Apprentice anarchists didn't give peace a chance!!

by Resist - Black bloc Sat Dec 13, 2003 01:19

If you must know i was not their as an apprentice Anarchist or some kid who never had any political convictions. I was there as an active opponent of imperialism which heeds on neo-colonial client states such as Ireland to comply to their demands. Black bloc is a protest tactic which ensures grassroots democracy in a small scale. The colours represent direct action and solidarity which was sanctified by the Zapatista insurrection in 1994. We are committed to the spirit of revolt, liberty and equality in solidarity .

by Acid Sat Dec 13, 2003 02:10

I dont even know if I could even start a comment on this!! Truly a funny & entertaining read. I believe it's mainly this type of narrow-mindedness that causes so much shit between anarchists and whoever else.
Well done Clare. Weakining the 'movement' one step at a time!

by David C Sat Dec 13, 2003 03:06

This is how most people view the peace activists - you're getting a glimpse of the world through our eyes.

by ...your leader Sat Dec 13, 2003 06:01

"this was a march organised badly - there were no leaders" !!!
Oh! Horror of horrors! That's why we havn't managed to stop the war - no leaders!
Perhaps we could appoint Bertie as our beloved leader, now he has discovered he was against the war all along. What a sight to behold - Bertie leading the black block!

by David Sat Dec 13, 2003 13:49

If you are correct and most people view events in this light then you really should make an effort to inform yourselves as there are many many inaccuracies in that opinion piece.
You could argue that you are entitled to your opinions, but if you discover that they are based on false information are you still entitled to hold them?

It particularly annoyed me when he alluded that the black Bloc were just a bunch of bored kids who came out for a few hours to play in the streets totally ignoring the fact that we had been planning this event for a long time, we had put a lot of effort into organising and most of us travelled long distances to be there. And how could this reporter know that the black bloc were mere children (which is an insult to children everywhere) if they had their faces covered?

by Auld anarchist - creaking at the seams Sat Dec 13, 2003 14:09

I'm always sceptical of people who claim that their opinion is the view of "most people". I wonder has David C conducted some kind of survey to establish their opinions on this matter?
As for the age profile of the BB, just because they seem reasonably fit and agile does not mean they all fit into a specific age group. If their faces are covered, how can we tell?

by initiated anarchist - .:.33º.:. Sat Dec 13, 2003 14:15

there was no Guantanamo Bay.
Which is why I suppose we ruffians in the 5th international decided to attract attention to our svelt youth by bringing Guantanamo Bay to it's present status as a "household name".

Or did the Clare Champion stick it's little neck out on that one?

by redflaremist - magpies Sat Dec 13, 2003 14:25

It is the Clare Champion after all, hardly a bastion of free thinking and radical news reporting.

Media will always try and dress down direct actions, calling them "childish" or the like. Or else insult the demonstrators. If the Black Bloc hadnt been there then doubtlessly the writer would have turned his spleen elsewhere, calling the street theatre people a bunch of hippies or druggies, or labelling the IAWM as a bunch of commies, etc.

Maybe he should do his homework about the Special Branch spying on people - enough reason for anyone to cover up their face.

As for his argument about the people going home, what does he expect? All of us dont live in Shannon (thank fuck) and our buses were waiting to bring us back to urban sophistication... (ho ho). In fact the Grassroots buses were the last to leave, because the GNAW people stayed out on the streets the longest.

Another typical media tactic is dividing demonstrators... Tim & Ed were there. They may not agree with the BB tactic, but having met them both I iamgine they respect diversity of methods to shut down the war machine - the same way that anarchists respect them and their methods.

I wonder if the Clare Champion considers Fintan Lane one of the "genuine activists". Remember that Fintan was arrested while involved in an airfield tresspass - exactly what the anarchists were trying to do last Saturday.

And finally GNAW people and those in black masks are not mutually exclusive. Some in black would consider themselves involved with GNAW, others just non-affiliated individuals.

And there are GNAWers as well who do not cover their faces, and probably wouldnt on principle. Thats fair enough - the masked people respect their decision, the same way they would expect the same respect for their choice.

Have you got a contact email address for that newspaper? I might drop them a line.

by redflaremist Sat Dec 13, 2003 14:29

Coming soon - GNAW exercise and aerobics classes for the extremely easily knackered, i.e. most of us on the day.

At one point I was sure I was going to have a heart attack. Too much butter on my toast and excess salt on the chips!

I wonder if there's any gyms around Dublin that would give us a discount anarchist group rate. Maybe we could skip some Creatine.

by david Sat Dec 13, 2003 15:23

editor@clarechampion.ie

They haven't updated their website in about a year but the e-mail should still work

by david Sat Dec 13, 2003 15:27

Yeah but lets remember, no matter how unfit we were (myself included) we still easily out performed even the most athletic of the cops on the day

by funny Sat Dec 13, 2003 16:40

one has to be amused by this.

top post was signed as 'by Resist - Black bloc'

then goes on to say: 'Black bloc is a protest tactic...'

this is the common verbal tactic of the BB - we're not an organisation, we use a tactic' but then they refer to themselves as 'the black bloc'

which is it kids?

by alois vincenzo - eco soc Sat Dec 13, 2003 19:11

on the subject of fitness and physicality, it's true that a lot of the time at these types of things black bloc types (i use the term loosely; i rarely don the garb) can outrun the cops, and we often do tend to be lighter on our feet than the cops. we tend to be more agile, but they tend to be brawnier, and that's the way it's traditionally been.

but now they have more than just brawn, as for me D6 marked a much increased aptitude on the cops' part for crowd control tactics. i imagine they have been drilling and training in their riot gear quite a bit lately, and it shows; you can't run rings around them like you used to. i know they had the numbers on the day, but even apart from that they had the place pretty much locked down.

and while it was great to see so many people up for it on D6, i felt we were still quite rag-tag when it came to facing up to disciplined,(ish) well-drilled lines of cops.

i know (nv)DA training tends to be awfully hit and miss, but i wonder is there scope for training that would properly address, for want of a better term, battlefield-type issues? i mean bloc tactics, moving in massed numbers to counter masses of police..

oh and if the guards are continuing to adapt to their renewed role of riot police, it probably won't be long till the physical profile of the guys in the body armour changes from that of the local plod to younger, fitter, tougher specimens for whom training exercises and work-outs are the norm, as is the way in other police forces.

by Ciaron Sat Dec 13, 2003 21:55

Rucks with the Cops are a Destraction!

It is obvious the state is taking this issues of servicing the U.S. military very seriously in terms of depoloyment of resources (on this occasion probably equal to the 1 million euro they spent on March 1st.).

They have also managed to kill the issue media wise as a dead issue. It is part of their strategy to reduce it to questions of public order/civil liberties so a (hopefully nonviolent) glove is not laid on the issue & mechanisms of the U.S. military refueling at Shannon.

Given the inexperience, underresourced nature and opportunist & moderate leadership of the Irish peace movement - the movement lost the initiative a long time ago. To such an extent that the Irish Army deplkoyed in response to the Jan/Feb ploughshares actions was withdrawn from Shannon in October. (The stunted nature of the Irish peace movement is to be expected as Ireland has gone form being quite marginaol to the U.S. war machine to central overnight!)

Those of more radical and militant nature should not get lost in co-dependent rucks with the cops. This is a predictable technique of managing and sidetracking dissent. The powers-that-be are happy we are focussed on the cops - that's what they're there for!

This original article misses the great crime that continues at Shannon. The excesses of youth are not the issue - Irish facilitation of the U.S. killing kids in Iraq is!

Given how outmanouvered we are at Shannon it might be time to reframe the issue as a "European" one (Shannon being U.S. European gateway to Iraq) rather than an "Irish" issue (given how compromised Irish nationalists are with the U.S. in terms of agendsas in the north).

We could bring in the Euro-peace movement that is much more experineced in nonviolent direct action and resourced.

Ahern's recent statements make a mockery out of the obsession in Ireland with Feb 15th. (Part of the leadership thought the phenomenon was a mandate for a meeting/lunch with the government. The government thought it was a mandate for the policy. And the remainder of the peace movement leadership policed, underminbed, marginalised and suppressed noviolent civil disobedience
to the war whereever it rared its head..Shannon, Dail, Aer Rianta, Hillsbrough.

by Eoin Dubsky Sun Dec 14, 2003 11:38

I think Ciaron's right about the European peace movement, as something we can tap into and get support from. Hopefully at the action camp planned for March 2004 at Shannon will be joined by fellow travellers resisting US imperialism in their countries too.

by Abbey Thu Dec 18, 2003 19:10

It would be great if we could organize another event such as the Grassroots Gathering that went on in Galway recently and have an expert come to train us in developing strategies in order to have an effective non-violent movement... I've e-mailed the folks at training for change, and I'll let you know how they reply.