To people trying to compile protest tips from Hong Kong. Sure, protesters can learn from each other. But I spent a lot of time in Hong Kong as a researcher and both the police and their movement are *very* different. Importing methods uncritically can be *really* dangerous.
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Also many of the "gee-whiz look at advanced Hong Kong protest methods" posts you see are by people who don't understand protests or Hong Kong or police—instead, they're often people literally making stuff up to go viral—or a combination of geek fantasies and orientalism. Be wary.
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Reality: Hong Kong protesters *are* remarkably tenacious and persistent and creative. But the most consistent thing they've done is show up again and again and again to put their bodies on the line and got their heads bashed in by the police. No liquid nitrogen magic trick here.
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That said, when I saw Hong Kong protesters use a badminton racket to bounce back tear gas canisters? That was wild.
Hadn't ever seen it anywhere else. I think I have it on video! (That said, don't try it here! The canister size here is different. Plus the police are different!)Show this thread -
Yes, there's a lot of very interesting aspects to the organizational side of Hong Kong protests. I have my own research and others have written up a lot. That side is important to study and reflect upon. Street tactics, much less so due to differences.https://twitter.com/bayes_baes/status/1268281845235412992 …
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Also, since we're discussion this, here's a thread considering various protest risks, along with some harm-reduction advice for the pandemic as well as safety advice.https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/1267890489505824769 …
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