Claws Out Activities: Pack your bag before outrage packs your calendar.
Morning, kitties. Your righteous fury is fully charged. Is your phone?
An emergency direct action kit helps you show up for a protest, community rally, or solidarity action with the basics already handled. Water. Medication. Communication. A way home. Because discovering you have three witty signs and absolutely no snacks is a deeply annoying way to meet your limitations.
Today’s mission: Build a practical protest kit you can comfortably carry, then make a plan with someone you trust.
The Bag: Small Enough to Carry, Useful Enough to Matter
Start with a comfortable backpack or bag that leaves your hands free. Use what you already own. You do not need a shopping spree to exercise your civil liberties.
Put essentials where you can reach them. Keep paper contacts and spare clothing in waterproof pouches. Leave room for your actual needs rather than filling every pocket with imaginary emergencies.
Carry the packed bag around the block. If your shoulders immediately file a grievance, lighten it.
Water, Food, and Your Everyday Essentials
Your emergency direct action kit should support the body doing the resisting.
Pack:
- Drinking water appropriate for the weather and time outside.
- Snacks you can comfortably eat.
- Essential medication, stored as directed.
- Any prescribed rescue medication you normally carry.
- Menstrual products and other personal hygiene supplies.
- Sun protection, weather appropriate layers, and comfortable shoes.
- A spare shirt and socks when practical.
- A little cash for food or transportation.
Eat before you leave. Plan water refills and bathroom access.
Fascism is exhausting enough without adding a preventable blood sugar subplot.
Communication That Survives a Dead Battery
EFF’s protest privacy guide recommends preparing your devices before attending. Update your phone, use a strong passcode, and consider disabling fingerprint or face unlocking. Carry a charged power bank and the correct cable.
Write essential numbers on paper. Include your buddy, an emergency contact, and any verified local legal support number. Download a map before leaving.
A spare phone can reduce the personal information you carry. It does not guarantee anonymity. Signal protects message contents in transit, but it does not make a connected phone’s location invisible.
Agree on a meeting place that works without reception. “I’ll text you” is not a complete separation plan.
First Aid You Know How to Use
Keep a simple first aid pouch with adhesive bandages, sterile gauze, medical tape, and disposable gloves. Add supplies for your own known needs.
Find out whether organizers have trained medics and how to reach them. Specialized equipment is useful when someone knows how to use it. A dramatic looking pouch does not confer medical credentials.
CDC guidance on chemical exposure prioritizes leaving the exposure area and getting fresh air. If your eyes burn or vision blurs after exposure, rinse with plain water for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove contact lenses and do not reinsert them. Wash affected skin with soap and water.
Call 911 for breathing difficulty or other severe symptoms.
Skip homemade chemical remedies. A vinegar soaked bandana is not reliable tear gas protection, and an ordinary face covering should not be treated as protective equipment against chemical agents.
Legal Preparation Before the Street Gets Loud
The ACLU’s protesters’ rights guide is a useful starting point for understanding assembly rights and their limits. Read it before attending, then check guidance from organizers and a local civil liberties organization.
Carry a printed rights card and a verified legal support number. Confirm whether an advertised hotline actually covers your event and location.
Discuss identification questions with local legal support beforehand, especially if your immigration status or other circumstances affect your risk.
Tell a trusted person where you are going and when to expect a check in. Give them clear instructions about whom to contact if you miss it.
Your preparation deserves better than a screenshot of somebody’s confidently incorrect legal advice.
Accessibility Belongs in the Kit
Pack for your body, your senses, and your energy.
That might mean mobility aids, spare glasses, hearing protection, a written communication card, or contacts printed in large type. Check accessible routes, seating, bathrooms, transportation, and quieter places before leaving.
Tell your buddy what help you want. Agree on a signal for taking a break or leaving.
Participation can include seated protest, distributing supplies, phone support, or helping people get home. Your contribution does not require ignoring your limits.
Tools for the Actual Action
Bring what your role requires: a sign, permitted leaflets, a marker, or a small flashlight for the journey home. Check organizer instructions and venue rules before packing materials.
If you document events, protect other participants’ privacy. Ask permission before posting identifiable images when practical. Preserve original evidence privately and use a separate edited copy for public sharing.
One useful sign beats hauling an entire craft store through a crowd.
Step by Step Guide
Step 1: Check the action
Confirm the location, organizer, weather, expected duration, and your role. Identify transportation, bathrooms, accessible routes, and a place to regroup.
Step 2: Pack the essentials
Gather water, food, medication, communication supplies, paper contacts, basic first aid, and weather protection. Add items specific to your needs.
Step 3: Make your buddy plan
Choose a meeting place, check in time, and a way home. Agree that either person can call for a break or departure without having to defend the decision.
Step 4: Test the bag
Walk with it. Check that your charger works and your contacts are readable. Adjust anything that makes moving or accessing supplies difficult.
Step 5: Reset after the action
Check in when you get home. Recharge devices, replace used supplies, and note what you needed. Future You deserves a ready bag.
Today’s To Do List
- Build your kit from supplies you already have.
- Verify one local legal support contact.
- Make a buddy and transportation plan.
- Help one other person prepare.
Final Scratch from Resistance Kitty
Your emergency direct action kit turns good intentions into something you can carry.
Pack for the person you actually are. Make room for rest, medication, accessibility, and the ride home. We need your voice today and your capacity to keep showing up tomorrow.
Claws out. Bag packed. Buddy accounted for.
Sources
- ACLU: Protesters’ Rights
- Electronic Frontier Foundation: Attending a Protest
- CDC: Riot Control Agents