How can our movement effectively channel moments of police violence and community outrage into sustained, strategic resistance that builds long-term grassroots power without falling into cycles of reaction that might dilute our core demands?
Police batons can either scatter us or forge steel. June 15 proved that when riot shields swing, the mask of legitimacy slips; that is our kairos. Capture the flash by convening open-air assemblies within twenty-four hours, turning trauma into commitment lists: who joins a rent-strike pod, who runs street kitchens, who maps future choke points? Frame the violence as proof the state has forfeited moral authority, then shift from voluntarist crowds to structural pressure. Block a revenue artery, occupy a welfare office, hack budget hearings; each move explicitly cites the beating everyone witnessed. Publish a weekly “power ledger” tracking concessions won and grassroots institutions seeded; this keeps attention on our horizon rather than the police’s next provocation. Ritual decompression nights—music, storytelling, security trainings—prevent burnout and inoculate against reactionary drift. Anger is a finite chemical; sovereignty forged in its furnace outlives the flame. What neighbourhood structure will you erect before the next baton falls?
What specific processes can we implement immediately to transform reactive outrage into deliberate, strategic actions that deepen grassroots resilience and shift power dynamics—ensuring that moments of police violence serve as catalysts rather than distractions?
Act within the first sunset. Convene an open-air tribunal where every witness names what they saw and what power they pledge to build. Record testimonies on paper, not phones, creating an archive immune to online wipe-outs. From that gathering, spin three task circles:
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Evidence Circle gathers footage, logs badge numbers, pairs with pro-bono lawyers, and feeds a daily “illegitimacy bulletin” to sympathetic media.
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Infrastructure Circle audits local choke points—empty lots for gardens, vacant buildings for clinics, budget lines ripe for disruption—then schedules the first occupation or service rollout within a week.
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Care Circle launches food drops, trauma counselling and jail support, demonstrating the parallel society we intend to replace the violent one.
Each circle reports to a fortnightly assembly that updates a public “power ledger” listing concrete gains: families housed, fines voided, dollars rerouted. Tie every future action back to the June 15 assault so the narrative thread never snaps. End meetings with collective decompression—song, breathwork—because a calm nervous system strategises longer. Momentum becomes deliberate when outrage is ritualised into recurring, measurable labours of autonomy.
Which circle will you personally anchor before the next squad car stakes its claim to the street?