“History is your future. One day, you will meet yourself back where you started, but stronger.”

I thought I almost lost you there. For a moment there, you did.

• tear gas canister must be shot at the air, not directly at civilians
• police must announce they will gas the place before shooting a can

• people with respiratory problems should be thoroughly careful as death may ocur in a matter of hours exposed to it
• others with no problems might experience fainting
• have in mind the long lasting effects of this chemical weapon have not been registered yet

• thick face mask (the type made from a paper-like material) for a short period of exposure or low toxicity
• proper gas masks with mixed filter against organic vapours and acid gases + particles
• goggles (like ski masks or to go swimming)
• if the gas mask doesn’t cover your entire face/doesn’t have a proper grip, u need to wear a bandana or a piece of clothing under it
• do NOT use vinegar
• do NOT wear makeup, creams or sunscreen as it worsens the effect on ur eyes

• cheap: mixture of 90% water + 10% baking soda, apply on the nose, rinse ur mouth with it, pour it on the eyes (closed) and wait a little while before blinking repeatedly
•  effective & cheap: boil a pot of water with laurel leaves (the kind u use to cook) until water turns brown. apply on nose, rinse mouth, pour on closed eyes and blink repeatedly. more effective as preventive measure (soak a piece of clothing and hold it against ur mouth/nose or tie it around ur head)
• other: maalox antiacid
• u can bite on a lemon for the effects to go away, but it would only last once ur away from the gas
• do NOT run or get agitated, walk fast and watch where ur going. be calm, be mindful of others suffering the effects of the gas around u. help each other. contain each other
• sneeze, cough, spit and blink as much as necessary until u’ve recovered

• tear gas clings to ur skin and ur clothes, so try to get the least amount of skin exposed. do NOT touch ur face (eyes, mouth, nose) with ur hands or ur clothes after u’ve been exposed, as the particles of the chemical will once again hurt u
• u can wash ur clothes with baking soda, but the chemical might still remain (so dont take that forever 21 dress to a protest)
• do NOT shower with hot water, as it re-activates the chemical. u dont have to use ice cold water but regulate the temperature carefully

• death has been registered on asthmatic people
• no long lasting effects as far as i know

• tear gas will worsen the effects, so if ur attacked with pepper spray u must get away immediately
• if u are hit directly, in close proximity, u need to be taken to a hospital asap
• it will burn ur skin and ur throat, u will feel hell on ur skin, but do not cry. remain calm. u need to know this will be over in a few hours and u will have no long lasting effects
• the hospital may release u once u’ve recovered sight, but ur skin (especially ur hands, as u use and move them the most) will still hurt from time to time. sink the affected areas in a mixture of water and dish soap repeatedly and fast for 10-15 seconds
• do NOT put any creams or lotions on
• throw away the clothes and belongings contaminated with it, but be careful and mindful of the animals and homeless people who search for food in the trash, they dont deserve to suffer the effects of this weapon just because u are lousy

• u will not die of a pellet shot wound, but if it lands on ur eyes u will be permanently blinded as the eye injury is irreversible
• at the hospital they might have to give u vaccines
• sometimes doctors are unable to remove the bullets and, depending on what it’s made of, u might suffer the effects of contamination
• have in mind they can land anywhere, even ur face, and the removal is painful and excruciating
• if ur shot in a non threatening part of ur body it will hurt like hELL, but u can still walk around just fine

• wearing jeans or windbreaker fabric will lower the speed of the shot, though it will still injure ur skin
• anything from tin pieces to wood will stop the bullets. u can make a shield out of stop signs or cable satellites antennas
• if u have a shield with u, it is ur responsability to stand in the front and protects other
• for the eyes: safety glasses/goggles with ANSI z87.1 or z87+ standard are the easiest and cheapest to get, but military standard MIL-PRF-31013 is more effective. be sure to check the item actually qualifies legally for the standard

• water tank: throwing rocks at it only works if the door is open and u can aim at the cops inside. be careful since they might mix water with other chemicals (like caustic soda, which produces burns in the skin and vomit) and are more likely to use disposed water. depending on the type of tank it might actually hit u so hard u fly out of ur shoes, so be careful
• laser pointer: u can use them to block cops’ vision, it will save lives
• arrest: if u are being arrested and u are alone, or all the people u are with are being taken with u, yell ur full name so the people watching (probably recording) can have proof that u have been detained and ur family and friends can find out
• recordings: dont post ur recordings on social media, as it can lead to the arrest of the people in it (or at least blur/cover their faces). it is important to have footage of the events to help the victims injured or abused by cops though

• it wasn’t george floyd’s protesters who started reacting violently; it was the cops.
• the protest was peaceful until the cops showed up in riot gear, and started using water cannons, followed up by tear gas and rubber bullets. i got videos from friends who were there, of people screaming and running away from the cops shooting the water cannons, rubber bullets and throwing tear gas at them. they were even shooting at the protesters dragging people away to get medical attention.
• speaking of medical attention, dispatch refused to provide any medical attention to the protesters. people literally had to drive their bleeding friends to the hospital because they refused to send ambulances.
• cops are using non-lethal weapons in a lethal way. they shot rubber bullets into people’s heads and injured them. there’s dozens of photos of protesters with bleeding head wounds from the rubber bullets.
• multiple people used police scanners and heard that there were undercover cops pretending to be violent protesters who were throwing rocks and whatnot at the police, with dozens of eyewitness accounts confirming that information.
• the person who instigated all the chaos last night (it was a fire at an autozone) with the looting and burning buildings is highly suspected to be an undercover cop pretending to be a protester, because the video of him keeps getting taken down. protesters tried to stop him but couldn’t because he had a hammer and they were scared for their safety.
• the cops jammed cell phone towers and cut live streams to interrupt broadcasts and to prevent people from seeing what was really going on and who actually started the violence.
• the cops lied about protesters being armed and about throwing rocks and are literally trying to continue the violence happening and yet no one is holding them accountable for that.
• and during all this, the cop that murdered george floyd still hasn’t been arrested. he has had more than ten complaints filed against him and was involved in three other civilian shootings in the past. and yet he’s still out free along with his three other buddies involved, probably sitting on his couch while all this chaos is happening.

Tyra Banks with Kobe Bryant, 1999 (Photo credit: Walter Iooss Jr./SI)