Journalists beaten bloody and sent to the hospital simply for covering political protests.
Protesters savagely kicked and punched just for carrying an American flag.
Black-clad, masked thugs blocking traffic, threatening drivers and then chasing down and beating an old man who drove through their roadblock.
A man armed with a rifle and fire-bombs who tried to burn down an immigration detention facility.
What do all these attacks have in common?
The violence was all done by Antifa – the people who are taking over sections of American cities RIGHT NOW!
This “anti-fascist” group was something most people had never heard of before a couple years ago.
After the 2016 elections, they started showing up at political rallies and events more than ever, making it dangerous for anyone to express an opinion in public.
Left, Right, Center… it doesn’t matter, because if you’re not with them, they’ll attack you.
But violence at political protests, and trying to silence opinions you don’t agree with by beating people with pipes and crowbars, is nothing new.
In fact, the “old school” cops of the 1970’s had to deal with civil unrest and political violence all the time.
That’s why now, more than ever, we need to talk about. . .
What 70’s Cops Can Teach Us About Civil Unrest & Political Violence
If you’re my age or older, you remember how turbulent the 1960’s and 1970’s were.
Self-described anarchists and domestic terrorist groups like The Weather Underground, The Symbionese Liberation Army, and the United Freedom Front grabbed a LOT of headlines back then.
They bombed police stations, carried out kidnappings and armed robberies, conducted coordinated ambush attacks on cops, and were frequent players in the riots and political unrest of the day.
Against that violent backdrop, cops and first responders from the Seventies — a time decades before the term, “first responder,” was really used — had to learn how to deal with political violence and keep the peace.
Here are three lessons they taught us that we can apply to today’s political violence:
1. Don’t Assume The Other Side Is Stupid
We like to think of ourselves as the prepared, trained ones.
Often, we sneer at those we consider “sheeple,” people who don’t train or prepare like we do.
That’s a mistake.
Cops from the 1970’s learned fast that guerrilla groups of domestic terrorists were highly organized and capable of carrying out sophisticated ambush attacks.
And they did it all without social media!
Today’s street fighters and political activist groups use social media and technology to coordinate their assaults.
They also use the same technology to identify and target people who criticize them, often surrounding and beating down their targets at political events.
You HAVE to assume the “bad guys” are capable of working together to come at you (or anyone else).
Never underestimate how dangerous they are.
(I cover some of the other dangers of social chaos, and the gear you can use to protect yourself, in my survival gear secrets report. More on that in a bit.)
2. Be Prepared For “Body Armor”
Cops in the 1970’s quickly learned that they needed to wear their bulletproof vests.
The only way to protect themselves from snipers and ambush attacks — apart from being very aware and watching each other’s backs — was to make sure they had some defense if they were hit when they didn’t expect it.
They understood the defensive power of body armor.
Well, if you’re at a political protest, don’t be surprised when the political street fighters show up wearing improvised body armor, carrying shields, and wielding clubs and even spears (usually disguised as flags).
They’ve started wearing other improvised riot gear, too, which makes them a LOT harder to take down if you’re forced to fight back.
If you find yourself facing down armored opponents, avoid that fight at all costs.
If you’re not armed, your hands and feet are no match for steel-pot shields and motorcycle helmets.
3. Riots Can Develop FAST
Cops in the 70’s knew that riots can happen when you least expect them.
A single incident can be the match that ignites a powder-keg.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s, riots like the civil unrest in Watts happened after a single interaction with police.
Much more recently, we saw days worth of violent riots in Ferguson after a single shooting by a suspect — Michael Brown — by a police officer.
Yet, these days, people seem inclined to stand around, watching and recording the action on their phones, never realizing just how vulnerable they are to mass violence.
If you see a violent incident go down, especially one involving the police (or anything with political or racial overtones), you need to get out of there right now.
Don’t wait to see what happens.
Don’t record “evidence” on your phone.
Don’t try to intervene or stand up for the people involved.
You need to LEAVE and then decide whether what you saw is worth a call to 9-1-1.
Otherwise, you and your family could get caught up in something that spirals out of control and becomes a riot.
These lessons from the 1970’s are just a few of the tips and tricks you can use to escape and evade civil unrest and political violence.
There are a lot more — and even sneakier — methods and carry items for social chaos in my survival gear secrets report, which you can see right here…
It’s loaded with things you should be carrying to help you deal with ANY situation in which you’re targeted for an attack by a group of people during collapse, riots, civil unrest, and martial law.
This type of political violence has become a fact of life for all of us, and it’s only going to get worse as we get closer to the next presidential election.
Learn how to protect yourself and your family now so you don’t get caught unaware.
