Well, a black bloc is a civil disobedience technique typical to anarchist groups that has nothing to do with allegiance. It’s a tactic of concealing your identity while operating in a group, typically at a direct action event. They all wear all black. And act as a group. Hence the name. It’s not just a catch-all phrase for anti fascist action.
Fair. If you’ve got better terms, let me know. My point is that I think it would be silly to worry that the guy who tried to assassinate a fascist is going to make peaceful, non-violent antifa activists look bad. Using violence to fight fascism is the name of the game, right?
To be clear, I’m not hating on antifa. It’s a strategy, and I don’t like to fight with allies over tactics. But I think it’s silly to be engaged in violent struggle and worry about the bad press of being associated with violent struggle.
Using violence to fight fascism is the name of the game, right?
There is a lot of anarchist rhetoric to justify violence against fascists, primarily because challenging the state’s monopoly on violence is so stigmatized by mainstream politics, but violence isn’t and should never be the primary tool for fighting fascism. Characterizing it as such is gives credibility to the narrative of the right. The spectacle of violence may make it seem over-represented among the wide variety of tactics in use, but the ‘name of the game’ is ‘diversity of tactics.’
Well, a black bloc is a civil disobedience technique typical to anarchist groups that has nothing to do with allegiance. It’s a tactic of concealing your identity while operating in a group, typically at a direct action event. They all wear all black. And act as a group. Hence the name. It’s not just a catch-all phrase for anti fascist action.
Fair. If you’ve got better terms, let me know. My point is that I think it would be silly to worry that the guy who tried to assassinate a fascist is going to make peaceful, non-violent antifa activists look bad. Using violence to fight fascism is the name of the game, right?
To be clear, I’m not hating on antifa. It’s a strategy, and I don’t like to fight with allies over tactics. But I think it’s silly to be engaged in violent struggle and worry about the bad press of being associated with violent struggle.
There is a lot of anarchist rhetoric to justify violence against fascists, primarily because challenging the state’s monopoly on violence is so stigmatized by mainstream politics, but violence isn’t and should never be the primary tool for fighting fascism. Characterizing it as such is gives credibility to the narrative of the right. The spectacle of violence may make it seem over-represented among the wide variety of tactics in use, but the ‘name of the game’ is ‘diversity of tactics.’