> Those were the days when anarchists were mainly anarcho-syndicalists.
> Outside the USA, anarcho-syndicalism may be still the main form of
> anarchism. Within the USA, though, syndicalism does not appear to be
> the dominant tendency -- nay, it appears to be a marginal tendency in
> anarchism. That may be in itself a problem.
Anarcho-syndicalism is a small tendency within contemporary American anarchism, but that is for reasons of history and the nature of the United States. Anarcho-syndicalism is much stronger in Europe and a few other places around the world. But Europe has more continuity when it comes to the amount of unionism within the working class, as well as a stronger working class tradition of unionism. The United States is very anti-union and it seems to me that tendencies like anarchos-syndicalism mostly exist in the old industrial cities with a long tradition of radical unionism.
I'll keep an eye on my survey for any trends on where anarcho-syndicalists are located.
> I didn't mean to imply that the black bloc _caused_ Giuliani's death.
> The police riot all the time -- even in response to non-political
> crowds, like out-of-control party-goers after OSU football games here --
> with or without provocation from the crowds. I'm just saying that
> black-bloc-style maneuvers didn't help, when the police meant business.
> Black blockers and other anarchists might have to reconsider their
> tactics. Are their tactics related to any long-term goal and strategy
> for social change at all?
But you are blaming the black bloc for police violence. The cops are the ones who come armed to protests and who conduct violence against protesters. The black bloc is mostly a tactic designed to protect anarchists from police violence.
Perhaps people are having a difficult time understanding that in cities like Wshington, DC, that if you don't get permission from the cops to protest, you get the crap beat out of you. The black bloc has mostly been a response to this situation, where our right to march down the fucking street is being violently repressed by the police.
Chuck0
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"The state can't give you free speech, and the state can't take it away. You're born with it, like your eyes, like your ears. Freedom is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free..." ---Utah Phillips