In defence of the 2010 Black Bloc
How come as soon as protesters do some minor property destruction, everyone is appalled, but when corporations rape and pillage the planet they say nothing? How come it is more violent to break a window than to kidnap someone from their community and hold them in a jail cell? Those who value corporate property over human and animal life are sick sociopaths in need of psychological help.
Our voices are all finite, let us use them to denounce the real perpetrators of violence: the state and its corporate masters. The state murders people around the world, imprisons people, funds arms corporations, arms gangs of police to impose its will through force, and protects private property at the expense of everyone and everything on this planet.
Where is the outrage about the violence of climate change that oil and coal companies are responsible for? Where is the outrage over the ongoing genocide and colonization that Canada and “The Bay” are responsible for? Where is the outrage over the brutal domestication and murders of animals for our food, clothing, and products? Where is the outrage about the daily police violence in our communities?
This past weekend thousands of social justice activists, Indigenous people, environmentalists, and anarchists converged on Vancouver to disrupt the beginning of the 2010 Winter Olympics. They did this because the 2010 Olympics have led to further colonization of indigenous lands, environmental destruction, massive public debt, increased homelessness, increased militarization and nationalism, and have given corporations more power.
As part of this convergence hundreds of anarchists organized a “Heart Attack” march on the opening day of the games. Although this demonstration was much smaller than several Anti-Olympics protests, it has received the broadest coverage. Footage from this protest was front page news and was picked up by media outlets worldwide. The images of black bloc anarchists blocking roads and smashing the windows of the Hudson's Bay Company's Olympic department store have led to serious debates about who these anarchists are, why they acted the way they did, and the effectiveness of their actions in this particular struggle.
Some conspiracy theorists argue that these were not anarchists, but police provocateurs. They are dead wrong. The people who dressed in black and hid their identities in order to protect themselves are passionate in their desire for a better world and willing to take risks in order to fight instead of beg for it. They organize by affinity and avoid being infiltrated by police in every way possible, because their very freedom is on the line when they don their masks. Calling them cowards for hiding their identities is akin to calling someone a coward for not committing suicide. People need to hide their identities nowadays at protests due to video surveillance by police who build profiles and use incriminating footage to violently kidnap people from their communities and hold them hostage in prison cells. The people who masked up to make their voices heard are community organizers, artists, volunteers, caregivers, and others who are loved by their communities for the work they do. They do not simply go around trying to destroy the things that make life on this planet unlivable, they also create beautiful alternatives, and work harder than anyone else I have ever met for a better world.
Anarchists acted in the way they did because it was necessary and effective. Those who argue that it was ineffective, including corporate media, have some nerve. Unlike the larger and more peaceful protests, the “Heart Attack” march caused a splash that reached the masses and forced them to recognize that there is resistance to these games. People all over the world who might not have known about the issues otherwise will look into the causes of this riot. The corporate media denounced this way of getting attention but paid it way more attention than any of the other protests. How hypocritical of them. If holding a sign was all it took to generate attention for a cause and create substantial change people might not feel the necessity to use force. People are sick of asking nicely for their lands to not be stolen, for their homes to not be evicted, and for their environments to not be polluted and destroyed. If we could simply ask politely and be heard we wouldn't need to put our lives on the line at all. The day after 400 anarchists blocked streets and attacked major corporations, there was a march of 5,000 people, more than 10 times the previous days numbers, demonstrating in solidarity with all the murdered and missing women of the downtown eastside of Vancouver. But since this march was peaceful and not disruptive it was largely ignored.
What bothers me more than the argument that the “Heart Attack” protest was not “effective” is the argument that it was violent. Until the state disarms itself don't even talk to me about non-violence. The only violence that occurred at the Olympics was the clear-cutting of sacred mountaintops, the theft of indigenous lands, the evictions of poor people, the deportation of undocumented people, the imprisonment and harassment of activists, and an expansion of the capitalist system of social control and domination.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Our voices are all finite, let us use them to denounce the real perpetrators of violence: the state and its corporate masters. The state murders people around the world, imprisons people, funds arms corporations, arms gangs of police to impose its will through force, and protects private property at the expense of everyone and everything on this planet.
Where is the outrage about the violence of climate change that oil and coal companies are responsible for? Where is the outrage over the ongoing genocide and colonization that Canada and “The Bay” are responsible for? Where is the outrage over the brutal domestication and murders of animals for our food, clothing, and products? Where is the outrage about the daily police violence in our communities?
This past weekend thousands of social justice activists, Indigenous people, environmentalists, and anarchists converged on Vancouver to disrupt the beginning of the 2010 Winter Olympics. They did this because the 2010 Olympics have led to further colonization of indigenous lands, environmental destruction, massive public debt, increased homelessness, increased militarization and nationalism, and have given corporations more power.
As part of this convergence hundreds of anarchists organized a “Heart Attack” march on the opening day of the games. Although this demonstration was much smaller than several Anti-Olympics protests, it has received the broadest coverage. Footage from this protest was front page news and was picked up by media outlets worldwide. The images of black bloc anarchists blocking roads and smashing the windows of the Hudson's Bay Company's Olympic department store have led to serious debates about who these anarchists are, why they acted the way they did, and the effectiveness of their actions in this particular struggle.
Some conspiracy theorists argue that these were not anarchists, but police provocateurs. They are dead wrong. The people who dressed in black and hid their identities in order to protect themselves are passionate in their desire for a better world and willing to take risks in order to fight instead of beg for it. They organize by affinity and avoid being infiltrated by police in every way possible, because their very freedom is on the line when they don their masks. Calling them cowards for hiding their identities is akin to calling someone a coward for not committing suicide. People need to hide their identities nowadays at protests due to video surveillance by police who build profiles and use incriminating footage to violently kidnap people from their communities and hold them hostage in prison cells. The people who masked up to make their voices heard are community organizers, artists, volunteers, caregivers, and others who are loved by their communities for the work they do. They do not simply go around trying to destroy the things that make life on this planet unlivable, they also create beautiful alternatives, and work harder than anyone else I have ever met for a better world.
Anarchists acted in the way they did because it was necessary and effective. Those who argue that it was ineffective, including corporate media, have some nerve. Unlike the larger and more peaceful protests, the “Heart Attack” march caused a splash that reached the masses and forced them to recognize that there is resistance to these games. People all over the world who might not have known about the issues otherwise will look into the causes of this riot. The corporate media denounced this way of getting attention but paid it way more attention than any of the other protests. How hypocritical of them. If holding a sign was all it took to generate attention for a cause and create substantial change people might not feel the necessity to use force. People are sick of asking nicely for their lands to not be stolen, for their homes to not be evicted, and for their environments to not be polluted and destroyed. If we could simply ask politely and be heard we wouldn't need to put our lives on the line at all. The day after 400 anarchists blocked streets and attacked major corporations, there was a march of 5,000 people, more than 10 times the previous days numbers, demonstrating in solidarity with all the murdered and missing women of the downtown eastside of Vancouver. But since this march was peaceful and not disruptive it was largely ignored.
What bothers me more than the argument that the “Heart Attack” protest was not “effective” is the argument that it was violent. Until the state disarms itself don't even talk to me about non-violence. The only violence that occurred at the Olympics was the clear-cutting of sacred mountaintops, the theft of indigenous lands, the evictions of poor people, the deportation of undocumented people, the imprisonment and harassment of activists, and an expansion of the capitalist system of social control and domination.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
