Standing up for what you believe in. Train those musles.

I'll paraphrase something I saw somewhere, cannot remember the source so I'll grossly paraphrase and use filler.

When things get generally bad enough to make you want to change them, you will wonder how and will likely not find any immediate or local outlet. That's how it's designed; to keep people from getting together in the "commons" to organize, get ideas, and act upon them. Stay at home and watch television is the message sent by those who want nothing to change, because they profit from things as they are.

What to do?

Social media is your friend. Search Twitter for hashtags relating to your interest (#Occupy, #KeystoneXLPipeline, etc.) and connect with people with similar interests world-wide. "Like" Facebook pages etc. which are involved. If there is an active group of people in your area, search them out, and more. If there is not, spend time spreading the word.

Groups: There are phases in getting involved with or forming a group against social issues.

-Joining and getting to know people and about the cause and how to contribute, and how you may add your own abilities to the cause. Learning how to put aside personal and personality differences to work together to succeed.
-Marching and actions. Depending upon the target, there can be Green actions where no one should reasonably expect to be arrested (cops still make nuisance arrests, however, to scare as many people away as possible). There are Yellow actions, or areas of actions close to the target, where police are expected to be present and the risk of arrest exists. Red actions or red zones during an action mean it is entirely possible to be arrested and/or beaten. Cops and their commanders are arbitrary and will purposely turn a peaceful action or even a peaceful celebration into a situation where they can make their nuisance arrests, so Green isn't always a guarantee, and Red actions with plenty of cops can turn out peaceful through strategy or just how they work out.

Start with safe actions and get used to being with the crowd and see how it works. Graduate upward and take "know your rights" training if it is available. There is information online; make very good use of it. I was taught to simply avoid arrest when possible. Those for whom being arrested will cause undue trouble should avoid the risk unless it would be well worth it. Being beyond caring if you are arrested or beaten sends quite a message as well!

Cops and their rich masters want you to go home and watch television instead of using your guaranteed 1st Amendment rights of freedom of assembly and to petition for redress of grievance. You have the right to gather, to march, to shout, to be seen and heard. This is America. Our country was founded upon rebellion against unjust, selfish policies by the rich and abusive. Cops will contest your rights so that you will submit and give them away and to forget you ever had them; it is your job if you are willing to march regardless, to occupy a bank lobby regardless, to confront the corrupt, to be seen and heard in order to push for the change you require. You must learn your rights so as to not be bullied into submission. This is the fine line: cops expect submission. Knowing your legal rights and standing your ground is quite honestly our duty as citizens. You will find even in peacefully marching that cops will surround and even press into marches in order to split it into smaller, more easily handled groups. This is not legal but they'll do it regardless. You will witness cops doing completely illegal things over and over, and outright lying about what protesters were doing if they make an arrest. Your group should have a legal team and legal observers who go on all actions to help negate such egregious actions. This in itself is pushing for Change, and it is a barrier we are working upon breaching, in order to better reach our targets. See this sub-forum for examples of Occupy victories in court, which are increasing as activists stand up for their basic human rights and civil rights as they must, else submit and go home and watch TV. While the thieves get away with it.

This is sadly part of the path but it is changing in our favor as we stand up for our rights and demand them. To paraphrase the saying, you may not know you are chained until you attempt to stand up. This has been my experience and observation. I've seen police....well, search DU for March 17, I believe the title is speaking truth to power, for video and my post on what LAPD did to a completely peaceful chili-eating party. When you work for Change, those who do not want change will use their tools against you. Knowing this and moving through it is just part of the learning, part of resisting that which fears change.

One important aspect is that this develops courage if you, like myself, find it a bit lacking upon having begun this path. Start safe, move up and stand up fully, and know that you'll come into this sort of contact as =part= of the work. Know that in remaining peaceful, if you and your group are attacked, you are righteous and the cops look bad, very bad. Police brutality against Occupy helped rocket it to national attention. I cannot speak for the extreme heroes of the Civil Rights Movement who did put their lives on the line, but that is what they did. They stood up and said NO! to what was wrong, and when the uglies attacked them, the uglies looked ever more ugly and actually helped the cause. YOU do not have to go that far; you may never encounter a line of police at all. Those who gain the experience of action and marching for rights may wish to continue to stand up in that manner to break through the uglies into freedom. It is beginning to work. It is fighting for change in an of itself, even if you joined to protest banks. Can't get to the banks unless the cops are neutralized...and when you personally witness their injustice and how they protect the rich and not the 1st Amendment marcher, you may become naturally driven to stand up for this cause as well. Just never forget the original target.

It is perfectly fine to be an online activist. Get the word out. Spread and discuss the stories. Agitate. Activate. Provide verbal and if possible, material support. You can still be part of a group and not march or take part in actions; there is a group called "Food not Bombs" who feed protest groups so there is plenty of opportunity for logistical support as well. Food is unity!

And know that these steps are the key to your freedom, if there is ever a greater challenge locally or nationally. If you are used to getting out of the house into a gathering, working with others to the common goal, and showing up in spite of being threatened by others, then you have taken steps and built muscles which will remain available should a challenge occur. If you have not, you may find yourself wondering how to help, not having at your immediate disposal the tools to respond. If it ever became in the US as it is in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, etc. The more people who peacefully gather to say NO! to our problems, the more easily and quickly will the problems be solved. The more important it is to you that these problems be solved, the more likely it is that you will succeed. Do not underestimate the effectiveness of even ten people confronting a corrupt bankster outside his office or at his home. When such actions are occurring across the country, they add up very quickly. It only takes 10% to create the tipping point we desire. Marching with 10 people, 50 people, 1,000 people, becomes exhilarating and you realize that the power always did reside in The People. You will never again wish to give it up or to support systems which take it away.

-Recording police. Most states allow you to record police going about their duty. Check yours for details. The ruling Glik V. Boston allows the citizen to sue if cops arrest them for recording them. If you are marching and a cop starts doing anything antsy, shout "Cameras!" and get it all documented. A wall of recording devices is called "orange bloc".

-Never talk to cops. I myself have learned the hard way to never break that rule, even if you are only speaking generally about the principles of your movement. The people you are with will not understand. The most you should say to a cop is "Am I being detained; am I free to go?" and to leave. If you are being detained, immediately ask for a lawyer, or to call yours if you have one. Shout "Cameras!" and get it on video. Do not consent to any searches and shout loudly "I DO NOT CONSENT TO THIS SEARCH". Know that all cops are doing is gathering evidence and that it is nationally legal for them to lie to you. Period. And if you work with a group, over time they'll collect little things in an attempt to use them against you. Give them NOTHING.

-IMPORTANT EDIT: Cops do outrageous and enraging things to troll people into arrestable responses. They will bully women they know to be in relationships with someone known and outspoken. They will separate someone from the group at random, or known, visible group members, and stand them there going through the motions of an arrest, not answering questions etc. to provoke outraged, arrestable response(s). They will be violent and unjust seemingly at random for the same reasons. They'll even troll verbally, intimidate, targeting members repeatedly looking for a rise in blood temperature.

Don't feed the trolls. As John Lennon said, they need to get you angry so then they will know what to do with you. They need to drag you down to their level, to fight in some way. And they DON'T know what to do about happiness, joy and laughter. Use happiness, joy, and laughter against them.

-Cops are usually required to wear a name tag and to provide you with their name and employee number upon request. For example in California, section 830.10 says police must always display their name or identification. It may be illegal for them to not provide their name and employee number upon request. (Badges may be used interchangeably in some areas.)

-If you are abused or injured by police, find online forms for your city with which to file a report and send it to the local internal affairs unit. Collect all video and witness testimony and file a tort claim with your city and seek lawyers. If it occurs to your group, attempt a larger suit. Do not allow them to get away with anything, because they have broken the social contract and must be held accountable by the citizens they are supposed to (in theory) protect and serve. They must be reminded that they are our servants and not our zoo keepers. They answer to US.

-Your cell phone is especially vulnerable to police. There are security apps available from ACLU and groups such as copblock, as well as techniques to lock them. I believe there is an "I am being arrested" app as well. Make certain your group's legal team have your actual name and date of birth so they can track you in the system. Use one of the various internet wepay etc. sites to collect bail donations.

-Always walk away from anyone promoting violence. They're likely FBI or local law enforcement. Occupy, among others, has been plagued from the beginning by DHS and law enforcement surveillance as well as law enforcement infiltration and provocateurs. They have been exposed and proven. The powers that be want Change to go away and are rolling out the old faithfuls they've long since used against social movements of all sorts. If someone starts discussing being violent, walk away. If someone starts being violent during a march, immediately step away from them.

Punkboy in SF, livestreamer of reknown, says that during Occupy Oakland's encampment, crime actually fell something on the order of 18 or 19% in the city, and this went directly against all of the Oakland authorities and the local 1%'s wishes to smear them into non-existence. So a week after this report came out, people dressed in black joined the marches and started throwing chairs through shop windows. Know what I mean?

When you work for change, those who do not want change will use every and all means against you. Here is some of what the monsters in Oakland have put citizens through:

Oakland officials caught in lies about attacking Occupy

http://occupyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/01/oakland-officials-caught-in-lies-about.html

Know that this is part of what goes on; it simply is. It can indeed be borne and overcome. Watching 60+ people tonight on livestream in the Oakland city chambers mic-checking in beautiful unison to demand justice for a man shot by police was amazing. The city council has no idea what to do about The People. They'll have to give in or face increasing resistance to their malfeasance. Sending riot cops to blow up the city streets just doesn't work. Cops are appearing in increasingly ludicrous accoutrement to attempt to strike fear, to make people run away home and to never again complain. The thing is, they look ever more increasingly ridiculous as they confront seated, singing protesters while looking like something out of a SyFy channel movie.

One day protesters are just going to burst out laughing at them and it will be glorious, and change everything. The same with mayors and city councils.

They wouldn't have sent the cops in the first place if they weren't worried, or even outright frightened. It means we're winning which was your goal in the first place. Hang in there and march through it. The world we want is increasingly close. The smallest thing you do to contribute to it is never lost! It adds to its creation