http://www.iprimus.ca/~dawnone/bbloc.htm ----- excerpt: THE BLACK "BLOC" The whole idea of a Black Bloc is that people wear all black, and stay in a tight formation. If people don't stay in formation, and wander around with large gaps in-between, well, that's not a black bloc, that's a march of anarchists wearing black. A black bloc requires that people stay tight and stay alert. In Cincinnati, we did very well with this idea. People (for the most part) stayed tight and alert, and there were very few instances where gaps became a problem. In DC (IMF Protests), this was a *huge* problem. The Bloc was very loose, and a lot of times, it seemed like people were not alert to what was going on. This luckily didn't turn too ugly, but if the cops didn't have their heads so far up their ass, they could have used that opportunity to divide us and make mass arrests. We cannot allow any opportunity for them to do that, an injury to one is an injury to all, remember. BLACK BLOC ATTIRE Seattle was probably the most effective Black Bloc we've seen in this country, and yet there was one glaring mistake that the Black Bloc made. Their black bloc attire wasn't exactly anonymous. It all boils down to this: Wearing a bandanna doesn't mean much if you have blue hair and a huge "Aus Rotten" patch on your back. Part of the purpose of a Black Bloc is to provide anonymity for it's members. You are not doing yourself or your comrades any service by dressing in a distinct way. Individuality is great and all, but sometimes it's okay to ditch it for a few hours in order to avoid jail time. Cincinnati was definitely better in this regard, but in order for a Black Bloc to truly be effective, then that means that we should dress appropriately. This means, black jeans or pants, black hooded sweatshirt, black shoes, and, if necessary, plain black jackets. Face masks should be plain black, whether bandannas or ski masks. Most black bandannas that are purchased are black and white. This is not good. You're better off just cutting a piece of plain black cloth into a bandanna shape.As the police and the FBI learn more about anarchist culture, they're going to become much better at singling people out based on patches or clothing. They didn't have much experience with it in Seattle, which is why people were able to get away with wearing patch-pants or other distinctive outfits, but rest assured that they're getting better at it, which means that we're going to have to get better at dressing properly.