the only thing i've ever been involved with is occupy, and it was actually pretty obvious who the cops were. they didn't hang around at the edges. they tried to take active leadership roles, which is a tip-off in a theoretically non-hierarchical group. but what i found was that most of the activists only rejected hierarchy up to a point and allowed for these positions of quasi-authority. that put me in a position where i was arguing with cops.

you don't throw accusations around. you might be wrong, and then that's a problem. rather, you operate with the assumption that your comrades are cops until you can prove otherwise without a doubt. in most cases, that never really happens.

for me, one of the things that meant was ensuring that the right information got into their notes. i've had a file for a long time. it's an expansion of my large high school file. i'm fully cognizant of that. it's purely a question of what i want the file to say, which is "highly eccentric" and "not a violent threat", rather than "thinks she's che guevara".

there were actually times when i spun it around a little: i went out of my way to mine information about people i'm sure were cops. that meant getting a little closer. one on ones.

i'm legitimately not fearful because i know that i'd have to be completely set up and i know i don't necessitate the motive. they tried a few times, though.

here's an example: i pretended to talk an obvious cop out of smashing up a bar by suggesting she smash up the owner's car instead, fully aware that no cop would ever actually do that. she claimed she had an issue with the bar owner. it was heresay; i never looked into it. logically, smashing up the car would be better if the problem is personally with the owner, right? but, the cop couldn't go with that. smashing a window is a minor annoyance. smashing a car is serious property damage. but, more to the point, i was careful to make the precise argument that the cops would go after the business-smashing anarchist for ideological reasons, but wouldn't have time to prosecute the petty crime. so, the smart thing for anarchists to do would be to carry out petty crimes targeted at particular assholes - not political action with a public message. i watched something click in her brain that night: she knew i was right, and she realized the injustice and absurdity of it. no cars were smashed, but the topic did drop, and the focus shifted to trying to alienate me.

at this point, i feel confident that i could peg a cop pretty easily. i think that's a useful skill.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/25/exclusive_inside_the_army_spy_ring