soooo this is going to be a post that makes absolutely everyone unhappy:
black bloc is a part of diversity of tactics
handknit pussy hats are part of a diversity of tactics
voting is a part of diversity of tactics
black bloc is a part of diversity of tactics
handknit pussy hats are part of a diversity of tactics
voting is a part of diversity of tactics
Interesting thread, appreciate it. One area that I am not sure is addressed is that at least in certain parts of America we do have 'black bloc' wannabes that will co-opt these demonstrations with their own extreme goals and methods. Protecting against that takes a lot more than 'social conformity.'
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It will break. They all do. It's just that we can't know what causes it or when it happens. Only thing for sure is they will ruin more lives before it's done.
Wonder why
Anyways, I really was interested in hearing what @sarahjeong.bsky.social had to say, not anarchists. Anarchists please block me.
This is a brutally simplified explanation but I think its a good summary.
I guess the intent is different, right? Covering your face for anonymity vs covering your face because you intend to commit violence…? Right?
Our collective voice will also not be just one thing.
Truth.
Also, people telling other people the right and wrong way to protest are almost always people who aren't doing it at all.
https://commonslibrary.org/protest-movements-how-effective-are-they/
We can certainly argue over effectiveness of tactics, but hopefully that is with an underlying support of anyone who is doing *something*.
Black bloc gets things done in real life
Handknit pussy hats are for parades
Voting is choosing your oppressor.
they did millions in damage in less than an hour
if you watch the videos, it looks like they didnt accomplish much, but those are clean rooms they breached, and the contamination they did is super hard to clean up. i'd be surprised if they are running production again in those rooms today, now 6 months on
Preventing police violence is the most effective way to keep protest peaceful.
This is true. But it's also true that these days black bloc is often infiltrated by counter protestors and cops.
We will never win if we don’t let everyone protest as they wish
Leave others to do what they want
If it doesn't hurt the cause, probably just let people be cringe.
I was warning of it when nobody wanted to listen fearful first of Bush & then ensorceled by Obomba.
"Whatever you release into the world will return to you. This is karma." - Buddha.
I can not stress to people enough that you should just KEEP WALKING if you see something that makes you uncomfortable or afraid. Also, the cops are *not* your friends but you will find that out for yourself eventually.
But eh, as we say in France "Thoughts and prayers for the families of the windows 😔"
A dumb, silly, easy to mock tactic, that didn't do much to advance our goals and gave the right wing a gold mine of easy memes and made women look weak.
Imagine if magas did a "knit dick hat" protest and you'll understand how dumb it was.
Black bloc is useful in situations where violence from police or the right is expected (e.g Charlottesville)
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Sometimes I leave my phone at home. Other times I help grandmas stay hydrated.
Protesting is Practice
You need MILLIONS of people to be skillful at coalescing quickly and ready to take action. The first actions need to be small and repeatable
The acronym does not lead to good search results.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_of_tactics
That's a small portion, but it's also a lot of people, like "thousands of letters."
You might also find Srdja Popović (Blueprint for Revolution) useful
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr/publications/questions-answers-and-some-cautionary-updates-regarding-35-rule
Still, they expressed hope in this Resistance Lab training:
https://www.youtube.com/live/_xMpZmLwdHw?feature=shared
Here's a summary by Erica Chenoweth.
But this is a time where common sense is very uncommon so what do I fucking know?
I've seen them do this since the anti-nuke protests of the 1970s
i see the pussy hat women's march like, im worried it would have sapped energy that could have been used in a more consturctive fashion. but maybe someone participating in that wasn't going to accomplish anything anyway.
did it do anything?
could y'all libs like examine mainstream democrats and their wishy-washy stand-for-nothing weak-sauce positions, and maybe tell them to get their shit together?
I can see viewing nonviolence as insufficient for some cases, but useless or outright counterproductive?
Nah, that smells like a rat.
that's why I'm cringe and shit, it's really hard to think outside children's corpses and it affects my cognition
making politicians have bad days seems to be more effective.
thats a very broad concept. a bad day can mean 7000 phone calls or getting yelled at on the street or having your fundraiser shut down
The mockery and ridicule of shows like All in the Family also.
https://bsky.app/profile/johngreenla.bsky.social/post/3lm4s3pl36k2s
https://open.substack.com/pub/peoplespartyus/p/defeating-goliath?r=2lkf6n&utm_medium=ios
Yesterday was more 'entry level' with retirees and families.
We will need civil disobedience folk & direct action. But yesterday wasnt that.
But i get exactly what youre saying.
Wonder what ideological work that rhetorical tension is doing.
Being a self-absorbed know-it-all (who doesn't even know it, at all) is less a tactic and more a deep personal failing, and not one that needs to be tolerated or left uncriticized