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The Black Bloc
From: Languages of the Unheard
$2.30
In order to assess the role of black blocs as languages of the unheard, that is, as vehicles for fostering public autonomy and securing a voice for the silenced or ignored, it may matter crucially whether the bloc is going to attempt to repel police violence and mass arrests or, on the contrary, to evacuate the scene when police violence and arrests begin, melting away into the city. Blocs have adopted each of these responses at times. It is a disappointing feature of the way the bloc has been debated on the left that, again and again, people treat it as admissible to take a yes-or-no position on “the black bloc” as such, rather than first asking, A black bloc for what? The mistake of describing the bloc as a tactic, rather than as a formation for co-ordinated pursuit of a range of possible tactics, fuels the confusion and oversimplification that mars so many debates about this topic.
Contributors
Stephen D'Arcy
Stephen D’Arcy is an associate professor of philosophy at Huron University College, Western University. A long-time social activist and protest organizer, he teaches and writes about democratic theory and practical ethics.
