Police Departments around the nation are bracing for election day violence. Washington D.C. is boarding up the windows. Last week the FBI held a closed-door briefing in Boston warning police officials of the broad scope of threats targeting poll workers candidates and voters ahead of this election.
Elon Musk recently purchased a ready-made ‘family compound’ for $35 million outside of Austin.
The Rev just got a hot tip that all three of the Koch brothers are holding up at David Koch’s Paonia area ranch/bunker.
Let’s be real, violence is possible and having faith that the traditional institutions of American democracy and jurisprudence may likely be misplaced, as our law-enforcement agencies have been infiltrated by the extreme far-right. Additionally, they will be stretched thin with a priority of defending the vote count, courthouses, armories, city-halls, etc. Your leftist/progressive ass is going to be a very low priority, even if your local police are not lousy with fascist.
Trump wins, violence is likely. Kamala wins by a landslide violence is likely, and if the results are close and we spend weeks in limbo as ballots are recounted and nuisance lawsuits are slowly settled, we will for sure see violence.
Things you should do for yourself and your family to stay safer is really similar to a natural disaster.
Adapted from Margaret Killjoy’s advice from the open and close of each episode of her podcast, Live Like the World is Dying:
- Have two-weeks of food in your house, preferable canned and dried food in case power goes out.
- If you are privileged enough to have a vehicle make sure it has a full tank of gas.
- Keep devices charged. If you have the bread for a Solar Generator get one they are great. If you have money a backing packing water filter will also be useful.
- Collaborate with your friends, neighbors and comrades, we are always stronger together.
- Lock your doors and vehicles if you don’t already.
If you are a person of color, visibly LGBTQ+, or your car is covered in lefty stickers, maybe don’t be gassing up the car alone Tuesday night.
If Kamala wins but it’s close, maybe don’t go for a victory lap of waving signs on busy corners. Maybe don’t become a target.
If Trump wins, which is a real possibility that we need to wrap our heads around now so we can think clearly when it happens, we need to respond not react.
We will all feel lots of things if this happens, but the reality is we are not helpless, that we still have agency, and we can and must organize to resist. Stay safe. Be ready to organize on the 6th!
The Revolutionist 