Lessons from 2020? Urban gear prep?

So, I don't think that the Roe thing will blow up like the BLM stuff did in 2020, but with another election year, I can see something fomenting into rioting and looting. The Roe rioting- I don't know what that would look like? More targeted attacks on outspoken pro-life people? I can see racism maybe, but even the dems have gone quiet on the anti-police stuff.

But if there is going to be something, I'd like to be at least ready for the threat/tactics that we saw more of in 2020. It was hard to get gear back then, but I assume it is easier now?

Outside of any kind of weapons, and I have some emergency med kits, and I have visible spectrum (not FLIR) cameras around the house.

Specifically what I saw:
Use of lasers to blind (even temporarily) people: What counters this? Special googles?
Chemical irritants like OC and gas: What is a good gas mask that is available now?

Outside of vehicle prep: Is there any?

Any other civil unrest prep? Thinking rioting mainly.

Never to early to prep for 2024!

Oakley used to and may still make replacement lenses for M Frames that were laser safe lenses. I THINK they only prevent eye damage from milspec lasers though not block them out completely.

ESS makes them too, but is currently OOS & requires letterhead for them if ordered directly. Lots of lab supply co's have them however I'd spend some time looking at what the cheap laser de jour is as they are wave length specific.

Look for Revision Sawfly kits that include the laser lenses. Used to be able to find them on Ebay.

Interesting topic..... demonstrations/rioting around or even close to my home is highly highly unlikely, upscale suburb, guard gated community, and good distance from 'city'. Where I am most likely to encounter social unrest is on the interstate or major thoroughfares. My objective is simple, thanks to GPS and local news channel, avoid the area. If suddenly caught up on some urban melee, ask hey where can I park to join in :-) if that doesn't work, drive through the crowd, sorry not doing Reggie Denny LA riots remix. Worst case scenario, abandon vehicle and grab my sling pack. Car is insured after all.
Sling pack contents: Second pistol a G45-RMR, two spare 21 rd mags, water bottle, balaclava (flame retardant), flash light, multitool, earpro/eyepro, spare fixed blade, baseball cap, plus zip up black hoodie (made of cotton lightweight t-shirt material). Just grab and go, if situation requires it. Very discreet, blend with crowd, move to safest location possible and wait till crowd disperses.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tanner

Interesting topic..... demonstrations/rioting around or even close to my home is highly highly unlikely, upscale suburb, guard gated community, and good distance from 'city'. Where I am most likely to encounter social unrest is on the interstate or major thoroughfares. My objective is simple, thanks to GPS and local news channel, avoid the area. If suddenly caught up on some urban melee, ask hey where can I park to join in :-) if that doesn't work, drive through the crowd, sorry not doing Reggie Denny LA riots remix. Worst case scenario, abandon vehicle and grab my sling pack. Car is insured after all.

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Most major metro's have a decent PD/DOT twitter account, you can sign up and set just those to push notifications. Scroll back and verify that they had timely info for major events (e.g. before the news to BOLO/Avoid area etc).

Good thread. Not sure if the riots will happen, seems like they should have already but with a specific party in charge, people are holding back. Post November if elections change the Congress, then it's on.
Carry a get home/gear bag if you can and use your GPS/offline maps (paper too) + any local emergency services news/apps that show traffic conditions and public emergencies.

A scanner app is a bare minimum to have, even better would be a hand held scanner that can receive encrypted police traffic to hear where threats are developing and where to avoid.

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Laser safety goggles are a good idea, but they have to be matched to the wavelength of the expected threat. I remember seeing a lot of blue/blue-violet on the news back in 2020, so that's probably as good a starting place as any. Get the highest OD you can find.

I looked at these a while back, but never completed the order. They cover the blue/violet end of the spectrum as well as red and IR, so they seem like they'd serve pretty well for general-purpose non-specific laser threat protection. Dunno about their impact resistance or wearing them with headgear or under ballistic goggles, though.
https://smile.amazon.com/Professiona...p?ie=UTF8&th=1