Just a note. Why are we bothering to spend so much time "defending" the Black Bloc on this list when actually no one on the list has made a single rational criticism of the Black Bloc. Proyect just vomits up old SWP slanders against SDS & the Panthers & others shudder at how it will turn people off, etc.
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damn it! my every word is sterling and you didn't read all the way to the end! ;)
What I was going to address next was ravi’s concern that people keep using war as a metaphor for what’s going on. It was most evident in the claims that the problem with an action was that it didn’t attack the enemy. Another came up in the claim that the difference between a revolution and a riot was that in a riot you steal TVs, in a revolution, you take over TV stations. Both of these statements make little sense with regard to, say, how the American Revolution was fought in the 1760s.
To say that we’re involved in a war were our tactics must result in some sort of attack on capitalism is a little premature since we haven’t even amassed an army yet. I mean, if we must rely on the metaphor of war, then we’re at the stage where the enemy is being defined, people are taking sides, some ar figuring out if they want to fight (participate in direct action, for ex)
Like Ravi, I've been interested in references to war especially because people seem to expect that you'd run a war without worrying about mobilizing for war first. The absurd declaration that an action doesn't bring down capitalism or that a demo doesn't threaten capitalism or even power reveals that the speaker thinks that all actions in a war are directed at the enemy.
Apparently, no thought need be given mobilizing support for a war? No thought need be given to building solidarity among those involved in it, in direct action? To recruiting people to actually fight in that war? To identifying the enemy and why that enemy needs to be vanquished?
All of this is about an audience - and there are multiple audiences. Max Weber recognized that about nation-states which, he said, operated on the world stage always thinking in terms of what they communicated to the enemy, to their "allies," and to their own populace. When the u.s. kicks the ass of some third world country, that's about sending a message to more than just the third world country.
At this point, and even if there *IS* a revolution or war going on, the things you do are not always directly aimed at the enemy. Why should you only ever do things to attack an enemy? If a general ran an army like that ... well,she wouldn't have an army in the first place, let alone people willing to fight, let alone people who are solidaristic enough to fight that war together without fucking each other over.
This is about propaganda - in word and deed. Self immolation: propaganda of the deed. Climbing on top of 18 wheelers to wave a flag as the sun sets: propaganda of the deed. A guy on his knees, praying as he's arrested: propaganda of the deed. Occupying the opera: propaganda of the deed.
In this, we have several audiences: the people who are already on board; the people who are still on the fence; the enemy; the people who simply won't give even one turd about any of it. (In re: the latter, an example are the blocks of voters campaign strategists try to ensure stay home by usign negative attacks ads. In some situations, you will do better if you can get lots of people to abstain from voting.)
Criticisms aimed at actions because they aren't about taking over the means or production or aren't about attacking an enemy are red herrings.
As are criticisms about actions being solely aimed at the already converted. It's absolutely crucial to build solidarity and sometimes that's the only audience that matters. a USO concert or 24/7 airing of a "documentary" about the evil Taliban on CNN are not aimed at the enemy to harm them, but they are aimed at other audiences in order to eventually harm the enemy.
There are also times when you have to test your enemy, to see what they will let you get away with. We wouldn't be here yakking about this had people not decided to push up against the enemy - a little here, a little there -- and let's see what happens.
shag
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