"Faustine" <a3495@cotse.com> writes: To make it clear, I'm not a member of the Black Blocs, associated with them in any way, nor do I think the tactic is effective. I was asking Sampo if he was being sarcastic in his association of this tactic with an anarchist ideology of any value.
Frankly, I don't see how any kind of "short-term tactic for possibly illegal operations on the street in an environment full of police" could be good for anything more than the symbolic. What did these "illegal operations" really accomplish apart from getting out a statement? Serious question. I'm just not seeing it.
Symbolically, not much good except for recruiting young males with visions of being the storm-troopers of revolution or something. I had an off-list discussion with someone about wether these actions were purely symbolic or not, my position is that they are not. My argument is based on what these people are writing in their calls-to-arms or whatever you call them. They are actually trying to develop tactics for these situations, not present an image to others. I can respect the desire to develop tactics for operating in situations like that (breaking barricades, evacuating downed marchers etc...), if only because I imagine that such tactics will be neccesarry to provide sufficient symbolic victories. A WTO protest that has people in turtle suits running around outside the fenced off area is one thing, a WTO protest that results in the storming and/or burning down of the hotel the conference was being held is another. Oops, I just put myself on some Fed list. -- Craig Brozefsky <craig@red-bean.com> http://www.red-bean.com/~craig "Indifference is the dead weight of history." -- Antonio Gramsci