by Admin | March 5th, 2010
David Rovics has written a provocative blog criticizing Black Bloc property destruction tactics and attacks on the police. The article strongly endorses nonviolent and formalized (meaning electoral and judicial) resistance. Black Bloc tactics have had mixed success. In many cases, property destruction has garnered enormous attention for grievances. The property destruction has communicated an intensity of anger/grievance that is valuable. However, it has also often alienated allies (including potential police allies) and pissed off locals who are most affected by the property destruction. The biggest criticism for these approaches is a strategic one. It is difficult to point to a strategic campaign that has benefited from these tactics in recent decades. We can find no successful social movement sucessess. No political, economic, or legal victories. No significant cultural changes.
Anger actions (whether involving property destruction, attacks on police, or nonviolent (such as Act-Up) are best used to demonstrate the intensity of a problem and deeply held belief. However, violent anger attacks have not shown success in building social change movements capable of achieving political goals.