> We should certainly reject the backlash argument, which we've seen
> deployed all our lives to cripple social movements.
No, this is wrong. If you care about the larger public's attitude toward the movement, then you're concerned about "backlash." (Or whichever word you want to use). If you don't care about the public's attitude, then you're doing politics-as-self-expression . Those are the choices.
The video of a women being pepper sprayed on 12th Street last month led to the biggest single surge in support for the movement so far. This happened *precisely* because the public perceived the police's reaction as excessive, because it was clear the woman was harmless. A video of cops pepper spraying some black-masked smasher wielding an axe would have had zero effect.
SA