I Wear a Mask Because It’s Dangerous Out There!

masked-up:

neuropunk-travesty:

Why mask up on demos?

The first and most obvious reason why we should wear masks on demos is to protect ourselves from the ever watchful eyes of the surveillance state. The police and intelligence services are using an increasing variety of methods to document and gather evidence at protests. 

By effectively masking up you avoid being caught on police evidence gathering footage and/or CCTV and can dodge having further information on yourself being put on the police protester database (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/06/police-surveillance-protesters-journalists-climate-kingsnorth). 

It does not matter if what you do is entirely peaceful, the police will still attempt to identify you, create a file and if possible prosecute you. Even the most law-abiding protesters have been the target of police investigation and prosecutions. If you are going to participate in direct action or confrontation with the cops then be especially aware that police will be pouring over video/photo footage of the event afterwards and will seek to pin-point known activists and recognisable faces. It is not advisable to engage in these activities without first masking up properly.

Secondly, even if you do not plan on participating in direct action or confrontation masking up allows you to give solidarity to those who do by hiding them within our ranks. It is much harder for the cops to identify and isolate masked up activists if they are part of a larger masked block or one of many similar dressed people.

A note of caution: It is often claimed by activists and liberals who are opposed to masking up that if you are proud of what you do you should not be afraid to show your face. Don’t listen to them. Be proud of what you are doing but mask up to avoid the inconvenience of getting nicked. The system does not reward our pride.

– https://www.anarchistaction.net/info-for-action/why-wear-a-mask/

FURTHERMORE: It is not just the highly advanced and paranoid surveillance state that seeks to identify activists. Fascists do as well. After most demos you will see all over Twitter and 4Chan people scrolling through photos and videos tracking certain activists and attempting to reveal their faces, whilst searching social media for names. Me and friends of mine have ended up on Redwatch and B.A.R.F, two fascist sites dedicated to revealing antifa and leftist identities. Not only will police recognise you, fascists will too.