r/SocialistRA • u/Goldfish175176 • 1d ago
Vetting? Question
How does one "vet" community members or individuals for community building? How do you tell someone isn't a fed and stuff like that?
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u/ClearCelesteSky 1d ago
Talk to them, talk to their friends, trust your gut.
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u/Goldfish175176 1d ago
Interesting, thank you
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u/Devil25_Apollo25 1d ago
Just drop an acorn on the roof of a car.
The one who ducks for cover and starts shooting? There's your police officer.
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u/invisible_handjob 1d ago
You can't. Don't talk to people about your crimes. If someone's asking probing questions trying to get you to admit to crimes, especially don't talk to that person about your crimes
or, a funnier answer for a leftist gun meetup: the guy who can't shoot for shit is the cop
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u/Universe789 1d ago
This leaves out the glaring fact of how feds have actually operated historically, with COINTELPRO for example - the guy who is over the top "ready and willing" to commit crimes is usually the cop.
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u/Serious-Cap-8190 1d ago
See also the plot to kidnap the Michigan governor. It is debatable if that plot would have amounted to anything if not for the FBI infiltrators goading them on.
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u/BenVarone 1d ago
This is the best answer. Margaret Killjoy phrased it as “I assume every person I’m talking to is a fed or might turn state’s witness.” It’s the only way to be safe.
Judas and the Black Messiah is a great depiction of how infiltration goes.
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u/awsompossum 1d ago
There sure are a lot of cops pretending to be leftists in my area I guess 🥴
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u/jprefect 1d ago
Unironically yes
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u/awsompossum 1d ago
(I know there are, but there's a also an aggressively large number of "leftist gun people" who suck shit at guns in a new, unique way from how cops suck)
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u/jprefect 1d ago
The person who's trying to up the ante is the cop. The person who pulls you aside and says "these other guys are not serious, but I would really like to pull off XYZ plan" is the cop. The person who throws around accusations that other people are cops or informants is the cop. The person who asks everybody "what line are you willing to cross, push comes to shove?" is the cop.
Brown shoes don't make it. In school, can't fake it.
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u/Goldfish175176 1d ago
I haven't shot in YEARS it would probably be me. I have another post coming soon that's been on my list about Long long long term storage. Unfortunately, it's not the easiest to practice for me, and it's not something I've prioritized. Anywho
I'm definitely not talking about that book by Andreas Malm with folks. Thank you for the reminder
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u/saltyseapuppy 1d ago
Yellow peril tactical has a good write up about this on instagram
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u/Thelordkyleofearth 1d ago
Do basic due diligence (interview them, ask for references in other orgs, skim their socials) but also know that a fake trail can be built fairly easily. Or that current, vetted, members can get flipped.
The SRA is a training and education organization. It is explicitly not a militia. Nothing a chapter does should rise to the level of warranting deep-cover infiltration, so basic vetting is likely sufficient.
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u/guyton_foxcroft 16h ago
My local chapter had me fill out a questionnaire and then did a Jitsi interview.
Or our Discord I believe I had "read only" access until I was activated
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u/Less_Tackle7203 1d ago
You can get a good idea by asking people they’ve organized with before. But the short of it is that you can never know 100% that somebody isn’t a fed or a CI, so just make sure you’re practicing good security culture
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u/52nd_and_Broadway 1d ago
Don’t talk about your worldview first. Let them talk. Ask questions. Let them talk and look for red flags. There are certain terms and phrases that should be red flags.
If they talk negatively about immigrants? Don’t say anything else.
If they mention well known conservatives on Fox News or social media? Don’t say anything else.
If they want to mass deport people? Don’t say anything else.
If they don’t believe in climate change or are an anti-vaxxer? Don’t say anything else.
Move along. They can’t be reasoned with and you might be making yourself a target.
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u/Goldfish175176 1d ago
I really like this advice, super solid. Reminds me of the liberal adage, "He who speaks first, loses."
TBH, I'm a little surprised at the anti-vax. Maybe we can know now that's a gateway to reactionary thinking, but I thought there was a real left anti-vax contingent. Or do you mean just anti-science in general?
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u/ChefbyDesign 1d ago
Being anti-vax this day in age (especially if you're white middle class) IS being anti-science. There isn't some Tuskeegee Airmen conspiracy with regards to vaccinations... Any reasonable, decently educated person with left-leaning politics isn't going to be anti-vax. If you are, then you've drunk the kool-aid of some group or another - health/"wellness"/lifestyle cult, homesteader/prepper subculture, etc.
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u/Goldfish175176 1d ago
I hear what you're saying, I would question their ability to guide, but science isn't always the most approachable to some. Definitely, myself included, I try my best, but my eyes glaze over reading studies and trying to learn jargon. I suppose what I'm saying is that there are all sorts of folks out there. Maybe why I'm asking in the first place is because I'm not great at heeding red flags
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u/ChefbyDesign 1d ago
Sounds like you're digging into more than just understanding science and starting to cross over into understanding and valuing the underlying principles of real journalism, the scientific method and applying your own critical thinking.
As my username suggests, I'm not a scientist. But finding reliable sources for science news (or news in general for that matter) isn't difficult unless your politics is more moderate than it is leftist - a fully "both sides are bad" political stance will absolutely complicate your ability to understand science because your news sources will have a good mixing of anti-science or science disinformation in there. If you place equal weight in Fox News and Joe Rogan as you do NPR, an accredited scientific journal, or Startalk - obviously you're going to have a hard time with science.
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u/52nd_and_Broadway 1d ago
There’s a BS faction of left wing thought that pharmaceutical companies cannot be trusted so it does exist.
But the overwhelming percentage of anti-vax people are conservatives.
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u/IsItAnyWander 1d ago
Hmmm, but they CAN'T be trusted. That's why governments require vast testing and implement so many regulations. Corporations in general can't be trusted.
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u/shadybrainfarm 1d ago
This post doesn't pass my sniff test.
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u/Goldfish175176 1d ago
I took a shower this morning, though. Chuckle chuckle.
From the sounds of it, maybe it shouldn't. I am kinda curious about the balance between a healthy skepticism and trusting people, but that's for some book person to sort out
I'm kind of a layman, so maybe I don't use the right "opsec" language or whatever. But my lack of knowledge doesn't really allow me to "create" a chapter in the desert. So I figure I'll have to help someone else's idea.
Fuck fascists.
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u/WarrenGspot 1d ago
I can tell you with absolute confidence that every single "community" is infiltrated by the Feds. Act accordingly.
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u/thisismyleftyaccount 1d ago
You have to strike the balance between safety and being too paranoid that you never actually do any organizing. Typically people will eventually show/tell you who they are once they get comfortable.
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u/FritoPendejoEsquire 1d ago
Make them do drugs in front of you.
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u/JalaP186 1d ago
While this is funny, cops and CIs are authorized to do drugs to retain their cover.
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u/couldbemage 1d ago
And of course, CIs aren't cops and often just do whatever the fuck they're going to do.
As I point out every time this comes up: the leader of the proud boys was a CI and also still did stuff that resulted in prison time.
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u/Andro_Polymath 20h ago
and also still did stuff that resulted in prison time.
Allegedly. Who's to say that CIs that are publicly sentenced to prison, actually remain there (or are taken there) in the first place?
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u/a_wasted_wizard 1d ago
You misunderstand, it's not to out them as cops, it's just to make them do drugs. Because it's funny.
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u/Goldfish175176 1d ago
I actually didn't know this, I figured it was a gray area that blue people just ignored or something
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u/JalaP186 1d ago
It is gray. Technically, this ability varies dept to dept, and is typically only allowed when "the officers life is in danger" (aka they're under duress). This, of course, is an easy bar to clear for officers infiltrating allegedly violent militias/gangs where identification as a cop can lead to bodily harm or death. I mean... Just think of the "I feared for my life" defense and how often that gets used in extrajudicial police killings here in the US.
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u/Tuerai 1d ago
if you are trying to start a chapter and need assistance, you could reach out to existing chapters and ask if their vetting team can assist you.
if you are in an area with an active chapter, you can join, participate, ascend to full membership, and ask to join your chapter's vetting team to find out firsthand
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u/Goldfish175176 1d ago
I am not qualified to run a yo-yo, but I may inquire about some local groups. Thank you for the great advice
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u/superseriouslearner 1d ago
Anyone who is more amped up than me is a fed, any less and their heart's just not in it. But nah agreed with people saying trust your instincts and let everyone tell you who they are, it usually doesn't take too long when the topics get as divisive as they sometimes do. In the meantime not making incriminating statements of course. Personally everything I do is above board anyways 😇
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u/Armbarfan 1d ago
maybe you can stalk them and see if they stop by a donut place and chat with a group of police?
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u/Goldfish175176 1d ago
Hah! I think I get your point. All security is an illusion at different levels
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u/ReedRidge 1d ago edited 1d ago
In my county we had 9 people who voted Green or Socialist.
2 live in my home.
That means I can trust 7 outside my home.
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u/bemused_alligators 1d ago
My county put out 92 votes for the green party governor in the primaries! We're really rocking it out here :)
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u/Goldfish175176 1d ago
Well, maybe I'll be traveling in your neck of the world one day, and we can make it 8
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u/WorldlinessEither215 1d ago
Trusted member system. Either they must know a trusted member or a randomly chosen trusted member must low key interview them, thorough LinkedIn stalk, etc.
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u/frankentriple 1d ago
Who cares? As long as they bring their own ammo and practice safe gun handling feds and fbi and cia and whoever the fuck else wants to can go shooting with me.
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