ACTION

PREPARATION

  • FREE YOURSELF FROM THE AMERICAN MENTALITY: This is the mentality that glorifies an aesthetic of rebellion while embracing subservience to corporate warlords and hyper consumerism, desperately clinging to ideas of normalcy, stability, and, of course, superiority. I don’t single it out as a moral failing as it is by design, but I cannot stress enough that only you can turn it around. Abandon fetishistic individualism and comforting over-consumption in favor of international collectivism.
  • STOP FEARING CONFLICT: So many people fear even the most lukewarm degree of activism because we fear inconveniencing or angering another person. We have been conditioned to equate violence and inconvenience I cannot tell you how many people I’ve tried and failed to reason with on this matter. Reckless destruction is one thing. Causing bodily harm or personal property damage should be avoided at all costs, but disruption is necessary for effective action. If you want to go through life without making enemies, then stick to the status quo. “Respectability” can only go so far.
  • PRACTICE BASIC DIGITAL SECURITY: Access this site through Tor browser for maximum privacy. Check out the No Trace project for basic measures you can take to protect against digital surveillance. No matter who you are or what you plan to do, you should make yourself as anonymous as possible.
  • KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
  • NOTE: This is not a call to violent or unlawful action and is protected by free speech. What is most important is that you think for yourself, decide carefully what you are able and willing to do, how you will do it, why you will do it, and what the outcomes may be.

THEIR NUMBER ONE ASSET IS HUMAN LABOR. RECRUITMENT IS DROPPING EACH YEAR. TARGET THIS WEAKNESS.

PICKET RECRUITING CENTERS:

  • Marches in the streets are helpful for mobilization, but picketing is more effective for to direct change. Picketing is most effective when it keeps people from participating in the activities of the targeted establishment. For example, West Bank “retail” sales are frequent targets of Pro-Palestine activist groups. The chanting, drumming, back and forth with Zionist counter-protesters, and booing of prospective colonizers deters people who might show interest in the sale, reducing the amount of stolen land sold.
  • Likewise, if a group were to picket a military or ICE recruitment office, anyone interested might be deterred from entering, at least for the duration of the picket. Protesters can pass out zines and infographics to passers-by to educate about opposition to the US Military. On principle, it’s hugely important to center the victims of US imperialism in our rhetoric, but, in this instance, it would be effective to emphasize the downsides of enlisting as well.
    • Keep in mind that in a culture as jingoistic as that of the United States, picketing will likely provoke backlash from the general public, so make sure you and your comrades practice group safety, and prepare to handle aggressive counter protesters.

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CALL A RECRUITER

  • Pick a location, send an email, or, even better, make a phone call. Express your interest in enlistment, ask as many questions as you can think of(list of ideas below). If you’re comfortable, give them your contact to call back.
  • DON’T give a fake name. I couldn’t find anything regarding the legality of this, but it’s definitely asking for unnecessary trouble.
  • DON’T make prank calls, or otherwise troll. Make calls/send emails with a serious veneer.
  • Go in person if you want, but be serious about it. Again, trolling war criminals is fun, but for this tactic, not effective. You want to take as much time as possible.
  • Remember, every phone call eats up time spent looking for people who actually wish to join.
  • This action can easily be done alone, any time, it’s ideal for those who are home-bound or too swamped to hit the streets, or as interim action for those who do. For maximum effectiveness, coordinate with a small group of comrades to target one location. IF YOU DO THIS, make sure you are not all calling back to back. Do not follow the same script in the same order. The action may not be illegal, but if you give the game away, it might get awkward. That being said; if you wish, have a sudden change of heart and chew out the recruiter when they call you back, feel free!

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NO SOLDIERS IN SCHOOLS

  • If you take a deep breath on any college campus, you’ll catch a strong whiff of the military industrial complex. Defense contractors at job fairs promising a cushy job innovating death machines, the ever present ROTC, the traveling military bands that put a wholesome face on the world’s police. It seems inescapable. You may not be able to stop all of it, but you can slow it down, which counts for something.
  • Before you learn of any military/defense personnel visiting, start building a cadre. This does not have to be a party, club, or official org, at least not for this purpose. Seek already existing clubs/student organizations. Your campus Students For Justice In Palestine(SJP) or Students for a Democratic Society(SDS) chapters may be of help. The support of tenured faculty members may prove invaluable.
  • If you are a high school student whose school is visited by recruiters on a regular basis, start talking to your friends and classmates. If you have a teacher who has expressed strong anti-war beliefs, reach out for their support. In a high school setting, it might be more feasible to frame this club as ‘pro-peace’ over ‘anti-war.’
  • Directly confront recruiters and job fair tablers. Bring printed fact sheets. Be precise with your language and demand that they justify their position, given the devastation their army causes. If you manage to engage them in a back and forth, be ready with rebuttals for common military cover stories.* While engaging in this action, show restraint and be mindful of laws and school/campus policies that could be used against you.

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PROPAGANDA

  • When direct action is not immediately feasible, make use of your artistic gifts and find the biggest platform possible to share them. Design and post flyers, write poetry, create art wherever you see fit. Create websites to carefully document war crimes, cover-ups, and beneficiaries of US military endeavors to illustrate the true story of American intervention. As individual artists, we will never come close to matching the billionaire conglomerates that hork up buckets of jingoistic propaganda every week, but we owe it to our brothers and sisters in the global south to try.
  • Talk to the people around you. As nauseating as it is to entertain liberal ideas of reason and debate while our country plunders all four corners of the earth, there can be real value in persuasion. You can’t change someone’s mind in a single conversation, but you can plant a seed of doubt about what they believe. It may not be productive to go out of your way to debate your neighborhood super-patriot, but if an opportunity comes, don’t pass it up.
    • This tactic also forces you to educate yourself further, to know why you believe what you do, and why others may not. Knowledge is the backbone of principled anti-imperialism, and conviction is its lifeblood. Targeted action keeps the heart beating.

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Remember that there is ALWAYS something you can do, no matter how lost you feel. Do not fall victim to despair!

*Note as of 2/17/26: Listicle with rebuttals and sources coming soon. Anyone with sources of their own is highly encouraged to visit the contact page.