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During the opening months of the COVID 19 pandemic, frontline healthcare workers at St Paul's United Hospital (part of the Allina Health system) took measures to protect themselves, their families and the public they serve. These efforts were vehemently opposed by management. Among other positions they took, management insisted workers use their personal scrubs instead of the scrubs readily available at the hospital and used by doctors, physician assistants and some nurses.

Fellow educators and I encountered many former and current students in the street at the end of May fighting for justice, and now our workplaces are bringing in so-called experts from everywhere but Minneapolis to introduce us to the ABC’s of identity and privilege. These paid hacks are not the leaders we should be turning to.

Having seen what large groups of working-class people can do when they’ve been pushed too far, those in power are on high alert, ready to beat back radical action wherever they see it. As police repression mounts, we must think critically about our goals and tactics, be mindful of how we marshal the crowd, and accept criticism that helps us build better actions in the future.