Safety glasses … any time you join a protest these days … wear safety glasses … any kind will do because it will give you a fighting chance at saving your eyesight.
So many protests over the past few years have featured police forces aiming munitions, tear gas and other projectiles at people’s faces on purpose. These projectiles won’t kill you but if they hit your face can severely wound you or destroy your eyes and blind you.
Wounding people as opposed to killing people is also a psychological tool used by security forces. If they hurt, maim or even cause people to bleed … then it has a psychological toll on those who see it. An even greater psychological hit for anyone would be to see a healthy strong, vibrant young 20 year old man losing both his eyes and blinded while everyone witnesses it and tries to help. It might only directly hurt one person but the event would psychologically affect dozens or even a hundred people who see it.
One of the saddest stories I ever saw was the story of 20 year old Gustavo Gatica in 2019 who was part of a protest against the government in Chile. Police were actively shooting at protesters’ faces on purpose blinding many people in one eye. Gustavo was hit in both eyes and was rendered completely blind.
It’s one of the saddest and most infuriating images I’ve seen in a long time … no matter where you are and you want to join a protest … wear safety glasses and save your eyes. Police might not try to aim for your face but if they do, they’ll just make the excuse that you shouldn’t have been there in the first place and blame you for your injuries.
Most of them are though, to make a protest legal you have to declare the planned route and you can be told your protest is illegal (so anyone showing up there and then can be arrested and fined).
Safety glasses … any time you join a protest these days … wear safety glasses … any kind will do because it will give you a fighting chance at saving your eyesight.
So many protests over the past few years have featured police forces aiming munitions, tear gas and other projectiles at people’s faces on purpose. These projectiles won’t kill you but if they hit your face can severely wound you or destroy your eyes and blind you.
Wounding people as opposed to killing people is also a psychological tool used by security forces. If they hurt, maim or even cause people to bleed … then it has a psychological toll on those who see it. An even greater psychological hit for anyone would be to see a healthy strong, vibrant young 20 year old man losing both his eyes and blinded while everyone witnesses it and tries to help. It might only directly hurt one person but the event would psychologically affect dozens or even a hundred people who see it.
One of the saddest stories I ever saw was the story of 20 year old Gustavo Gatica in 2019 who was part of a protest against the government in Chile. Police were actively shooting at protesters’ faces on purpose blinding many people in one eye. Gustavo was hit in both eyes and was rendered completely blind.
https://www.amnestyusa.org/gustavo-gatica/
It’s one of the saddest and most infuriating images I’ve seen in a long time … no matter where you are and you want to join a protest … wear safety glasses and save your eyes. Police might not try to aim for your face but if they do, they’ll just make the excuse that you shouldn’t have been there in the first place and blame you for your injuries.
They’ll confiscate them in France if they manage to search you before you join the protest. Because of course protection means you’re a terrorist.
Most safety glasses look no different than bog-standard sunglasses these days - make sure to get those.
Exactly … get a designer pair that can be passed off as sunglasses and wear them
Jesus Christ … all the more reason to smuggle in eye protection … and bring extras and hand them around
Oh i had to think about your wording for a bit to realize you didn’t mean that all French protests were pre-kettled.
Most of them are though, to make a protest legal you have to declare the planned route and you can be told your protest is illegal (so anyone showing up there and then can be arrested and fined).
Yeah that’s true in the US too. It would seem odd to me, however, if many protests adhered to such regulations.