Protestors need a plan for dealing with tear gas (english) by Meadow McBride 12:29pm Sun Dec 30 '01 (Modified on 5:58pm Sun Dec 30 '01) Call for ideas on how to deal with tear gas attacks in an organized manner. It seems to me that protestors need a way to deal with the inevitable onslaught of tear gas in a more effective manner. I remember a protestor from Seattle telling me he was able to kick the canister that was emitting the gas back into the direction of the police. It seems to me that if a least a tiny proportion of protestors had access to gas masks, they could be spread amongst the crowd to take quick action against the canisters. Do any people have ideas on what action might be taken to neutralize the canisters? (immersing them in water, for example) add your own comments solution (english) by j 12:51pm Sun Dec 30 '01 canisters get really hot, so wear leather gloves and throw em back. chemistry (english) by mark 1:12pm Sun Dec 30 '01 any chemists here? i assume a solution of some sort would neutralize it? and we could make our own water cannonish things to distribute said magic water....... Revolutionary Anarchist Bucket Brigade (english) by Anonymous 1:31pm Sun Dec 30 '01 Everyone should bring a five-gallon bucket. They can decorate them in various ways, use them as drums, etc. When the canisters fly, just cover them with the buckets. Beat them in their own game (english) by Freedom Fighters 1:36pm Sun Dec 30 '01 Bring your Super Soaker. And let it rain water balloons instead of stones. If they fire the water cannon, let's make it a fight that all sides can enjoy ;-D Caution (english) by drew 1:38pm Sun Dec 30 '01 My cousin is a medic at mass protests, the most common injury he sees is burn marks from kids picking up canisters and throwing them back. They get to very hot temps. Unless you have proper equipment don't risk it to throw them back. Go to the local army surplus store and pick up a few old gas masks, then get some tough gloves. gloves (english) by Sean 2:03pm Sun Dec 30 '01 instead of leather gloves maybe oven mits will work and it wont involve sacrificing an animal. stress preparidness (english) by mike mcgregor 2:12pm Sun Dec 30 '01 address: aZZZZZZZZuijrdcftyui phone: 555 5555 129311011@loyalistc.on.ca i think the best way for us to deal with tear gas collectivly, is to stress preparidness. encourage people to pick up gas masks, resperator masks, ski goggles, swim goggles, dive masks, an at the very least, bandannas. we should also stress decontamination teqniques in the feild such as MOFBA and LAW and make sure that at least one person in each affinty group knows these procedures. finally, we should spread the message that the effects of tear gas are temporary, minor, and that we are strong. www.actionfamily.ca Don't pick them up! (english) by cedd 2:30pm Sun Dec 30 '01 Don't pick the heck up those canisters, a fireman did so a fw years ago here (France) during a protest. He was wearing his full fire suit(sp?) and gloves. No need to describe how thick the thinggie can be, their gear is up to par with the one you see US firemen wear in the movies from Hollywood we know and love (grin). Well, he lost his hand when the canister exploded (or what's the word?) while he held it in his fist. The guy will be permanently disabled now. Cannot contribute anything useful to the discussion I'm afraid aprt that.. especially as I'm really inexperienced.. but maybe in the classical RPG lingo, I'd say "favor speed over attack and defense", ie be more mobile than them robocops, move to another street if one is gased.. maybe. Bring a baseball bat... (english) by Daniel Warner 2:50pm Sun Dec 30 '01 ...And when they pitch the canisters, hit a homerun. Lemon juice (english) by ardisson 3:10pm Sun Dec 30 '01 Breath in half a lemon through a bandana. It neutralizes the gas but keep you one hand busy holding the lemon. It's one of the best mean I know. prepare (english) by anarcho 3:36pm Sun Dec 30 '01 It's all well & good to bring your own gas mask etc, i always carry one to protests (2 in fact)... But remeber not everyone read indymedia nor makes a habit out of protesting and hence are likely to be unprepared for tear gas etc... Soo, Collect large amounts of bandanas, carry them soaked in lemon juice or vinegar, whichever you prefer, and have them on hand to give away to people Make little leaflets to give away at protests on how to deal with tear gas, its effects, first aid etc etc Bring lots and lots of water, more than what you need for yourself since many wont have brought any. Have on hand stuff like saline solution or whatever it is Stuff like that, what is important is not just how you deal with tear gas yourself. Having a gas mask is all good but it aint really that worthwhile if the whole crowd is without any protection and hence the protest is broken anyway. It's of course comforting and goo dto have your own, but what is best if if those around you can stand up to the tear gas with you and tear gas does not disperse teh corwd. So yes, buckets, barrels, even pots & pans & bins to cover the canisters. And yeah thick thick gloves so you dont burn yourself throwing them back. And kicking works. Take care all, have fun and i think mostly education is what maybe works best, if people know that they wont suddenly keel over & die when they get gassed then there just may be that slightly less element of panic, if people know what the gas is gunna do to em rather than have it come as an ever ruder shock than it already is, then it's far less likley that things will descend into total panic etc long prongs (english) by tim 3:51pm Sun Dec 30 '01 if you use a pair of long prongs(4-6ft), made of wood, metal or something, hinge it at the middle, and set it up so you can grab the canister and fling it back. just a quick idea. contact lenses (english) by me 4:21pm Sun Dec 30 '01 while we're on the subject, i've heard that tear gas does really nasty things if you're wearing contact lenses - as a result i've worn my glasses in the past but i'd rather not risk them getting broken & stuff if i didn't need to. does anyone know anything about this? Or maybe a hockey stick (english) by P-Luck 4:57pm Sun Dec 30 '01 p-luck@redblackflag.ca.tc We've seen many new tactics to deal with tear gas. In Quebec City, people brought buckets, baseball bats and also hockey sticks to throw the canisters back to the cops. And like many of us know, don't pick up the cans unless you have good gloves. You can buy construction gloves, they are very cheap and offers great protection. question about paint inhalators (english) by marco 5:58pm Sun Dec 30 '01 cuito61@hotmail.com are the paint inhalators, coupled with a good airtight pair of goggles, as good as a gas mask? you know, the ones you could buy in the hardware store that you see people wear sometimes when they have to do heavy-duty airbrushing.