Re: Will Anarchists work with Non-Anarchists?

["Nathan Newman" <nathan.newman@xxxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:owner-pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Carrol Cox
>
> So the question was, how many Pen-l subscribers would be
> willing to engage in an illegal but non-violent act of disobedience if
they
> thought or knew that a small minority among the demonstrators would, on
their own,
> act like provcateurs and unilaterally change the nature of the
> demonstration?.

Not me.  One experience with such sectarian provocateurs was not with
anarchists but activists from the Revolutionary Workers League who during
the affirmative action fight at the UC-Berkeley assaulted not only cops but
other activists who would not give in to their preferred strategies.
During one mass march, as the protest approached a line of cops and the
non-violent marchers sought to hold the line against the police, the
Revolutionary Workers League folks positioned themselves in the second row
and tried to push the marchers in the first row into the police line, hoping
to provoke a violent police response and escalate the overall mayhem.

Yeah, lots of trust there.  The Black Bloc anarchists may not be as cowardly
as the RWL folks I dealt with, but their actions endanger other activists as
much through provocation - witness the total shutdown of the city and mass
arrests on Tuesday night and Wednesday.  And of course, they
undemocratically changed the nature of media coverage of the event.

Now, it may be argued that was to the good in this instance, but that should
be a decision for a broader coalition of activists, not a small group of
self-appointed vanguardists.  And if the anarchists feel they have a right
to act independently against the will of those non-violent activists to
undermine their protest, they should not complain if those "peace patrol"
activists shut them down to maintain the intended meaning of non-violent
activism.

Respect and mutuality (or lack thereof) goes both ways.  Certain anarchists
I have dealt with demand endless consensus discussions before actions -
frustrating majority rule in favor of power for those activists with the
time for endless meetings - then turn around and ignore the will of those
decisions in favor of "do your own thing" extreme actions during a
demonstration.

Democratic accountability and respect for majority (or supermajority) rule
is not a perfect system, but it is far better than faux consensus politics
mixed with extreme vanguardist actions.

-- Nathan Newman

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