![]() ![]() ![]() In both cases this took the shape of different zones for particular types of action or levels of risk, thus allowing all tactics to work together effectively and complement each other, while lessening internal strife. In Prague and Quebec City, through INPEG and CLAC respectively, the space of activists choosing to use militant tactics was respected, allowing for mutual cooperation and coordination in the days before the action. However, the difference between those two mobilizations and Genoa, was not the police, but rather the relationship between militant anarchists in the black bloc and the larger organizing groups. There was no element of surprise, just as in Genoa. In both Quebec City and Prague, resounding successes in our opinion, the police knew to expect a black bloc, often made reference to how dangerous it was in the press, and tried to stop black bloc participants from arriving. To us, while indeed greater preparation and numbers on behalf of the police are part of the problem, they are actually a much lesser concern than the role played by the opportunist, reformist, and moralist tendencies in the “movement” in isolating the black bloc, and the tactical consequences for us of their actions. The first, is that it places all the responsibility for the failure, or at least controversial nature, of several recent black blocs on the actions of the police. In our opinion, this argument is flawed on two important levels. In the case of the WSM text, the argument is centered to a large extent around the issue of constantly heightened security and enlarged police presence at large summit type events, which hinders the ability of the black bloc to act in an effective manner. ![]() The reasoning behind it tends to vary, involving anything from the symbolic nature of the confrontations black blocs often engage in, to issues about whether or not it can serve as a tool to encourage empowerment, self-organization and the construction of dual power. This is the first question posed by the WSM article, and it is a question (and sometimes assertion) that we are starting to hear quite often in some anarchist circles. THE BLACK BLOC AND MILITANT TACTICS IN ANTI-GLOBALIZATION PROTESTS With that said, we do in fact have several important disagreements with the WSM text, and will attempt to clarify some of our positions in this writing. This is the only way in which an effective and useful dialogue on the subject can be had, and our response is with the same spirit and intentions in mind. Particularly refreshing was the fact that, unlike many other texts critical of the black bloc, this one was clearly written in a comradely, honest, and constructive fashion. It is for this reason that we were glad to see the text by our comrades from the Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM). Indeed, we are very troubled by how black blocs often operate, the manner in which actions are sometimes carried out, and the direction that some black bloc elements seem to want to head in. However, this by no means implies that we feel it to be in any way above criticism. Only one tool among many, but an important one nonetheless. Videos and photos of the events in Hamburg show throngs of people dressed in black.As class struggle anarchists who recognize the importance of a diversity of tactics in order to attack Capital, the State, and oppression in an effective manner, we see the black bloc as an important tool of struggle. In a 2015 article published in Police Magazine, author Kory Flowers said anarchists use protests such as the ones in Ferguson, Missouri, after the shooting death of Michael Brown, to launch their signature "chaos- and havoc-laden tactics." The article described Black Bloc strategy as "throngs of criminal anarchists all dress in black clothing in an effort to appear as a unified assemblage, giving the appearance of solidarity for the particular cause at hand." Typically, they leave a wake of destruction. Those who practice it often wear black and cover their face with masks. ![]() President trump called the protesters, "anarchists."īlack Bloc, is a tactic, not a group. The Hamburg, Germany, Police Department reported Black Bloc protesters are among the thousands of protesters attempting to disrupt the annual gathering of world leaders. The violence that erupted outside the G-20 summit - smashed store fronts, petrol bombs and catapults - marked the latest surge of Black Bloc protests, a European resistance that recently emerged in American political demonstrations. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |