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WHISTLES FOR COMMUNITY DEFENSE

NEXT WHISTLE PACKET ASSEMBLY MEETING
Come help assemble whistle packets!
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2:45 - 4:00 pmDetails on Mobilize
We see community defense as having several ingredients or legs -- individual actions like having whistles and knowing how to use them to alert their neighbors; other individual actions such as creating a family plan in case one member of a family is detained; and community actions ranging from forming community responders to immigration raids, knowing how to deal with certain forms of violence from federal agents, and being able to take advantage of the feelings of solidarity and confidence that result from taking joint action. In this system, whistles are a key element that allows community members to alert each other when an immigration raid occurs close by.
Mark Pritchard (far right) and other members of the Street Patrol training in San Francisco, 1991. Photo: Michiijo Eto.
Mark, one of Biggest Little Action Group’s organizers, was a member of a queer community anti-bashing patrol in the early 1990s. He talks about how whistles were an integral part of the LGBTQ+ community’s self-defense: “Almost every gay business had a bowl of whistles on the counter by the cash register, and most queer people carried one. They knew to blow the whistle if they were being threatened by gay bashers, and when they heard the sound of the whistle they would run toward the sound, to help defend their queer neighbors.”
Our goal with the whistle packets is to reach out to vulnerable community members and especially community groups that would like to partner with us in distributing whistles and educating people about their use. We know that we can't, and don't want to, dictate how individuals or communities respond to the presence of immigration agents. We see our role as helping connect interested individuals and groups with resources, ranging from the whistle packets (and enabling community groups to produce them on their own) to trainings provided by groups and other cities with real time experience in dealing with immigration raids. Partnership with community groups and activists is essential to reach all the people that would be interested in participating in some aspect of community defense.
You, and the community/group you're a part of, can help. In fact, it's essential.
This is not a spectator sport. Defending the community is something everyone can participate in and contribute to. whether you're helping assemble whistle packets, printing whistles on a 3D printer or buying them from a retailer, printing or folding zines, or distributing the completed packets, you can help.
You can:
  • Come to a whistle packet assembly meeting.
  • Help furnish the ingredients of the packets by buying or 3D-printing whistles, or by downloading and printing the files that produce the printed parts of the packet. Bring these to the next whistle packet assembly event organized by BLAG (or any other group doing it).
  • Collect all the ingredients of the packet and have your own whistle packet assembly event.
  • Help distribute the finished packets at civic events, protests and demonstrations, to people who are vulnerable to raids (for example, at sites where people come for work or to receive assistance), and door-to-door in your neighborhood.
The more people who have a whistle and the information they need to defend themselves and each other , the safer our communities are.
What's in each whistle packet?
Each whistle packet contains the following contents:
  • Whistle, with a cord that allows a person to wear it around their neck. You can either buy whistles or create them yourself with a 3D printer.
  • Information on how to use the whistle. We provide the "Form a Crowd, Stay Loud" minizine.
  • Know Your Rights information. This can be one of the well-known "red cards" (order them here) or another minizine (for example, these from the Arizona ACLU).
  • Information on how to report an immigration raid in progress. We use the SALUTE/TUTELA format.
download these elements