Tear Gas:Is there are chemist in the house?

[mattd]

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 at 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 at 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 at 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.