You can not divorce the act of the Black Panthers open carrying weapons during protests from their politics.
This means that you should first seek out an organization that will aid you in your political education.
What makes what the Black Panther’s actions qualitatively different from many individual people getting fire arms, is that the Black Panthers did so collectively, with collective goals and training. In a group situation, they always knew who was there with them, and who wasn’t due to their party organization.
A prime example of the point I’m trying to make here is the shooting last year at a No Kings protest. This incident was created due to this dynamic of armed individuals coming into contact with other armed individuals.
Get trained on the use of a fire arm. Find a political organization near you to join, PSL, DSA, or whatever is near you. Bring this energy into the collective struggle, work together the way the Black Panthers did, and you’ll find far more success than working alone.
I’m going to preface this with a few comments:
Get trained on the use of a fire arm. Find a political organization near you to join, PSL, DSA, or whatever is near you. Bring this energy into the collective struggle, work together the way the Black Panthers did, and you’ll find far more success than working alone.