On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 [email protected] wrote: > Parts of this post echoes sentiments and ideas expressed by others on > the list. > > Barry > > > > > http://newsjunkiepost.com/2012/02/15/what-does-our-reaction-to-black-bloc-tactics-say-about-us/ > > > > By Liam Fox > NEWS JUNKIE POST > > Feb 15, 2012 at 7:02 am > What Does Our Reaction To Black Bloc Tactics Say About Us? > [...] > > If there is a criticism of Black Bloc tactics, perhaps it should be > that they have been insufficient to stop the ongoing corporate and > state violence. What good is breaking a window, or spray-painting a > wall, or rolling a dumpster into the street and setting it on fire, if > nothing comes of it but negative press?
A lame defense of unacceptable behaviour, which only here touches on the most important reason that these knuckle draggers need to be censured. Negative press is not a minor criticism, it is central to the indictment of the folly of this behaviour. > All the good intentions, the > important message, and the righteous cause, are useless without a > medium to communicate them to the masses. Independent and social > media have grown but they are nothing compared to corporate media. > What reach the new media does have, and the growth it has experienced, > is being actively challenged by legislation designed to allow the > state to censor, control, and even eliminate it. Symbolic action > alone is not getting the job done, and it faces even more barriers to > its efficacy in the future. > [...] > > We need to stop offering harsh judgment of Black Bloc tactics. It > does not speak well of our values. Those tactics, given the needed > amount of support, can move beyond attempts to get our attention and > potentially bring an end to the violence being perpetrated against > humanity by the wealthy, the corporations they own, and the States > they control. In order to do this we need to join the struggle, not > allow our cowardice to condemn it. There is right and there is wrong, > and fighting to stop something that you know is wrong, is right. Rubbish. If only one in a hundred of the self-absorbed short sighted bozos involved in "black bloc" behaviours were to have the courage and imagination to channel their outrage into tactics along the lines of the Yes Men, and the other 99 just stay home, the net result would be vastly more effective. -Pete _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
