DOCSLIB.ORG

Can't Stop Kaos: a Brief History of the Black Bloc

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Can't Stop Kaos: a Brief History of the Black Bloc A Brief History of the Black Bloc Black Bloc in Rostock, Germany, anti-G8 2007 Published by AutonomousResistance, Vancouver * Summer 2010 AutonomousResistance Can't Stop Kaos! “We came to realize that the rulers do A Brief History of the Black Bloc not fear our militancy because it results in material damages but that they are in “Black Bloc is not an organization. It has no leaders. Like a fear of us and everyone who picks up a spectre, it simply appears out of nowhere, wreaks havoc, then stone because they know that we are vanishes.” (“The violent protesters who never were,” Toronto Star, June 27, 2010) determined to fight and that no dialogue will ever be possible with us again.” Introduction (Statement by Autonomist and Anti- Imperialist Groups in W. Germany, Resistance No. “Can't Stop Kaos” was the slogan of a banner carried in the Black 5, Winter 1983 Bloc in Rostock, Germany, during the June 2007 anti-G8 mobilization. Despite thousands of police, a Black Bloc of some 5,000 gathered and engaged in street fighting, burning barricades and destroying corporate Think You're Hot Cuz You March in a Black Bloc? property. When I saw footage and photographs of this banner, I immediately appreciated its simple yet powerful truth. In describing the Black Bloc tactic and its history, such a slogan is Why not be a often appropriate considering the large security operations carried out in Heatscore efforts to stop such actions. Yet, the tactic itself is some 30 years old. While the German police are by now 'experts' in riot control, the events in and get this Rostock show the difficulty in controlling a Black Bloc, even for T-Shirt!? 'professionals.' Another recent example was the anti-G20 protests in Toronto, Just June 2010. Amidst one of the largest security operations in Canadian $20 history, pre-emptive arrests of protest organizers, and with several thousand riot cops in the streets, a Black Bloc was still able to carry out (+postage) extensive property destruction, including the arson of four police cars S, M, L, XL (with two in the financial district, just over a block from the security [Black only] fence). In the midst of this, I thought again of that banner: “Can't Stop Hoodies? Coming Kaos.” Soon!!! Yet, within this 'chaotic' method, there is thought and analysis. The Black Bloc arises from a radical perspective that sees no hope in reforming the system—only in destroying it. What is the Black Bloc? AutonomousResistance.wordpress.com The Black Bloc is not an organization. It is a tactic used primarily in street protests during which militants wear uniform black clothing to counter surveillance and identification by police. An essential part of the [email protected] 1 Can't Stop Kaos! Can't Stop Kaos! 26 In the aftermath of the attack, the police went on a rampage of repression, attacking 'peaceful' protesters and citizens alike, 'kettling' hundreds for hours in the pouring rain, violently assaulting scores of people, and arresting over 1,100 in total (the largest mass arrests in Canadian history). Many reformists, ideologically opposed to revolutionary struggle and militant resistance, immediately condemned the Black Bloc action, with some prominent movement 'celebrities' asserting that police allowed the attacks to occur as a way of justifying the massive budget (already a subject of public criticism and debate prior to the protests). The reformists joined with conspiracy theorists, who alleged the Black Bloc was full of police provocateurs sent in to cause mayhem as a means of justifying the police state of the 'new world order.' Neither of these groups offered any proof, aside from speculation and an attempt to 'document' certain types of shoes worn by protesters as proof they were cops. As the history of the Black Bloc itself shows, militants have been able to overcome massive policing operations and inflict material damage on many occasions. ☀ Black Bloc is the use of disguise to conceal one's identity (including gloves and masks). The most distinguishing feature of the tactic is the wearing of black. The Black Bloc has its origins in W. Germany's squatter's and Autonomen (Autonomist) movement, arising from a necessity to defend squats and demonstrations from police attacks. This is most commonly believed to have been in 1980-81 in W. Berlin. From W. Germany, the tactic spread to nearby Holland, Denmark, Switzerland, and Sweden, throughout the 1980s. Following the integration Toronto G20, June 26, 2010, burning cop car of the European Union (EU) in 1993, Black Bloc techniques became more common in Italy, France, Britain, and Greece. By 1989-90, Black Bloc tactics also began to be used in North America. RAF: A Documentary History, Vol. 1: Projectiles for the People, by J. Smith and Andre The Black Bloc is most commonly used in advanced Moncourt, Kersplebedeb/PM Press, Montreal/Oakland 2009 industrialized nations where widespread surveillance technologies greatly Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Paulo Freire, Continuum, New York 2007 The Black Bloc Papers: An Anthology of Primary Texts From The North American increases the risk of identification and arrest during protests or direct Anarchist Black Bloc 1988-2005, Edited by David Van Deusen & Xaviar Massot, actions (including occupations, blockades, etc.). Breaking Glass Press/Alternative Media Project/Infoshop.org., Shawnee Mission, KS, This surveillance includes documentation of the identities of most USA, First Online Printing, January 2010 of the population, automatic tracking of electronic banking and purchases, The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements and the mandatory vehicle registration, biometrics (including facial recognition, Decolonization of Everyday Life, by Georgy Katsiaficas, AK Press, Oakland/Edinburgh, 2006 25 Can't Stop Kaos! Can't Stop Kaos! 2 iris scanning, voice analysis, etc.), widespread use of internet and cell On June 15, 2007, a Black Bloc of 70 persons was formed in phone communications (the most easily intercepted and tracked), as well Halifax, Nova Scotia, during a local mobilization against the 'Atlantica' as CCTV cameras in nearly every store and building (as well as many regional economic summit between the US and Canada. Marching behind street intersections). a banner reading “G8 to Atlantica: Resistance is Global”, the bloc wore Other factors that contribute to the use of Black Blocs in N. helmets and carried shields. Bank windows were smashed and police America and Europe are similarities in social conditions, cultural forms, vehicles hit with paint bombs. During skirmishes with police, 21 people and levels of conflict engaged in by social movements. Communication were arrested. This was the first use of a Black Bloc in Halifax. and interaction between the two continents is also stronger than with other In September 2007, Black Bloc militants were able to carry out regions, due to the history of colonialism and imperialism. property damage despite pre-emptive arrests and thousands of police during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. More recently, the September 2009 anti-G20 protests in Defining Autonomy Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, saw a Black Bloc that attacked numerous corporations, banks, and police vehicles. This was despite the deployment The tactic of the Black Bloc cannot be seperated from the social of some 5,000 cops and National Guard troops (and with a smaller overall movement from which it arises, since tactics are themselves an expression mobilization of some 10,000 protesters). Over $50,000 in damages was of the organization and methods of the fighting force that develops them inflicted (along with terrain, etc.). In this case it is the Autonomist movement of W. Europe. Although the Autonomist movement is often described as Black Bloc 2010 anarchist, it also includes in its analyses Marxist and feminist critiques of During the February 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, a Black society. Autonomy does not advocate a single ideology and in many ways Bloc of 100-150, with 300 or so other militants, caused over $25,000 in avoids classification except as a radical Left or social revolutionary damages by smashing the windows of the Hudson's Bay Company (a movement. major sponsor of the 2010 Games and a vital part of the colonization of Part of the lack of a clear ideological line is the diversity of groups Canada), a bank, and vandalizing police cars. that participate in the movement (i.e., squatters, anti-nuclear groups, anti- This action was titled '2010 Heart Attack' and its aim was to “clog fascist, prisoner solidarity groups, etc.), making such definition difficult. the arteries of capitalism' by disrupting traffic and commerce on the first Another is a tendency to avoid ideological struggles and doctrine within day of Olympic events (Feb 13). Due to the protest, police shut down the the movement (such as Anarchism, Leninism, or Maoism, etc.). Lion's Gate bridge, delaying some 700 Olympic buses en route to the The main characteristic of the Autonomists are decentralized and Whistler ski resort (site of skiing events). anti-authoritarian methods of organizing. While these were part of the The anti-Olympic action was followed by the June 26, 2010, anti- earlier student and counter-cultural movements (in 1960s Italy and W. G20 protests in Toronto, where some 150 militants in Black Bloc with Germany), they became more influenced by the experience of the women's several hundred other militants, carried out over $1 million in property movement in the 1970s (including the politics of the first person, concepts damage. Scores of corporate and bank windows were smashed, and four of autonomy, etc.). cop cars were arsoned in downtown streets during the action. The Autonomist movement is revolutionary in that it seeks the The significance of the Toronto G20 Black Bloc, along with the destruction of the state and capitalism through decentralized social scale of destruction, was that it occurred during the 'largest security revolution.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 10 Points on the Black Bloc
    10 Points on the Black Bloc Harsha Walia 2010 Contents 10 Points on the Black Bloc 4 1. Tactic ............................................ 5 2. Violence .......................................... 5 3. Masks ............................................ 6 4. Police Provocateurs .................................... 6 5. Community organizers vs. Insurrectionaries ...................... 6 6. Effectiveness ........................................ 6 7. Undermining peaceful protestors ............................ 8 8. Putting others at risk ................................... 8 9. Media smears ....................................... 8 10. Solidarity ......................................... 9 2 “It is true that the State is not a window, but neither is it just an abstract concept. Breaking windows is not a revolutionary act and neither is any other act if taken out of context and presented as an abstraction, ignoring the intentions and strategy of those who break the windows. The State or Capital or colonialism cannot beat- tacked as abstractions. They can only be attacked in their material forms, their social relations and their institutions. It is not possible to attack all forms and material com- ponents of oppression at once, so they must be attacked in pieces at different times and locations.” — Oshipeya, No action is sufficient in itself, black bloc or otherwise 3 10 Points on the Black Bloc The February 13th heart attack march successfully clogged the arteries of capitalism byhaving a riotous time through the streets of Vancouver during the convergence against the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. In the immediate aftermath, supposed allies of the social denounced the tactics and attempted to distance themselves from the more radical elements in this movement. In a strict breach of the statement of unity that the Olympic Resistance Network had articu- lated, social liberals who had little or no part in organizing any of the convergence took itupon themselves to denounce the violence of the protesters, not the violence of the police.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Anarchism, Pedro Riberio
    TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................2 2. The Principles of Anarchism, Lucy Parsons....................................................................3 3. Anarchism and the Black Revolution, Lorenzo Komboa’Ervin......................................10 4. Beyond Nationalism, But not Without it, Ashanti Alston...............................................72 5. Anarchy Can’t Fight Alone, Kuwasi Balagoon...............................................................76 6. Anarchism’s Future in Africa, Sam Mbah......................................................................80 7. Domingo Passos: The Brazilian Bakunin.......................................................................86 8. Where Do We Go From Here, Michael Kimble..............................................................89 9. Senzala or Quilombo: Reflections on APOC and the fate of Black Anarchism, Pedro Riberio...........................................................................................................................91 10. Interview: Afro-Colombian Anarchist David López Rodríguez, Lisa Manzanilla & Bran- don King........................................................................................................................96 11. 1996: Ballot or the Bullet: The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Electoral Process in the U.S. and its relation to Black political power today, Greg Jackson......................100 12. The Incomprehensible
    [Show full text]
  • ANTI-AUTHORITARIAN INTERVENTIONS in DEMOCRATIC THEORY by BRIAN CARL BERNHARDT B.A., James Madison University, 2005 M.A., University of Colorado at Boulder, 2010
    BEYOND THE DEMOCRATIC STATE: ANTI-AUTHORITARIAN INTERVENTIONS IN DEMOCRATIC THEORY by BRIAN CARL BERNHARDT B.A., James Madison University, 2005 M.A., University of Colorado at Boulder, 2010 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science 2014 This thesis entitled: Beyond the Democratic State: Anti-Authoritarian Interventions in Democratic Theory written by Brian Carl Bernhardt has been approved for the Department of Political Science Steven Vanderheiden, Chair Michaele Ferguson David Mapel James Martel Alison Jaggar Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. Bernhardt, Brian Carl (Ph.D., Political Science) Beyond the Democratic State: Anti-Authoritarian Interventions in Democratic Theory Thesis directed by Associate Professor Steven Vanderheiden Though democracy has achieved widespread global popularity, its meaning has become increasingly vacuous and citizen confidence in democratic governments continues to erode. I respond to this tension by articulating a vision of democracy inspired by anti-authoritarian theory and social movement practice. By anti-authoritarian, I mean a commitment to individual liberty, a skepticism toward centralized power, and a belief in the capacity of self-organization. This dissertation fosters a conversation between an anti-authoritarian perspective and democratic theory: What would an account of democracy that begins from these three commitments look like? In the first two chapters, I develop an anti-authoritarian account of freedom and power.
    [Show full text]
  • One Civil Libertarian Among Many: the Case of Mr. Justice Goldberg
    Michigan Law Review Volume 65 Issue 2 1966 One Civil Libertarian Among Many: The Case of Mr. Justice Goldberg Ira H. Carmen Coe College Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Law and Philosophy Commons, and the Supreme Court of the United States Commons Recommended Citation Ira H. Carmen, One Civil Libertarian Among Many: The Case of Mr. Justice Goldberg, 65 MICH. L. REV. 301 (1966). Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol65/iss2/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Michigan Law Review at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Michigan Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ONE CIVIL LIBERTARIAN AMONG MANY: THE CASE OF MR. JUSTICE GOLDBERG Ira H. Carmen* T is common knowledge that in recent times the constitutional I issues of greatest magnitude and of greatest public interest lie in the area of civil liberties. These cases almost always call for the delicate balancing of the rights of the individual, allegedly pro­ tected by a specific clause in the Constitution, and the duties that state or federal authority can exact from citizens in order that society may maintain a minimum standard of peace and security. It follows, therefore, that it is these often dramatic decisions which will largely color the images we have of participating Justices. As­ sume a free speech controversy.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Bloc in Quebec: an Analysis
    The Black Bloc in Quebec: An Analysis Nicolas Barricada Collective Contents The Media, the Grassroots Effort, and the Local Community ............... 3 The Black Bloc: Material Preparedness ........................... 4 The Black Bloc: Tactics, Empowerment, and “Other People.” ............... 4 Black Bloc Spectators? .................................... 5 Conclusion .......................................... 6 2 As the dust settles from the massive and hugely successful anti-capitalist mobilization inQue- bec, it becomes time to take a look at where the revolutionary anti-capitalist movement stands, some of the lessons of Quebec (for the movement in general, and for black blocs more specifically), what went well, and what didn’t go so well. In addition, the events of the 20th and 21st in Quebec, coupled with the uprisings of the oppressed African-American communities of Cincinnati, go a long way towards dispelling several somewhat common claims of the liberal and authoritarian pacifist left regarding black blocs, and more specifically, black bloc tactics and their acceptance, or lack thereof, in oppressed and impoverished communities. The Media, the Grassroots Effort, and the Local Community The first important lesson of Quebec is that there can be no understating the importanceofa radical movement, such as ours, developing a strong working relationship with the communities in which we will find ourselves. While it is true that the people of Quebec have a proud history of resistance to authority and street-fighting, the massive participation
    [Show full text]
  • Behind the Black Bloc: an Overview of Militant Anarchism and Anti-Fascism
    Behind the Black Bloc An Overview of Militant Anarchism and Anti-Fascism Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Samuel Hodgson, and Austin Blair June 2021 FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES FOUNDATION Behind the Black Bloc An Overview of Militant Anarchism and Anti-Fascism Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Samuel Hodgson Austin Blair June 2021 FDD PRESS A division of the FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES Washington, DC Behind the Black Bloc: An Overview of Militant Anarchism and Anti-Fascism Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 7 ORIGINS OF CONTEMPORARY ANARCHISM AND ANTI-FASCISM ....................................... 8 KEY TENETS AND TRENDS OF ANARCHISM AND ANTI-FASCISM ........................................ 10 Anarchism .............................................................................................................................................................10 Anti-Fascism .........................................................................................................................................................11 Related Movements ..............................................................................................................................................13 DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MILITANT GROUPS ........................................................................ 13 Anti-Fascist Groups .............................................................................................................................................14
    [Show full text]
  • Trends in Anti-Fascist and Anarchist Recruitment and Mobilization
    Trends in Anti-Fascist and Anarchist Recruitment and Mobilization Dr. Ariel Kocha1 aMember, The Middle East Networks Analysis Desk, Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University Abstract Article History For many, the discourse on anarchists' violence belongs to the past, to an era that Received Aug 1, 2017 shocked the world but ended a long time ago. However, this assumption is not accurate Accepted Feb 16, 2018 in the twentieth-first century. It ignores the reality that allows extremists to rise from Published: Mar 30, 2018 the dust, gain popularity and use available tools to promote themselves and their ideas, and thus, to pose a new potential threat. While most of the research on radicalization and political violent extremism focuses on jihadism or the contemporary right-wing extremism, it is important not to ignore the reaction that right-wing extremists created and provoked in the past, which is still relevant in our days: left-wing extremism, which is embodied today in violent anarchists and anti-fascists. This article sheds light on the contemporary left-wing extremism and violent mobilization in Europe and North America, its reflections on the Internet and in music, and its violent activity at home against "fascist" representatives (such as right-wing extremist groups and individuals), and even abroad, against other "fascist" representatives, such as the Islamic State organization. The purpose of the article is to examine this under- researched phenomenon while focusing on popular and recent modes of mobilization and recruitment of this "new revolutionary left", which reflect a threat that is developing in Europe, North America and the Middle East – but not from the jihadi or right-wing aspects, but from anti-fascist and anarchists' militancy aspect.
    [Show full text]
  • “Anarchists Are More Animal Than Human”: Rationality, Savagery, and the Violence of Property
    “Anarchists Are More Animal than Human”: Rationality, Savagery, and the Violence of Property Benjamin Abbott When I first read Chris Hedges’ now infamous denunciation of “Black Bloc anarchists” in the Occupy Wall Street movement, I felt as if I had stepped back in time to the turn of the twentieth century. Hedges’ charges of senseless aggression motivated by primal passions and bent only on universal destruction would fit seamlessly into an 1894 issue of the New York Herald-Tribune or Los Angeles Times. However, as Doreen Massey reminds us, such attempts to assign contemporaries to the past denies how we share space in the world and implies belief in a teleological narrative of progress. Invoking tropes of animality to rhetorically construct political opponents as – to use Chandan Reddy's words – “the enemies of modern political society” remains a key persuasive strategy as well as an enduring technology of capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism here in the twenty-first century. Even a cursory look at language of the war on terror and its production of the Islamic terrorist as national bête noire demonstrates this. Though I would like to simply dismiss Hedges’ anti-anarchist piece as an anomalous echo of discredited reactionary hyperbole, I instead interpret it as representative of a thriving modern phenomenon. The Occupy Wall Street movement has prompted a proliferation and reemphasis of the preexisting discourse of anarchists as the inhuman and unreasonably violent enemies of humanity.1 This essay takes the Hedges article as a point of departure to explore earlier expressions of this discourse specifically through the lens of property.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Bloc Tactics Communiqué a Communiqué on Tactics and Organization to the Black Bloc, from Within the Black Bloc
    Library.Anarhija.Net Black Bloc Tactics Communiqué A Communiqué on Tactics and Organization to the Black Bloc, from within the Black Bloc Anti-Racist Action & The Green Mountain Anarchist Collective Anti-Racist Action & The Green Mountain Anarchist Collective Black Bloc Tactics Communiqué A Communiqué on Tactics and Organization to the Black Bloc, from within the Black Bloc July 2001 Retrieved on January 7, 2013 from http://www.sheffieldmayday.ukf.net/articles/blackbloc.htm lib.anarhija.net July 2001 2 Contents Introductory Notes From The Second Amended Edition . 4 Introductory Notes From The First Edition . 4 Our Movement Grows .................... 6 Anarchism and the Broader Movement .......... 7 The Development of the Movement ............ 8 Our Local Communities ................... 8 At Demonstrations ...................... 9 The Necessity Of Increasing Our Tactical Abilities . 10 Increased Organization Of Street Fighting Force: The For- mation Of An Elected Tactical Facilitation Core . 11 Individual Affinity Groups . 14 Clusters ............................ 17 Reconnaissance and Communication . 19 Reserves ........................... 21 Additional Security Precautions: Maps, Radios, IDs, Names, Etc. ....................... 26 Communiques ........................ 27 Anarchist Principles of Tactical Leadership . 28 Physical Training In Between Actions . 29 Pre-emptive Actions ..................... 30 Preparations For Increased State Repression . 30 Development Of Our Social and Political Understandings 32 Conclusion .........................
    [Show full text]
  • Anarchism and Aesthetics
    CHAPTER 1 Anarchism and Aesthetics Allan Antliff If we understand “aesthetic” to refer to the sensate/emotive experiences that may arise from an art work, then an aesthetic, as a bearer of meaning attuned to anarchist values, does not “own” that experience. Rather, the politics of anar- chism go to work on the aesthetic dimension of art, evaluating its efficacy and cultivating tensions arising from anarchy’s “openness,” its refusal of closure. In the arts anarchism has inspired a plethora of approaches to aesthetics, including the rejection of conventional art production altogether in favor of other frameworks. For example, during the 1960s performance artist Joseph Beuys redefined society itself as an artistic creation—a “social sculpture”—so as to awaken us to our freedom to innovate and galvanize this freedom in the name of an anarchist social and ecological vision intent on dismantling state power non-violently.1 Beuys’ re-conceptualization echoes Gustav Landauer’s assertion that a social revolution is an artistic act, a configuration that speaks volumes as to how integral the qualities we associate with aesthetics are to anarchist conceptions of enacting politics.2 This is to say that the tensile in- terface between anarchism, aesthetics, and art is always anchored in specific contexts and challenges that have as much to do with the artist as they do with society. A case in point is Gustave Courbet. Working in mid-nineteenth century France under the dictatorial Second Empire of Louis-Napoleon III (1852–1870), Courbet developed an aesthetic of “realism” suffused with elements of parody that aped the stylistic strictures of the imperial Ecole des Beaux Arts in order to subvert and attack the reigning power structure.
    [Show full text]
  • Violence and Restraint Within Antifa: a View from the United States by Nigel Copsey and Samuel Merrill
    PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 14, Issue 6 Violence and Restraint within Antifa: A View from the United States by Nigel Copsey and Samuel Merrill Abstract In recent months recurrent calls have been made by conservative right-wing politicians to designate Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization” in the United States. Fixated on the spectacle of its Black Bloc tactics they have equated Antifa, what is essentially an ad-hoc, non-hierarchical, geographically dispersed social movement comprised of local autonomous activist groups, with organized violent extremists. And yet, the evidence for such an equation has been mostly limited to a handful of instances that usually bare the hallmarks of political exaggeration or are alternatively attributable to individuals loosely associated with the Antifa movement. Why is this so? How do militant anti-fascists in the US understand violence and exercise restraint in their use of it? This article seeks an answer to these questions based on interviews with activists from Portland’s Rose City Antifa, one of the United States’ most well-known Antifa groups, and an analysis of a collection of the group’s Tweets. It reveals that Antifa exercises considerable restraint, internally and externally, with regards to both the literal and rhetorical use of violence within its street and digital activism. In turn it calls upon others to exercise reciprocal levels of restraint by ceasing their labelling of Antifa as a “domestic terrorist” organization. Keywords: Antifa, anti-fascism, restraint, violence, terrorism, street activism, digital activism I would say if we describe violence as being like, you know, a Richard Spencer face punch, I would say based on simply being a fascist, all fascists deserve, at a minimum, a Richard Spencer face punch.[1] I don’t think that people necessarily will go off the handle.
    [Show full text]
  • An Ungovernable Force? Food Not Bombs, Homeless Activism
    AN UNGOVERNABLE FORCE? FOOD NOT BOMBS, HOMELESS ACTIVISM AND POLITICS IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1988-1995 by SEAN MICHAEL PARSON A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department ofPolitical Science and the Graduate School ofthe University ofOregon in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy September 2010 11 University of Oregon Graduate School Confirmation of Approval and Acceptance of Dissertation prepared by: Sean Parson Title: "An Ungovernable Force? Food Not Bombs, Homeless Activism and Politics in San Francisco, 1988-1995" This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree in the Department ofPolitical Science by: Gerald Berk, Chairperson, Political Science Joseph Lowndes, Member, Political Science Deborah Baumgold, Member, Political Science Michael Dreiling, Outside Member, Sociology and Richard Linton, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies/Dean ofthe Graduate School for the University of Oregon. September 4,2010 Original approval signatures are on file with the Graduate School and the University of Oregon Libraries. III © 2010 Sean M. Parson IV An Abstract ofthe Dissertation of Sean Michael Parson for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy in the Department ofPolitical Science to be taken September 2010 Title: AN UNGOVERNABLE FORCE? FOOD NOT BOMBS, HOMELESS ACTIVISM AND POLITICS IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1988-1995 Approved: ~ _ Gerald Berk This study examines the interaction between two anarchist support groups for the homeless, Food Not Bombs and Homes Not Jails, and the city ofSan Francisco between 1988 and 1995. Food Not Bombs provides free meals in public spaces and protests government and corporate policies that harm the poor and homeless. Homes Not Jails is a sister group ofFood Not Bombs that opens up unused houses and government buildings to provide housing for homeless residents.
    [Show full text]