by Crimethinc. Workers' Collective
Available in 284 free installments
Owner:
The officers strip-searched their car, at
last removing the door panels, and the
bullets clattered out onto the pavement.
Our heroes spent the following four
hours locked in interrogation rooms,
Canadian policemen screaming, "Where
are the guns? We know you have
them ? -tell us where they are!," and
paying little heed to their protestations:
"This is all a big misunderstanding ? we
don't have any guns. We're graphic
designers ? we have the bullets for a
design project. Honest, officer!"
Security Culture 468
between the police and others who have come along but aren't necessarily clear on the risks involved; if you escalate a spontaneous parade by engaging in property destruction, make sure others who were unprepared for this are not still standing around in confusion when the police show up. Whatever risky projects you undertake, make sure you're prepared to go about them intelligently, so no one else will have to run unexpected risks to help you out when you make mistakes.
Security culture is a form of etiquette, a way to avoid needless misunderstandings and potentially disastrous conflicts. Security concems should never be an excuse for making others feel left out or inferior?though it can take some finesse to avoid that!?just as no one should feel they have a "right" to be in on anything others prefer to keep to themselves. Those who violate the security culture of their communities should not be rebuked too harshly the first time?this isn't a question of being hip enough to activist decorum to join the in-group, but of establishing group expectations and gently helping people understand their importance; besides, people are least able to absorb constructive criticism when they're put on the defensive. Nevertheless, such people should always be told immediately how they're putting others at risk, and what the consequences will be should they continue to do so. Those who can't grasp this must be tactfully but effectively shut out of all sensitive situations.
Security culture is not paranoia institutionalized, but a way to avoid unhealthy paranoia by minimizing risks ahead of time. It is counterproductive to spend more energy worrying about how much surveillance you are under than is useful for decreasing the danger it poses, just as it is debilitating to be constantly second-guessing your precautions and doubting the authenticity of potential comrades. A good security culture should make everyone feel more relaxed and confident, not less. At the same time, it's equally un-
productive to accuse those who adhere to security measures stricter than yours of being paranoid?remember, our enemies are out to get us.
Don't \tt suspicion he used against you. If your foes can't learn your secrets, they will settle for turning you against each other. Undercover agents can spread rum.ors or throw around accusations to create dissension, mistrust, and resentment inside of or between groups. In extreme cases, they will falsify letters or take similar steps to frame activists. The mainstream media may participate in this, too, by reporting that there is an informant in a group when there is not one, by misrepresenting the politics or history of an individual or group in order to alienate potential allies, or by emphasizing over and over that there is a conflict between two branches of a movement until they really do mistrust one another. Again, a shrewd security culture that fosters an appropriately high level of trust and confidence should make such provocations nearly impossible on the personal level; when it comes to relations between proponents of different tactics and organizations of different stripes, remember the importance of solidarity and diversity of tactics, and trust that others do, too, even if media accounts suggest otherwise. Don't accept rumors or reports as fact: go to the source for confirmation every time, and be diplomatic about it.
In suburban settings not conducive to setting fire to your paperwork, you can boil all of it, then knead it into a lump which you flush down the toilet
in little pieces.
Dov^i he intimidated hy bluffing. Police attention and surveillance is not necessarily an indication that they know anything specific about your plans or activities: often it indicates that they do not and are trying to frighten you out of continuing with them. Develop an instinct with which to sense when your cover has actually been blov^na and when your enemies are just trying to distress you into doing their work for them.
