Black Bloc report/critique

Re: Black Bloc HAMMERS City Living DC, then joins antiwar march
by Susie-!
(No verified email address) Current rating: 0
26 Oct 2003
That sounds a lot better than the only black bloc-ish thing I saw in San Francisco.

They did no outreach, had no message or fliers, got caught by the police...

I saw them leave the post-march rally and followed at a slow pace. My friend had heard someone practicing poor security say that they were going to Union Square, where all the Macy's-type stores are. I headed in that direction so slowly that I even stopped for a leisurely lunch.

I knew I was getting close when I saw the vehicle that the police always use to follow us around town. When I found them they were marching towards the Gap. There were about 20 or so people, some masked up. Mostly young and around half women or so. They stopped near a side entrance of the Gap and turned around. Then they went quickly to a side entrance of Macy's (I think it was Macy's, it was hard to think what with the cloud of toxic perfume, which, by the way, is an oil-war product), where some people were sitting on the ground, apparently detained by the cops. People argued with the cops and while someone was showing me his detention slip from a little bit earlier (kind of like a ticket, I guess) the four people joined the crowd.

The crowd next went to a nearby Starbucks. People went straight in and demanded free water and use of the bathroom. Apparently now they only let you use the bathroom if you buy something. People tried to talk politics with some of the cashiers and they got angry and walked away from their posts. We talked a lot of shit about Starbucks (as you know, they are part of the corporate consumer boringization of cafes all over the country, imposing their "culture" where once there had been bazillions of mom and pop cafes) and slowly walked out when the cops started to notice where we were.

Then we stood around on the sidewalk for a bit. Some people showed off the things they had stolen- right outside the door! Another example of poor security.

Overall this "action" was an example of why we don't necessarily need to even try to do things as the black bloc or anarchists/anti-authoritarians at some of these big demos. Since we don't know each other, we can't even get together at the announced gathering points, cuz we don't recognize each other. Then we can't announce discussions of actions, so people feel alienated. Then when we alternately joke loudly about inviting our 20+ "friends" to go "shopping" in a store and, as we march down the sidewalk because we don't have sufficient numbers to take the street, and chant slogans against the police for no apparent reason, our "actions" show that they have no purpose- they are not creating an effective spectacle, and they are not sending out a political message that people can understand. At this particular action, there were no flyers given out, nor were people writing political stuff on police cars, walls, windows, or anything, as far as I could see.

I know it's important to do things that feel fun to the people who are doing them, but I think that things like today should be done at the affinity group level. When there are demos where we'll have the necessary numbers (how will we know this in advance?) we should then call for larger bb gatherings so we can do things that require more people.

One more thing- how long can this framework of listening to the same speakers over and over and marching the same routes go on? These demos are about preaching to the choir and trying to outdo each other with our signs and banners. We might as well call them anti-war pride parades instead of "end the occupation" marches...