The 5 Biggest Protesting Health Concerns
It seems to have been the flavor of 2011: the protest. We can hardly go a day without seeing a report about the latest mass protest somewhere in the world.
It began in the Middle East, and like the falling of a small pebble which goes on to start an avalanche, the years’ massive demonstrations began in a small, little known country called Tunisia. The pebbles gathered strength and swept across the Middle East with an avalanche’s speed and destructiveness, taking out dictators along the way.
The Middle East wasn’t the only place in which massive demonstrations were held this year: rioting took place for several days in the United Kingdom in August, in the United States the “Occupy” movements have become a household name, even peace-loving Canada was not spared from riots after the Vancouver Canucks won the Stanley Cup.
While we all have our own opinions of what seemed to be the year of the protest, this post is not here to comment on them. We are here to continue our duty of keeping you healthy and safe wherever you find yourself, even if the rebellious spirit seizes you and you find yourself picketing your neighborhood 7/11!
So what are some of the biggest health concerns when partaking in a mass demonstration?
1) Well let’s start with the obvious: Police (or Military)
The duty of the police is to keep order and uphold the law of the land. They are, for better or worse, the enforcers of said laws. While laws vary from country to country, particularly in regards to the freedom of assembly, expression and speech, the response of the law enforcement is pretty much the same where ever you go.
Police like order, safety, and most importantly, quiet. When any of these are infringed upon they take it seriously, and break out the dispersal gear.
While the arsenal of equipment in use for police forces in different countries around the world will vary, some of their favorite toys are:
- Tear Gas: A non-lethal chemical weapon that stimulates the corneal nerves in the eyes to cause tears, pain, and even blindness. It is popular for dispersal of large groups. Fire a few canisters into the crowd and even the toughest protesters will scatter.
- Pepper Spray: A chemical compound that attacks the ear, eyes and throat to cause tears, pain, temporary blindness and shortness of breath. A favorite for up close and personal dispersal of small groups; if used in large quantities, it could kill a super hero, or Keith Richards. Unlike tear gas in which your human instinct to flee takes over, pepper spray will take you down, and leave you rolling around in complete and utter agony.
If you have been unfortunate enough to have been subjected to one of the above “non-violent” crowd dispersal tactics, you will know that 1) it hurts like hell, and 2) you can not get enough water on the affected areas. The best relief to the eyes is said to be a mixture of liquid antacid and water, and for the skin: canola oil followed by alcohol (try to resist the temptation to guzzle the booze until you have taken a cold shower).
Some other “non-violent” protest-breaking favorites are:
- Sound Dispersal Devices: A relatively new technology, sound dispersal devices are used to scatter crowds by sending a concentrated, insanely annoying, noise towards your location. It is the police equivalent of that old teacher who used to run her nails on a chalkboard (you know I’m talking about you, Sister Mary Clarence) to quiet you down. Much like tear gas this is designed to disperse crowds and get you on the run.
- Rubber Bullets: As with the other devices on the above list, this is exactly how it sounds, a rubber projectile which is meant to disperse crowds, and particularly to take down violent or threatening protesters. As long as you don’t take one to the face you should be able to walk away from the incident, albeit with a large bruise. But it could be worse, previous incarnations of rubber bullets included solid wooden canisters, known as Baton Shells, fired out of a device similar to a grenade launcher. While a Baton Shell wouldn’t, technically, be used to kill someone, they tended to shatter on impact with the ground; sending wood splinters up at shin height to all the protesters in the vicinity. Non lethal, but very painful. Baton Shells are still in use by many police forces around the world.
For the last two, no explanation is needed, and while we would love to put a “snarky” comment to them, the fact is, stuff has just hit then fan when these gets busted out,
which is no laughing matter; people die.
- Real Bullets
- Tanks
The best advice is to get the hell out of there and live to fight another day.
2) You may have noticed that many of the above police “techniques” for dealing with large demonstrations is to get them to disperse. However, this leads to our next major health concern during a large protest: the crowd (the mob)
While you may think your fellow protesters are the best people in the entire world, the fact of the matter is that they can quickly turn into your worst nightmare, particularly when stuff starts to hit the fan. Like here (at 0:26).
- Stampede: It is a simple fact, when many people are crowded together, their “fight or flight” instinct takes over (thanks usually to the dispersals measures of the police); very little will stop a crowd’s instinct to get away from any potential harm. I am sure many of you are thinking, ‘oh, well I can handle the large crowd, I will just push my way through’. Well unfortunately, this is what everyone else in the crowd is thinking too, turning everyone into one massive tidal wave of pushing and shoving. And if you fall down, it is like getting sucked into a whirlpool, because all that energy pushing the crowd can not be stopped on a dime.
- Stuff on Fire: We’ve all seen the mob mentality that can turn a peaceful slow march into an end-of-days all out street battle. This is usually followed by pictures of cars and business ablaze. What many don’t realize is that while it can sometimes relieve a little stress to set something on fire, that fire doesn’t go out with the snap of a finger and will most likely catch on to anything that surrounds it.
The best advice is to try to avoid getting killed by your fellow protesters is to avoid the largest crowds, and look for side streets or other quick escape routes. When in doubt, climb; look for a street light or tree that will help you get above the herd (unless it is on fire).
3) The next major health concerns when demonstrating is yourself, that’s right, Self-harm:
Whether it is to make a political point or just to show off how badass you are, when you find yourself protesting you may feel the need to get carried away sticking it “to the man”, and that can lead to some serious problems. Some of the popular self-inflicted protest wounds are:
- Hunger Strikes: A tactic used by many political prisoners; hunger strikes are not uncommon in large protests. However many often forget the cardinal rule of a hunger strike: Tell somebody! You would be surprised, but if you don’t get the word out that you and your group of investment bankers are going on a hunger strike until the rest of the 99% is paid fairly, nobody will really notice. 
- Drugs: Resist the peer-pressure to experiment with things that you never tried before, and especially in large doses. While the drug angle is often overplayed in the general media, there are still a number of cases of drug overdose, particularly if protests last for over a few days. So if some stranger offers you ‘the best trip of your life’, be wary.
- Self-immolation: This one is serious, and it is unlikely that you will be walking away from it. A popular one for Buddhist monks in China, Self immolation is currently coming back into vogue as a form of protest around the globe. The easiest way to avoid self-immolation is to not set yourself on fire. Glad we could be of help.
The best piece of advice is to take care of yourself (because no one else will), and don’t get too wrapped up in your cause that you think going out in a blaze of glory is the only way – it isn’t.
4) As we move away from the marches and on to the “occupiers”, that is to say protesters camping out for the long haul, a whole new bag of health issues crops up. The most common is Hygiene, or lack thereof.
No, we are not saying that protesters are dirty and unhygienic, but the simple fact of the matter is, when you get so many people congregated in a small space, in less than hospitable conditions, bacteria and viruses will be unleashed. Meaning that one of the biggest hygiene-related problems during a large and lengthy protest is:
- Communicable Diseases: While generally not life-threatening, disease can put a big dent in the will of any protest movement. Add to this a lack of proper toilets and showering facilities and the breeding ground for disease nearly triple ( not to mention a very uncomfortable situation particularly if you get struck down with the runs). It’s an interesting correlation that non-violent mass protest has only become a viable dissent tool in the age of modern sanitation; typhoid probably doesn’t care what your beef is, but it does see that commune of unwashed protesters as a great buffet.
The best advice to avoid catching (or spreading) disease is to stay as hygienic as possible. Yes, you may not be able (or want) to get a shower everyday, but there are plenty of anti-biotic soaps and gels that will do the trick. Also, try to eat healthy and get as much sleep as you possibly can (those drum circles can easily put you to sleep).
5) But perhaps the biggest health concerns during a march or occupation isn’t even man-made! It is Mother Nature:
Despite what any weatherman says, no one can really predict the weather. And when it comes to a protest, nothing can cause more chaos than a bit of nasty weather. Whether it is extreme weather like snowstorms, lightning, hail or dust storms, or just temperature extremes, weather can play a major factor in deterring even the most devout protester.
When you think about it, you do not generally see too many protests in the dead of winter. This is simply because exposure to snow or freezing rain can lead hypothermia, pneumonia or worse. Which spell major trouble for any protester.
You also do not see many protests during the middle of summer in hot climates, this is because heat and sun exposure will bring dehydration and eventually sun-stroke. Which can be life threatening.
While you will probably be labeled a “fair-weather” protester, play it smart and avoid the deadly weather, or at the very least, dress for the occasion.