---
F R E N D Z of martian
---
>From Seattle's bane of private property ....
----- Original Message -----
From: Yang Chang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; purple penguin
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Ann Goncalves
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; lily <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Brian
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Sent: Monday, December 06, 1999 2:49 AM
Subject: N30 Black Bloc Communique
> No-WTO
>
>
> there's been a lot of discussion and speculation among anti-WTO
> protesters as to the police violence being the result of "anarchist
> agents" who are somehow allied with the authorities to incite people to
> violence and property damage so that the police would have an excuse to
> use force. do the police usually need an excuse to use force??? (ask the
> oppressed communities who see it daily). do we really want to keep
> supporting the "logic" that the police only use force when "necessary"?
> cuz that ain't true by a very long shot.
>
> i can't believe people are buying into this hype, also pushed by the
> corporate media. after all, it was in a pre-WTO f.b.i. press-release
> where corporations were warned of possible "anarchist-induced violence"
> in seattle. i also don't believe that the corporate media or the fbi have
> any understanding of what anarchism is (would you trust them to define
> 'socialism'?).
>
> here's a Communique from one of the anarchist groups active in seattle
> that day. they aren't trying to account for ALL the property damage, but
> try instead to dispel myths and articulate the philosophies behind their
> actions.
>
> note: noam chomsky and howard zinn are just two of the many
> self-described anarchists.
>
>
> -------------------------------------------
> from: www.indymedia.org
>
> -------------------------------------------
> N30 Black Bloc Communique
> by ACME Collective 10:48am Sat Dec 4 '99
>
> A communique from one section of the black bloc of N30 in Seattle
>
> On November 30, several groups of individuals in black bloc attacked
> various corporate targets in downtown Seattle. Among them were (to name
> just a few):
>
> Fidelity Investment (major investor in Occidental Petroleum, the bane of
> the U'wa tribe in Columbia). Bank of America, US Bancorp, Key Bank and
> Washington Mutual Bank (financial institutions key in the expansion of
> corporate repression). Old Navy, Banana Republic and the GAP (as Fisher
> family businesses, rapers of Northwest forest lands and sweatshop
> laborers). NikeTown and Levi's (whose overpriced products are made in
> sweatshops). McDonald's (slave-wage fast-food peddlers responsible for
> destruction of tropical rainforests for grazing land and slaughter of
> animals). Starbucks (peddlers of an addictive substance whose products
> are harvested at below-poverty wages by farmers who are forced to destroy
> their own forests in the process) Warner Bros. (media monopolists).
> Planet Hollywood (for being Planet Hollywood).
>
> This activity lasted for over 5 hours and involved the breaking of
> storefront windows and doors and defacing of facades. Slingshots,
> newspaper boxes, sledge hammers, mallets, crowbars and nail-pullers were
> used to strategically destroy corporate property and gain access (one of
> the three targeted Starbucks and Niketown were looted). Eggs filled with
> glass etching solution, paint-balls and spray-paint were also used.
>
> The black bloc was a loosely organized cluster of affinity groups and
> individuals who roamed around downtown, pulled this way by a vulnerable
> and significant storefront and that way by the sight of a police
> formation. Unlike the vast majority of activists who were pepper-sprayed,
> tear-gassed and shot at with rubber bullets on several occasions, most of
> our section of the black bloc escaped serious injury by remaining
> constantly in motion and avoiding engagement with the police. We buddied
> up, kept tight and watched each others' backs. Those attacked by federal
> thugs were un-arrested by quick-thinking and organized members of the
> black bloc. The sense of solidarity was awe-inspiring.
>
> THE PEACE POLICE
>
> Unfortunately, the presence and persistence of "peace police" was quite
> disturbing. On at least 6 separate occasions, so-called "non-violent"
> activists physically attacked individuals who targeted corporate
> property. Some even went so far as to stand in front of the Niketown
> super store and tackle and shove the black bloc away. Indeed, such
> self-described "peace-keepers" posed a much greater threat to individuals
> in the black bloc than the notoriously violent uniformed "peace-keepers"
> sanctioned by the
> state (undercover officers have even used the cover of the activist
> peace-keepers to
> ambush those who engage in corporate property destruction).
>
> RESPONSE TO THE BLACK BLOC
>
> Response to the black bloc has highlighted some of the contradictions and
> internal oppressions of the "nonviolent activist" community. Aside from
> the obvious hypocrisy of those who engaged in violence against black-clad
> and masked people (many of whom were harassed despite the fact that they
> never engaged in property destruction), there is the racism of privileged
> activists who can afford to ignore the violence perpetrated against the
> bulk of society and the natural world in the name of private property
> rights. Window-smashing has engaged and inspired many of the most
> oppressed members of Seattle's community more than any giant puppets or
> sea turtle costumes ever could (not to disparage the effectiveness of
> those tools in other communities).
>
> TEN MYTHS ABOUT THE BLACK BLOC
>
> Here's a little something to dispel the myths that have been circulating
> about the N30 black bloc:
>
> 1. "They are all a bunch of Eugene anarchists." While a few may be
> anarchists from Eugene, we hail from all over the United States,
> including Seattle. In any case, most of us are familiar with local issues
> in Seattle (for instance, the recent occupation of downtown by some of
> the most nefarious of multinational retailers).
>
> 2. "They are all followers of John Zerzan." A lot of rumors have been
> circulating that we are followers of John Zerzan, an anarcho-primitivist
> author from Eugene who advocates property destruction. While some of us
> may appreciate his writings and analyses, he is in no sense our leader,
> directly, indirectly, philisophocally or otherwize.
>
> 3. "The mass public squat is the headquarters of the anarchists who
> destroyed property on November 30th." In reality, most of the people in
> the "Autonomous Zone" squat are residents of Seattle who have spent most
> of their time since its opening on the 28th in the squat. While they may
> know of one-another, the two groups are not co-extensive and in no case
> could the squat be considered the headquarters of people who destroyed
> property.
>
> 4. "They escalated situations on the 30th, leading to the tear-gassing of
> passive, non-violent protesters." To answer this, we need only note that
> tear-gassing, pepper-spraying and the shooting of rubber bullets all
> began before the black blocs (as far as we know) started engaging in
> property destruction. In addition, we must resist the tendency to
> establish a causal relationship between police repression and protest in
> any form, whether it involved property destruction or not. The police are
> charged with protecting the interests of the wealthy few and the blame
> for the violence cannot be placed upon those who protest those interests.
>
> 5. Conversely: "They acted in response to the police repression." While
> this might be a more positive representation of the black bloc, it is
> nevertheless false. We refuse to be misconstrued as a purely reactionary
> force. While the logic of the black bloc may not make sense to some, it
> is in any case a pro-active logic.
>
> 6. "They are a bunch of angry adolescent boys." Aside from the fact that
> it belies a disturbing ageism and sexism, it is false. Property
> destruction is not merely macho rabble-rousing or testosterone-laden
> angst release. Nor is it displaced and reactionary anger. It is
> strategically and specifically targeted direct action against corporate
> interests.
>
> 7. "They just want to fight." This is pretty absurd, and it conveniently
> ignores the eagerness of "peace police" to fight us. Of all the groups
> engaging in direct action, the black bloc was perhaps the least
> interested in engaging the authorities and we certainly had no interest
> in fighting with other anti-WTO activists (despite some rather strong
> disagreements over tactics).
>
> 8. "They are a chaotic, disorganized and opportunistic mob." While many
> of us could surely spend days arguing over what "chaotic" means, we were
> certainly not disorganized. The organization may have been fluid and
> dynamic, but it was tight. As for the charge of opportunism, it would be
> hard to imagine who of the thousands in attendance _didn't_ take
> advantage of the opportunity created in Seattle to advance their agenda.
> The question becomes, then, whether or not we helped create that
> opportunity and most of us certainly did (which leads us to the next
> myth):
>
> 9. "They don't know the issues" or "they aren't activists who've been
> working on this." While we may not be professional activists, we've all
> been working on this convergence in Seattle for months. Some of us did
> work in our home-towns and others came to Seattle months in advance to
> work on it. To be sure, we were responsible for many hundreds of people
> who came out on the streets on the 30th, only a very small minority of
> which had anything to do with the black bloc. Most of us have been
> studying the effects of the global economy, genetic engineering, resource
> extraction, transportation, labor practices, elimination of indigenous
> autonomy, animal rights and human rights and we've been doing activism on
> these issues for many years. We are neither ill-informed nor
> unexperienced.
>
> 10. "Masked anarchists are anti-democratic and secretive because they
> hide their
> identities." Let's face it (with or without a mask)--we aren't living in
> a democracy right now. If this week has not made it plain enough, let us
> remind you--we are living in a police state. People tell us that if we
> really think that we're right, we wouldn't be hiding behind masks. "The
> truth will prevail" is the assertion. While this is a fine and noble
> goal, it does not jive with the present reality. Those who pose the
> greatest threat to the interests of Capital and State will be persecuted.
> Some pacifists would have us accept
> this persecution gleefully. Others would tell us that it is a worthy
> sacrifice. We are not so morose. Nor do we feel we have the privilege to
> accept persecution as a sacrifice: persecution to us is a daily
> inevitability and we treasure our few freedoms. To accept incarceration
> as a form of flattery betrays a large amount of "first world" privilege.
> We feel that an attack on private property is necessary if we are to
> rebuild a world which is useful, healthful and joyful for everyone. And
> this despite the fact that hypertrophied private property rights in this
> country translate into felony charges for any property destruction over
> $250.
>
> MOTIVATIONS OF THE BLACK BLOC
>
> The primary purpose of this communique is to diffuse some of the aura of
> mystery that surrounds the black bloc and make some of its motivations
> more transparent, since our masks cannot be.
>
> ON THE VIOLENCE OF PROPERTY
>
> We contend that property destruction is not a violent activity unless it
> destroys lives or causes pain in the process. By this definition, private
> property--especially corporate private property--is itself infinitely
> more violent than any action taken against it. Private property should be
> distinguished from personal property. The latter is based upon use while
> the former is based upon trade. The premise of personal property is that
> each of us has what s/he needs. The premise of private property is that
> each of us has something that someone else needs or wants. In a society
> based on private property rights, those who are able to accrue more of
> what others need or want have greater power. By extension, they wield
> greater control over what others perceive as needs and desires, usually
> in the interest of increasing profit to themselves. Advocates of "free
> trade" would like to see this process to its logical conclusion: a
> network of a few industry monopolists with ultimate control over the
> lives of the everyone else. Advocates of "fair trade" would like to see
> this process mitigated by government regulations meant to superficially
> impose basic humanitarian standards.
>
> As anarchists, we despise both positions. Private property--and
> capitalism, by extension--is intrinsicly violent and repressive and
> cannot be reformed or mitigated. Whether the power of everyone is
> concentrated into the hands of a few corporate heads or diverted into a
> regulatory apparatus charged with mitigating the disasters of the latter,
> no one can be as free or as powerful as they could be in a
> non-hierarchical society. When we smash a window, we aim to destroy the
> thin veneer of legitimacy that surrounds private property rights. At the
> same time, we exorcize that set of violent and destructive social
> relationships which has been imbued in almost everything around us. By
> "destroying" private property, we convert its limited exchange value into
> an expanded use value. A storefront window becomes a vent to let some
> fresh air into the oppressive atmosphere of a retail outlet (at least
> until the police decide to tear-gas a nearby road blockade). A newspaper
> box becomes a tool for creating such vents or a small blockade for the
> reclamation of public space or an object to improve one's vantage point
> by standing on it. A dumpster becomes an obstruction to a phalanx of
> rioting cops and a source of heat and light. A building facade becomes a
> message board to record brainstorm ideas for a better world.
>
> After N30, many people will never see a shop window or a hammer the same
> way again. The potential uses of an entire cityscape have increased a
> thousand-fold. The number of broken windows pales in comparison to the
> number of broken spells--spells cast by a corporate hegemony to lull us
> into forgetfulness of all the violence committed in the name of private
> property rights and of all the potential of a society without them.
> Broken windows can be boarded up (with yet more waste of our forests) and
> eventually replaced, but the shattering of assumptions will hopefully
> persist for some time to come.
>
> Against Capital and State,
>
> the ACME Collective
>
> "Peasant Revolt!"
> -------------
> Disclaimer: these observations and analyses represent only those of the
> ACME Collective and should not be construed to be representative of the
> rest of the black bloc on N30 or anyone else who engaged in riot or
> property destruction that day.
>
>
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