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Protest Strategy: Paint as Weapon Against Police Violence: PaintBalls, Balloons Filled with Paint


ProtestBlog.org: November, 2021


One of our contributors from Latin America recently shared this tip for our readers. He suggests throwing balloons filled with paint at the police in retaliation for the police throwing tear gas at protesters. The idea is to hit them in the helmet, preferably direct on the face shield in front, forcing them to forget about seeing what is in front of them, or, alternatively, having to take off their helmet and thus exposing themselves to the effects of their own tear gas.


The contributor points out that this is not an offensive strategy, but, rather, a defensive one. The police officers on the receiving end of the paint balloon tactic are not physically harmed. It does no damage to them. If they are damaged at all, or so goes the line of thinking, it will be from their own tear gas, which clearly is their own fault.


This strategy has been employed in Thailand with great success.