1 Mar
2013
1 Mar
'13
2:05 a.m.
For any who are interested in a further critique on the topic, there was
a debate between Chris Hedges (war correspondent, black bloc critic) and
a member of the Crimethinc Ex-Workers Collective (you may have seen some
of their posters at Sudoroom, they have published information on
effective use of black bloc tactics) on the topic of black bloc tactics
within the context of the Occupy movement
http://www.crimethinc.com/blog/2012/09/17/post-debate-debrief-video-and-lib…
Both sides are more eloquent and experienced than George or I and are
more in a position to speak about the topic.
On 2013-03-01 01:05, Anon195714 wrote:
Yo's-
Funny, I've heard the exact same words so many times: "Black Bloc is a
tactic, not a group."
It is a tactic. There is no cohesive group, there is no membership,
frequently people using the tactic don't know each other. As soon as
any change clothes and leave the area, they're no longer using the
tactic. It is fluid and might last 30 minutes or 6 hours.
There are many other types of blocs, they're not all black.
Remarkable coincidence, that. "A tactic, not a
group." A slogan, not a
catechism?
I suppose the "Tactical Action Committee" is also a tactic, not a group,
eh? When is a committee not a committee? When it's a tactic, er uh, a
slogan! Like the one the RCYB zombies used to chant, "A slogan!
Repeated! Will never be defeated!"
The tactical action committee is a committee or at least was a
committee. I'm not sure why you'd accuse them of pretending not to exist.
Your use of slogans as a rhetorical device comes across to me as
dismissive and intellectually lazy. You don't seem to have ever talked
to anyone in favor of the tactic with any openness and you don't appear
to have been in a situation where it may have been used. It seems you
haven't even been willing to read the Wikipedia article on black bloc
tactics.
Then there's this, from their latest PR: "FTP2.0 - FUCK THE POLICE Take
our pigs for a walk. They need the exercise. And it only costs the city
$50K a week!"
Right, do it for the lulz, because it's so much fun to waste taxpayers'
dollars in times of tight budgets. $50K is a teaching assistant for a
year, or five families' worth of public assistance.
It is illuminating that when they were doing it weekly, all they would
do is walk around chanting and the police would send extreme amounts of
manpower while ignoring gunshots. If you are against police excess, why
don't you criticize police for doing things like allowing someone to die
so they could monitor some two dozen protestors
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/peter-cukor-killed-berkeley-occupy…
I have had the wonderful opportunity to spend time conversing with the
Tactical Action Committee and they'd prefer the money to be spent
keeping schools open, keeping people in their homes, and creating jobs.
That 'latest' PR is also over a year old, and as written, explicitly
marks groups like sudoroom off limits. Howard Jordan wants to have his
cake and eat it too.
This is irrelevant to black bloc tactics, Tactical Action Committee
called for this.
How'bout Black Bloc come up with their own $50K to
piss away? They can
burn it after they burn the flag. That'll show some guts and
conviction, instead of burning other peoples' tax dollars.
What is this? The Dark Knight? There are a number of ways to protest.
One of the ways they chose to do so was meeting every week and marching
through neighborhoods. They might not have been reaching you or your
target audience, but when they'd walk through a neighborhood where the
police ignore gunshots and folks would see 3 dozen cops following 2
dozen civilians, they'd get the message.
Always easier to piss away someone else's money.
Tell your district supervisor or the mayor about that. A handful of
people can't force the city to spend money.
It's not a tactic, it's a tantrum.
Year in, year out? Tantrum implies emotional immaturity and an immediacy
of action and yet the Tactical Action Committee ran these marches over
and over again on a weekly basis. The police were the ones throwing
tantrum and, you know, letting people die.
For someone who remembers the hacker scares around phreaking, it seems
hypocritical for you to add to the FUD on another misunderstood group.
-Shawn