Occupy Underground

the action day actions in New Your from a live Occupy channel, and thinking in my arm-chair general way, when the people obeyed police and walked the pedestrian side-walks trying to get to Wall Street, until NYPD warned them "not to block pedestrian traffic" and made few arrests to make their point and to turn the pedestrian side-walk marches turn back. I admired the self-organizing power and the huge amount of care taken to inform participants about which situations are more likely to lead to getting arrested, lot has been learned. But the Gandhian strategy that Hedges and others speak about is no less militant and demands that many of us put their bodies harms way and confront the armed forces of our oppression to the point where they have to choose whether they shoot us or join us. We need to be very smart about that, where and when and how we put police etc. against that choice, and it's better for us to choose that where when and how than to be taken by surprise and worst case, be slaughtered.

So this is what I would like to say to Hedge's in defense about experimenting various "black block" tactics - to ultimately confront the people holding guns and forcing them to make the choice of either to shoot us or join us. One tactic that can be developed and rehearsed and be prepared for is "zero-tolerance" against any arrests of our friends, using just our bodies and superior numbers. Basically, if police try to arrest any of us, we surround the police with our bodies - and if situation allows, disarm them for our own protection. And humbly, much easier said than done.