I just wanted to put this out there: the people who are going around vandalizing/destroying things are employing a tactic called a Black Bloc: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_bloc. http://www.crimethinc.com/texts/pastfeatures/blocs.php The first is an overview, and the second is an in-depth how-to description of it. I highly recommend you read both articles, particularly the second since it gives a good idea of Black Bloccers’ mentalities, but here’s a summary and interpretation for the lazy.
It is essentially a loosely organized group of people who meet privately and prepare “actions” that range from showing simple solidarity and providing civillian-based security, to throwing paint, breaking windows and (ideally) creating an environment where average citizens will join in. It has its roots in Autonomist politics, which is a Socialism/Anarchism hybrid that arose in Italy in the 70s that emphasizes direct action and class warfare, and has “provided inspiration to some on the revolutionary left in English-speaking countries, particularly among anarchists, many of whom have adopted autonomist tactics.” Were you wondering why there was a big banner proclaiming Death To Capitalism (as if that was what the march was actually about), people wandering around with black shields and exhaustive media-opportunities where everyone crowded around one guy with their cameras while he destroyed something? Blame it on the Black Bloc.
Are they being steered, at least in part, by cops? Are they just some really agitated young people who want to destroy shit? Will they begin engaging with people more openly? Who knows. I’ve heard a lot of things about them, who they are, and what they want from a lot of people. I think it’s fundamentally a moot point since they have no interest in engaging with us in an open and transparent way, so all that really matters is that they not be allowed to coopt the 99% movement for their own goals.
I think three things should be noted, though.
1) Not all anarchists support these tactics or think the Oakland Black Bloc is doing the right thing. I say this because I think it’d be more helpful to vilify Black Bloc people as something more concrete and less politically divisive; “assholes” seems like a good grouping. Maybe “those Black Bloc assholes.”
2) Dealing with them via direct violence is probably not a good idea, since one of their stated goals is to create an environment of chaos and panic… and to some degree, to attract the police and media coverage. Many, many Gxx Summit protests have been disrupted by Black Blocs (think of your favorite G-whatever riot; probably started by a Black Bloc), which since the 2000s seem to have only been used to attract the police’s attention instead of doing something that people actually want.
3) Although it is called a Black Bloc and everyone that we’ve seen so far has been wearing black, the tactic itself is defined as any similarly colored set of clothing or costume that the participants have agreed to wear. That means they could come back as the Red Bloc, or the Yankees Bloc, or the Clown Bloc. And now that their cover has been blown, they probably will in future demonstrations. The only guaranteed way to spot them is if they’re walking around with the group while wearing some kind of face cover, loosely clumped with a few other people who are wearing more or less the exact same thing.
Their entire strategy relies on people not knowing who they are and assuming that they have the same general goals as the group, so educating as many people as possible about them is probably the best way to deal with their presence. Once we take away the confusion they manipulate, they won’t have much to work with.
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