This report back was shared with us anonymously. NAC did not organize this action or write this report. We publish anonymous report backs as a service for people who don’t otherwise have a platform to explain their participation in actions. Sharing this report does not necessarily mean we agree with the actions taken or opinions expressed. 

Though we should never take the police at their word, in their press release the pigs explained that “organizers asked EPD’s Mobile Response Team for help with the splinter group,” which more precisely wasn’t a splinter group, but a few people embodying the combative spirit of worker’s struggle inviting the workers and students to act upon their principles. Though both the GTFF and PSL have denied actively collaborating with the police, folks on the ground did observe the yellow-vested peace police not merely doing the police’s jobs but communicating with them directly. Regardless, even if there was no “overt” collaboration with the State’s repressive forces, the actions of the peace police manifest “covert” collaboration by repressing themselves and others for the State.

What are peace police? Any time any organizer limits the scope of what is possible for a protest, for a struggle, for a fight to what is acceptable to the State out of fear of repression, out of a pessimism of what others are capable of, or out of a perceived risk-averseness, they are engaging in repression, because that is exactly what repression is – instilling in us fear of collective action, making us feel like we cannot take action, & more generally forcing us to feel like it’s impossible. This is the work of the peace police, and it is important for us to recognize these tendencies, push back against them, & open up space for struggle to emerge. Otherwise, we’re doomed to capitulation in advance.

Repression is an inevitable part of any struggle that poses a threat to power. Recognizing this is an important start in fighting it with all of our capacities for struggle. You cannot keep yourself “safe” from repression by engaging in struggle in terms of what is acceptable to the State. You cannot keep yourself “safe” from repression by condemning, policing, or differentiating yourself between others who take more confrontational action. Worse, you will only push repression towards others (as is what happened on May Day), while granting the State much weightier leverage in determining what is acceptable, which will later go on to affect you personally. Meanwhile, if you’re waiting for a more opportune time to expand what is possible and step beyond the limits of what is acceptable to the State, their repressive forces will have become so expansive that you’ll be far behind any capacity to confront them.

There is no such thing as “safety” in a struggle for liberation, a struggle against fascism, a struggle against all forms of oppression. There is however a community that’s rooted in struggle, in collective principles of non-collaboration, and in militant solidarity that will leave no comrade behind, because the only way to protect ourselves is truly to advance the struggle.

Free Palestine
Free Them All

j d

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Edit 1: The GTFF has written a statement about the May Day protest and arrests. You can contact them if you would like to read it.

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Edit 2: We got another anonymous report saying that a couple paragraphs were missing from this. I double checked, and this was everything that was sent. (I have no way of replying to the sender since it’s anonymous, so I’m sharing this here.)