A week after the US election, DIY punk duo PWR BTTM travelled to Jackson, Mississippi, for a gig. As they arrived at the venue, they were greeted by four men with giant neon signs and GoPro cameras strapped to their heads who set up camp outside the gig and proceeded to shout homophobic slurs at the band – who identify as queer – as well as their fans. It was the first time the group had experienced such flagrant bigotry at a show. The group fear that, following the election of Donald Trump and the subsequent surge in minority group hate crimes, this might not be the last time they face such incidents. Whether you’re in a band or a fan, here’s Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce’s suggestions on how to respond:

Don’t reward bigots with a negative response

Liv: “The most important thing was to make sure the picketers didn’t have any harmful interaction with any of our fans, some of whom had driven for two and a half hours to escape this kind of bullshit. We tried to keep everyone from engaging with them as much as possible. Just remember that all picketers want is for you to be scared. All they want is for you to be angry. All they want is for you to hear what they’re saying. And if you just ignore them they’ll go away. And their power will be diminished.”

Treat protestors like clowns at a kid’s birthday party

Liv: “My biggest personal interaction with the picketers was when I was getting changed into my dress and I couldn’t decide which one to wear, so I walked up to these so-called Christian protesters and asked what they thought. They were kind of baffled because I was being friendly with them. There was a really funny conversation, but they eventually said something that wasn’t very nice and I had to separate myself from them. They want more than anything to be taken seriously. The best way to thwart them, I believe, isn’t to argue with them or yell at them, but to treat them like clowns at a kid’s birthday party. I think, for me, that’s the healthiest way to engage with them while not giving them any power.”

Gain strength from your art

Liv: “The first show we played after the election was in San Francisco. I just remember looking out into the crowd before we started playing and just seeing this heightened energetic state that everyone was in. Everyone was really ready to have a good time and to feel together.”

Protest songs can be valuable

Liv: “I’m not saying that this presidency is a good thing that will lead to great protest music, but I think that protest songs are actually at the core of the American music idiom. So many famous iconic American songs are protest songs and I think that the vast majority of artists will only continue to add to that body of work.”

Never repeat the hate speech

Liv: “I don’t think I would ever tell the press what the picketers were saying to us because that’s getting their message out there. I think it’s important for people who might want to do something negative that we are not going to repeat anything they said.”

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Elevate and support others

Ben: “I am feeling now more than ever that it’s important to remain intersectional in the way we are thinking about Trump’s presidency. It’s important to consider the livelihood and the wellbeing of people of colour with regards to this racist demagogue who became the president of the US. As a white queer person of a certain degree of economic privilege, I think that my ability to pass as straight is a privilege that other folk I know don’t have. It’s important to keep in mind who really is in the most trouble and to direct our attention to assisting those people.

It’s normal to feel hurt, angry and upset

Ben: “I think that when you’re queer you grow up with these kinds of men who might have made you feel small because of who you are. They could be part of your family, or somebody on the street, or a teacher. When you see these men you see the echoes of anyone else who’s ever called you a ‘faggot’. But now I’m 25 I’m much more resilient. I am able to handle people like that no problem. But it still hurts, and the pain never goes away. Nick, our bass player, and I really got up in their faces and said ‘You’re not going to do this’ at our show. We moved everyone inside. We still went back to the van and cried. And it’s not because it hurts and because you’re afraid, it’s because it’s a recursion of everything that happens to us. It’s not me I was afraid for.”

Remember: this won’t last forever

Liv: “This was something that had never happened at a PWR BTTM show before, but I had always known it would at some point. I definitely think that people like the picketers have always been around and are probably going to be around for a while, so in this post-Trump election climate I think they feel emboldened. I think there’s a lot of people like that who feel that this is their country now and it’s not. It’s everyone’s. That’s the point of it, theoretically at least. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to deal with more people like them, but I think that we and our fans are totally equipped to deal with whatever they can throw at us over the next four, eight , sixteen years – however long they feel emboldened enough to try this stuff.”