a few general tactical and strategic notes about direct action and public protest. This is the complete chapter; each section is also linked separately below with its own video. Additionally, each bullet point in the second section has been broken out into a separate video.

• On Direct Action (Part 1) (Full) (You are here)
  • The Present Situation
  • Direct Action Tactics and Strategy

The Present Situation

As the present work is being created in mid-March of 2025, the United States is in a state of ongoing overthrow from within. 

The executive branch, a plurality of the legislature, and an unknown but certainly substantial percentage of the judiciary including at least four justices on the Supreme Court, to say nothing of state and local offices nationwide, have been taken over or otherwise compromised by self-appointed and unrepentant enemies of all values and principles of human liberty, decency, compassion, and empathy. 

Much like despots of the past, they have used misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, deceit, incitement, and appeals to emotions and the less noble aspects of human personality to enlist a significant percentage of the electorate in their treason. A rapidly collapsing but still substantial percentage remains in their thrall.

The United States, and the entire human race, stands at a crossroads – and largely aware of it for maybe the first time in human history.  We know what is happening and what’s at stake, and not just in the United States.  Right-wing despotism is engaged in major offensives on dozens of fronts around the world.

We know through history that in times like this public direct action tends to rise sharply, from protests and marches of various tone, tenor, and purpose, to darker and uglier events that we all prefer to remain historical. In this section of “Watch and Learn,” we’re going to talk about when direct action is most effective and in what form, how to conduct yourself safely and minimize the risk of becoming a scapegoat or target of disinformation yourself, and how to make the biggest impact with the least risk and effort.

DA Tactics and Strategy

I should note that I am writing in the US from a US perspective.  While principles will often apply globally, local law may render some of the below information inaccurate if you live outside the US.

• Large public protests can only do so much and aren’t effective in all cases.  Often they can do more harm than good, especially when ill-considered and poorly planned.  Over time within a culture you get diminishing returns.  Escalation always tops out somewhere, usually at tragedy. It becomes too easy to co-opt movements, physical confrontation is always risky, and counterintelligence and false-flag attacks become far too easy to execute (as we saw in Minneapolis during the George Floyd protests, among others.)
  
  I’m not saying there’s “no place” for protests or “don’t go” or whatever. We all need to be doing what we can do, and there are times when a march or protest is the best option on the table for effective immediate action and raising awareness.  Knowing those times when they’re at hand and being prepared to handle your business properly can save you a lifetime of heartache and avoid self-defeating mistakes.
  
  
• “Tear it all down” is a demonstrably failed approach. While it might be gratifying emotionally, in the end all you’re really doing is destroying stuff, and they’ll just rebuild it or use it as an excuse to desert “bad neighborhoods.” In the most extreme circumstances, that stuff is resources that can be repurposed if it’s preserved.  While it is legally and ethically unacceptable to endorse or condone such behavior, as a matter of honest and accurate analysis it must be said that there are times when targeted vandalism can make a point quite effectively.  But it has a limited shelf life and it’s easy to start relying on those sorts of cheap tricks and theatrics as a substitute for meaningful progress. Not only that it often involves criminally prosecutable behavior, which makes you vulnerable to being locked up and taken out of the process entirely.  Don’t waste yourself.  There are better ways.
  
  
• Avoid agitators, escalationists, and generally people who are looking for a fight. If YOU are looking for a fight, STAY HOME.  There is no “nice” way to say this and I’m sorry for that but it needs saying: only an absolute fool looks for a fight, and only an absolute brute enjoys one.  That’s the kind of thinking that’s keeping us IN this mess, not getting us OUT of it.
  
  
• Avoid and resist those who want to co-opt this moment to advance their smaller personal or “brand” agendas.  The self-declared opponents of human progress, decency, compassion, and empathy are trying to take this country over, right now, inch by inch.  We are ALL in the crosshairs here and we must ALL work TOGETHER with SINGULAR PURPOSE.  People trying to divert energy to themselves are taking that energy away from the movement.  Don’t let them.
  
  
• It can’t be said often enough: authoritarians in power want you to be angry.  They want you raging and not thinking.  They want you desperate and panicked so you don’t have the head space or energy or focus to use your best mind.  The angrier you are, the more useful and helpful you are to them.  They want you to commit petty property crimes that they can manipulate into narratives of burned out war zones created by “radical leftists.”  Don’t let them succeed.  Feel your rage; make decisions later.  Have your emotions, but keep them separate from your actions.   Don’t let them provoke you into a fight you can’t possibly win.