Non-violence or not? That seems to be the question. And above all, why, for either tactic and/or philosophical stance. I find the discussion below the Hedges post on the “cancer” in Occupy very stimulating and provocative — especially the notion of a “post-colonial interpretation” of Hedges world-view. You also might want to check out the comment section of this article:
BTW: I remain decidedly “on the side of” non-violence, and aim to root violence out of me whenever and wherever it appears. I’ve been at this task for 30 years, and my own inner violence is by no means gone.
1 thought on “Heated discussion re: Hedges and Jensen on Black Bloc and Occupy”
Anarchists just want to be loved like everyone else, but when they don’t get their way, democracy doesn’t seem to be an adequate solution for them. Don Gato, http://tinyurl.com/8xxmdyw apparently a self described anarchist first mentioned by a responder called “Summerspeaker” on Exopermaculture post, only wants what the rest of us want, he says.
My own feeling about violent-anarchists is they are caught in their own self-repeating loop, doing the same thing over and over and over and over expecting a different out come each time while denying themselves the empowerment of letting evil pass by un-confronted. The violent anarchist seems to harbor the unending lust to confront their perception of evil for the sake of righteous justice and deliver vengeance down upon the object of their disgust. To hell with everything else, let’s teach them a lesson, seems to be the argument offered by Don Gato. He seems unable to buy into the notion of the Occupy Movement will self-destruct if they use and endorse violent anarchist tactics. The only reason the OWS continues is because of OWS-NY model rises above the violent anarchist’s call for their personal versions of street justice using violence. Don Gato does not seem to want to talk about non-violent anarchy seems to be a noble form of this misunderstood concept.
The audio interviews on participants on NPR and KFPA on the coverage of downtown Oakland, did a reasonable job of pointing out that unique local gang and drug turfs in the downtown led to the murder in the Occupy Oakland camp of one of its members. The Occupy Movement got the blame but had nothing to do with the murder according to those interviewed.
Those interviewed who live in Oakland and participate in the OWS-Oakland movement feel very much imposed upon the naive outsiders entering into the “dangerous and violent drug and gang turfs” that all just happen to intersect near the downtown where the movement is being held.
Outsiders just have no idea how violent these turfs are and what they are getting themselves into coming into this area.
The dominant local black community leadership tried but then backed off and now seems unwilling or unable to take control over the Oakland downtown to insure reasonable safety and to differentiate the Occupy Movement from the other violent currents in the demographics of these intercepting zones. Perhaps the sad reality is, it has something to do racially with wanting the black community to recapture the power head of the mayor’s office from a mayor who is Asian. I have no idea.
Into this mix comes running in from the shadows of the night the Don Gato’s who apparently want to lay a few licks on everything in their path because it all needs changing?
Give me a break. If Oakland’s dominant black community of political movers and shakers will not join peacefully in a non-threatening manner, to help get a handle on the turf wars to help protect the Oakland Occupy movement, then the occupiers should no longer be given the grace, patience, and 2nd and 3rd changes it has enjoyed so far and the violators, especially the Gato’s should be rounded up, drug before the local courts and render over to community service to repair the damage they cause behind their manly emotionally empowering sexy black masks that seem to turn themselves on to violent acts, just because they feel we deserve it. Perhaps they will then begin to understand the power of humility contained within the higher model conducted by OWS-NY, upon the brazenness of the Gatos’ self-styled glamour.